Early Feedback from Enterprise Beta Test Program for RSA SecurID® for Microsoft® Windows®

The strategic partnership between Microsoft Corp. and RSA Security is about to bring new security solutions in the form of RSA Security’s well established products to Microsoft’s massive customer base. It’s worth remembering that this will be a significant development when protection is paramount to the software giant’s customers.

The Beta Test Program, which ran from June 2 to July 8, 2004, was initiated as an opportunity for some customers and integrators to provide us with feedback, and to influence product direction for the RSA SecurID® for Microsoft® Windows® solution. This pre-release version has allowed participants to test the integration of strong two-factor authentication with an improved login experience to Microsoft Windows enterprise environments.

The Integrator viewpoint
"The potential for the RSA SecurID for Microsoft Windows solution represents a tremendous and untapped market for Vector," said Dean Maire, vice president of business alliance at Vector ESP. "The ability to bring the industry's leading two-factor authentication solution together with Microsoft Windows enterprise customers is an exciting opportunity and we look forward to help bring it to market."

Gion-Clau Camenisch, Managing Director of ComProSec, Switzerland says, "We have worked closely with RSA Security since the beginning on Real Estate Integration Software (REIS) for one of our customers. Security and convenience are both fundamental attributes of the system, so we’ve been very happy to take part in the Beta program, as RSA Security capabilities contribute a great deal to the value proposition that REIS offers. In fact, REIS has worked so well that it has become the backbone for our customer’s organization and they have commercialised it for the European market. As most of the employees in the real estate sector are Microsoft Windows users, it is a huge advantage for us to be able to offer such a large market the benefits of RSA SecurID ® two-factor authentication and it will certainly help to drive sales."

The Customer viewpoint
The RSA SecurID authentication solution has long played a role in ensuring remote access for employees to their company networks and now the same strong level of security is available on the desktop for the world’s estimated 285 million Microsoft Windows® users. Below are a few words on what the expanded access means for some RSA SecurID solution customers. Like many new prospects, they’re looking for a solution to the risks inherent in using passwords; now, however, they’re also discovering the added value that the strategic partnership with Microsoft will mean for them in terms of a significantly expanded market.

"We recognize that password-only security may not be adequate for protecting all of our Microsoft Windows® operating system based workstations and network," said JD Rogers, IT Security Lead, Cinergy Corp., a leading diversified energy company, based in Cincinnati, Ohio. "We are thrilled to see RSA Security and Microsoft working together now. Cinergy Corp. is pleased to be a participant in the RSA SecurID for Microsoft Windows beta program and we believe that this product will become an important part of our enterprise security strategy."

Don Richmond, Manager, Information Security at Raymond James Financial looks forward to the benefits that RSA SecurID authentication solution will bring for him: "It is not unusual for a single employee to require access to the network locally, wirelessly and across the Internet using a VPN. And, he or she also needs to log on to the desktop when working offline. Each of these access methods requires a different password that needs to be changed on a regular basis according to our security policy. These multiple, continually changing passwords frustrate end users. Using RSA SecurID technology, we’re finding that these headaches go away. Users only need to remember their PIN – and password resets are a thing of the past."

Currently, ChevronTexaco has 25,000 RSA SecurID authentication users for remote access to the company’s network in San Ramon, California. "The company plans to upgrade from an earlier edition of RSA ACE/Server® software to version 6.0 in order to provide RSA SecurID tokens to 70,000 users for remote access and internal desktop access," said Edmund Yee, security manager, ChevronTexaco. "We want to get rid of simple passwords completely. Reusable passwords not only present higher risk because they might be shared or stolen, they also add management cost. We have 3,000 to 4,000 password resets every month and these can reach $20 per help desk call. That’s going to be a new and significant saving."

The Reader viewpoint
On 24 May 2004 the RSA SecurID for Microsoft Windows solution was awarded a 2004 Readers Choice Award by Windows® Server System Magazine in the user authentication category.

Early Access Program
An early access program is being made available to around 150 participants who have been nominated from 120 organizations. The objective of the program is to accelerate marketing and sales of RSA SecurID for Microsoft Windows by allowing early identification of the key partners, customers and reviewers and select Microsoft technical sales persons. Their feedback will be used to ensure that we provide the most effective forms of Channel support to help you take advantage of this new market opportunity. This program will run from late August to mid-September.