14 DAY TRIAL // As it is the case with all major Microsoft products, the first step to the next-generation Forefront Server security solutions starts with planning. According to Andrew Schiano, software development engineer in the Test Forefront Protection Suite, the Redmond company has already started looking at the future of its Forefront Server Protection solutions. In this regard, the software giant is asking existing customers running Forefront products to help shape the next-gen product lineup.
Microsoft has set up an online survey designed to allow customers to easily provide feedback. A variety of questions spanning multiple topics will allow customers to put in their two cents when it comes to the direction in which the company will take Forefront solutions. Fact is that companies relying on a range of Microsoft communication technologies and protecting them with Forefront need to submit their input, especially if they want Forefront Server Protection vNext to evolve in a direction that will ultimately benefit them.
“The Forefront Server Protection team is currently planning our next release, and we are interested in hearing your feedback. We would like to learn what protection capabilities you are interested in, and what products you would like to protect. For example, are you interested in data leakage protection for Exchange? Are you interested in Forefront for SQL Server? Please take 5-10 minutes to answer the survey questions. This type of feedback directly impacts product decisions and we would appreciate your valuable input,” Schiano stated.
The questions in the survey are related to various products including: Forefront Security for Exchange Server, Microsoft SharePoint Server Protection, Office Communications Server (OCS) Protection, Microsoft SQL Server Protection, Microsoft Project Server Protection, and Microsoft Dynamic CRM Protection. One of the topics covered is the importance of securing data in Windows Azure applications. But, in addition to Windows Azure Protection, Microsoft is also interested in the customers’ perspective on protecting Windows Server 2008 R2 File Classification Infrastructure (FCI), Web Applications, Line of Business Applications, and against data leakage.