Configuresoft's Enterprise Configuration Manager Receives Network World's "Clear Choice" Distinction

Market Wire, November, 2004

Configuresoft, the industry leader in policy compliance and configuration management technology, today announced that Configuresoft's flagship product Enterprise Configuration Manager (ECM) received Network World's "Clear Choice" designation. In the November 1, 2004 review titled, "Configuresoft Succeeds at System Compliance Management," Reviews Editor Mandy Andress emphasized that ECM is "one of the best Windows-centric programs we've tested." Andress reports that ECM's simple installation, auto compliance functionality, out-of-the-box templates and customizable reporting provides enterprises with the features necessary to deploy a secure, self-sustaining Windows infrastructure.

"Defining, monitoring and enforcing Windows system configuration has become the collective oil that helps keep installation, maintenance and support processes running smoothly -- not to mention what it does to ease your Sarbanes-Oxley headache," wrote Andress. "Its well-designed architecture, intuitive Web console and flexible rule and policy creation helped ECM earn this high distinction."

ECM collects detailed configuration data from servers and workstations on the network and stores that information in a centralized SQL database for immediate access, analysis and reporting. These powerful capabilities enable IT organizations to optimize their operational expectations, while ensuring security compliance with regulatory mandates such as HIPAA and Sarbanes-Oxley.

"Receiving Network World's 'Clear Choice' designation is further evidence of our product's outstanding capabilities and performance," said Randy Streu, vice president of Product Management at Configuresoft. "ECM allows an enterprise to secure the machines on their network by deploying best practice security policy and ensure they are in compliance with important government regulations. These are two essential functions an enterprise needs to secure their sensitive information and be prepared to face an audit."

Andress reports one of the most impressive capabilities of ECM is its auto compliance functionality. System administrators have the ability to set a standard configuration requirement that all machines must follow. If a machine does not meet these requirements, ECM enforces the compliant settings leaving a full audit trail. ECM includes pre-defined best practice configuration settings for operating systems and key infrastructure applications.

The Review also praised ECM's user interface and reporting capabilities. By providing an enterprise view of the detailed configurations, ECM's interface helps users manage the information with its exceptional layout, icons and workflow. ECM's reporting capabilities are also user-friendly and an asset to configuration management. The customizable reports provide detail across the enterprise, alerting system managers to the specific setting out of compliance. Reports can also be created that represent the steps taken to enforce policy settings.

About Enterprise Configuration Manager and its Suite of Products

Configuresoft's suite of products offers solutions for configuration management, configuration compliance, patch management, extended configuration and compliance support for mobile laptops, and extended configuration and compliance support for SMS clients and SUS clients. Configuresoft's flagship product, ECM, automates the management of configuration settings for Windows-based servers and clients, and enforces security and IT standards. ECM enables companies and government agencies to prevent security vulnerabilities, minimize downtime, reduce help desk calls and enhance system performance. Going beyond patch management, ECM enforces security policies without human intervention by automatically resetting configurations to their pre-defined standard when they are inadvertently changed. These capabilities help organizations retain their systems' proper configuration, while ensuring IT security compliance with regulatory requirements such as FISMA, Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA and GLBA.

About Configuresoft

Configuresoft is the industry leader in highly scalable, enterprise configuration management, policy compliance and security patch management technology, serving nine of the "Global 25" corporations. Based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the Company's products offer large-scale computing environments the ability to collect and analyze the most detailed information available about system application settings, events and operational trends, to a centralized point of management and control. As the only configuration management company to offer both system- and device-level, "end-to-end" controls, Configuresoft provides the tools to keep mission-critical systems properly configured, while ensuring compliance with stringent regulatory mandates, such as Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA, GLBA and FISMA, operational standards and evolving process methodologies. To contact Configuresoft, call 719.447.4600, visit us on the Web at www.configuresoft.com or write to info@configuresoft.com.