14 DAY TRIAL // Citing the necessity to change the management technology of Forefront Endpoint Protection 2010, Microsoft has announced that it will delay the security solution until the second half of the coming year, pushing general availability back from the initially planned release set for H1 2010. The Redmond company confirmed the schedule modification as well as the strategy update for Forefront Endpoint Protection 2010 on October 9th, 2009. At the same time, the software giant assured customers that it planned to launch the remaining Forefront lineup of products on time by the end of 2009 and in the first half of 2010.
“We are delaying the release Forefront Endpoint Protection 2010 - anti-malware for Windows desktops and servers - until the second half of 2010,” noted a member of the Forefront team. “ Based on customer feedback and market trends, we have made the strategic decision to build Forefront Endpoint Protection (FEP) on System Center Configuration Manager, Microsoft’s solution to comprehensively assess, deploy, and update servers, clients, and devices. This approach better aligns our customers’ client management and security infrastructure, helping simplify deployment and reduce costs.”
While the component of the upcoming Forefront Protection Suite (previously codenamed “Stirling”) that was designed to deliver protection for Windows client and server machines was delayed, Microsoft is not going to leave customers to fend for themselves. Forefront Client Security (FCS) solution will continue to be available until Forefront Endpoint Protection 2010, offering support for both Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. Customers that will choose Forefront Client Security for Windows 7 environments will be able to leverage upgrade tools and guidance to Forefront Endpoint Protection 2010 in the second half of 2010.
“We are on track to release all other Forefront products on schedule, as part of our Business Ready Security strategy: Fourth quarter 2009: Forefront Protection 2010 for Exchange Server, Forefront Online Protection for Exchange, Forefront Threat Management Gateway 2010 and Forefront Unified Access Gateway 2010. First half 2010: Forefront Protection 2010 for SharePoint, Forefront Identity Manager 2010,” the Forefront team member added.