NetIQ Helps Pennsylvania Hospital Increase Return on Microsoft Active Directory Investments

Business Wire, Sept 1, 2004

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The Good Samaritan Hospital Uses NetIQ Administration Tools to Leverage Powerful Directory Capabilities, Comply with Government Regulations

NetIQ Corp. (Nasdaq:NTIQ), a leading provider of Systems & Security Management and Web Analytics solutions, today announced that the Good Samaritan Hospital is using the NetIQ(R) Security Administration Suite and the NetIQ(R) Migration Suite to administer and secure its environment, increasing their return on Active Directory investments.

The Good Samaritan Hospital in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, first began a migration of 1,000 end users and more than 100 Windows servers to Windows 2000 and Active Directory in February 2002 using the NetIQ Migration Suite. The IT Network Administration team also purchased NetIQ's Directory and Resource Administrator(TM) to effectively administer the combined Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000 environments from one console.

"The integration of NetIQ's products with Microsoft's native tools made NetIQ the best choice for controlling the migration of users within Active Directory and Exchange," said Guy Pierre, senior network administrator at Good Samaritan Hospital. "I am certain we have seen greater returns on our Active Directory investments because of the various NetIQ tools we have employed."

NetIQ's unique Layered Security Architecture enables distributed directory access based on IT staff or help desk task needs, skill level and permissions. This architecture, found only in NetIQ's Security Administration Suite, both increases security and provides more flexibility than single-layered access models by allowing user management beyond the Active Directory topology, providing offline policy management and enabling integrated provisioning and identity management.

"The Layered Security Architecture allowed me to delegate secure Windows account administration tasks to two help desk staff, reserving the higher-level staff for more technical and pressing needs," said Pierre. "This not only lowered staff costs but also increased security of the directory."

NetIQ Group Policy Administrator helps Good Samaritan Hospital comply with HIPAA regulations by enabling the set-up and management of Group Policy Objects (GPOs). With NetIQ Group Policy Administrator, the network administration team uses GPOs to easily manage individual access policies for clinical workstations and to protect confidential health information across eight organizational units. In addition, NetIQ Group Policy Administrator has provided the Good Samaritan Hospital with the secure management environment needed to safely extend use of GPOs from two at the time of deployment to more than 25 currently.

"User administration can be costly, but with delegation of tasks to less technical, lower-level help desk staff and even to the end users themselves, the costs can decrease," said Earl Perkins, vice president at the META Group, a leading provider of information technology research, advisory services and strategic consulting. "Tools on the market today help companies leverage their investments in Active Directory more fully as well as increase productivity and security."

About NetIQ

NetIQ Corporation (Nasdaq:NTIQ) is a leading provider of Systems & Security Management and Web Analytics solutions. Historically focused on the Windows management market, NetIQ now delivers cross-platform solutions that enhance business performance, resulting in higher returns on infrastructure and Web investments. NetIQ products are sold across all continents directly and through a network of authorized NetIQ partners and resellers. The company is headquartered in San Jose, Calif., with development and operational personnel in Houston, Texas; Portland, Ore; Raleigh, N.C.; Bellevue, Wash. and Galway, Ireland. For more information, please visit the company's web site at www.netiq.com or call 1-888-323-6768.

NetIQ, Group Policy Administrator, Directory Security Administrator, Directory and Resource Administrator are trademarks or registered trademarks of NetIQ Corporation in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

The information in this press release does not constitute, and should not be construed as, a promise or commitment by NetIQ to develop, market or deliver any particular product, feature or function. Promises or commitments to deliver any specific product, feature or function are only valid if made in a legally binding contract. The timing and content of NetIQ's future product releases could differ materially from the expectations discussed herein. NetIQ reserves the right to change its product plans or roadmap at any time, without obligation to notify any person of such changes.