Microsoft to Throw $50 Million at Forefront

Microsoft announced that it is prepared to throw no less than $50 million at the forefront line of security products in order to attempt and exit the shadow of household names such as Symantec, McAfee and Sophos. Microsoft is the underdog of the current business security market, after the debut of the Forefront security solutions designed for integration into client, server, and network scenarios. But the Redmond company will not only spend money to boost Forefront. In addition to the new investments, Microsoft is also building a comprehensive partner environment to support its products.

"Microsoft is also investing an additional US$50M in sales, marketing, training and other support for its security business. Partners throughout the security industry have been quick to recognize the opportunities inherent with selling Forefront. Many of our partners are deeply involved in providing security assessments and architectural guidance and are already leveraging the infrastructure optimization model to deliver more secure and well managed infrastructure solutions based on Forefront and System Center," stated Mark Hassall, Microsoft Security & Access Partner Marketing Director.

Microsoft has one advantage over its rivals on the business security market. The Forefront products the company is delivering will integrate seamlessly with the existing Microsoft infrastructure. No less than 10 security products were made available under the Forefront brand. Still, Microsoft's first steps into the market were regarded with skepticism and even downplayed. The Redmond company however, knows its place and is willing to work its way up to the level of its competitors. Hassall also applauded what he referred to as a strong line-up of offerings together with a similar roadmap, based on the company's extensive vision and strategy for the security market.

"Last month, we announced our next generation Forefront security solution codenamed "Stirling" - a unified product that provides comprehensive, integrated protection from the desktop, to servers, to the network edge, all managed from a single console. "Stirling" will include the next-generation versions of Forefront Client Security, Server Security and Edge Security and Access solutions, plus a unified management console. With one management console, "Stirling" enables IT managers to centrally set policy, configure, deploy and manage security within their IT environment. With "Stirling," taking control of securing and managing an organization's IT infrastructure becomes easier and more cost-effective," Hassall added.