ORLANDO, Fla. -- Qualys®, Inc., the leading provider of on demand vulnerability management and policy compliance, today launched the QualysGuard PCI On Demand platform. Built on Qualys’ well known, highly accurate and non-intrusive on demand scanning technology, QualysGuard PCI offers consulting organizations and companies the most effective way to achieve PCI certification.

QualysGuard PCI streamlines and simplifies PCI compliance by providing an easy-to-use, on demand compliance dashboard that leads organizations through each major step in the certification process. The application also allows acquiring financial institutions to track the compliance status of merchants and other partners. In a related announcement, the company today also announced the PCI On Demand Partner Program (see: www.qualys.com/company/newsroom/newsreleases/usa/?view=20061105) which will enable security consulting organizations and Managed Security Service Providers (MSSP) to build their own PCI-related applications and services on top of the QualysGuard On Demand platform.

Tribune Company is using the QualysGuard PCI On Demand platform in order to comply with the PCI standard. The organization works directly with CynergisTek, a leading security services organization and Qualys certified partner, to oversee its PCI risk management process and to remain compliant with emerging PCI guidelines.

"With Tribune's distributed organizational structure and heterogeneous environment, we needed a rapid and economical way to scan for and eliminate server vulnerabilities," said Dr. Joshua Seeger, CIO of Tribune Broadcasting, a division of Tribune Company. "The QualysGuard PCI On Demand platform and the services of CynergisTek are helping us to verify the PCI compliance of our IT infrastructure."

“Qualys has extended its on demand vulnerability management platform to specifically address the PCI certification challenges facing merchants, acquiring banks and service organizations,” said Philippe Courtot, CEO and chairman of Qualys. “Bringing the QualysGuard on demand model to PCI reduces the cost and complexity of achieving and maintaining certification for merchants and services partners. With PCI On Demand, we are building ecosystems of partners to deliver PCI services cost-effectively and efficiently to our global customers.”

Qualys Inc.