Software giant says it's aligning security management with systems and application management

Microsoft won't release its planned Forefront Protection Manager (FPM) security management product after all, the company blogged last night.

"Instead, multi-server management for Forefront Protection 2010 for Exchange Server (FPE) and Forefront Protection 2010 for SharePoint (FPSP) will be delivered through a streamlined solution for messaging and collaboration workloads, both on-premises and in the cloud. We will share additional details on this solution in the future," the blog post said.

A Microsoft spokesperson says the blog post is all the company will be saying about the move at this time.

"They appear to be folding enterprise security into systems and application management, which is likely where it has always belonged. Yet one more layer for security was likely creating problems because of the additional complexity," says Rob Enderle, principal analyst with the Enderle Group.

Enderle believes the move is more of a product alignment issue.

Microsoft said in its post that it's aligning security management with systems and application management. In the meantime, Microsoft said it will release in the second half of this year a Service Pack for Forefront Server Security Management Console and a Forefront Server Security Script Kit for configuring and reporting on multiple deployments within an enterprise of FPE and FPSP.

The company says its strategy entails incorporating risk management across protection, access, and identity, and simplifying security management "by building on application workloads and providing a consistent management experience across physical, virtual, and cloud environments."

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About the Author(s)

Kelly Jackson Higgins, Editor-in-Chief, Dark Reading

Kelly Jackson Higgins is the Editor-in-Chief of Dark Reading. She is an award-winning veteran technology and business journalist with more than two decades of experience in reporting and editing for various publications, including Network Computing, Secure Enterprise Magazine, Virginia Business magazine, and other major media properties. Jackson Higgins was recently selected as one of the Top 10 Cybersecurity Journalists in the US, and named as one of Folio's 2019 Top Women in Media. She began her career as a sports writer in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, and earned her BA at William & Mary. Follow her on Twitter @kjhiggins.

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