Weston Software, Inc. Offers Agentless Replacement for Likewise

Online, July 5, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Weston Software, Inc. today announced an agentless migration alternative for Likewise Enterprise customers. Likewise, which had offered agent-based Active Directory bridge products, announced on June 30 that it was exiting that market and had sold its technology. Customers facing the resource-intensive process of removing one set of agents and installing another now have a practical alternative. For a limited time, Weston Software, Inc. will offer PowerOne™ to Likewise Enterprise customers for half of their current maintenance bill.

IT managers are rightly concerned about the potential for inappropriate use of administrative privileges. Multiple consoles and installed agents amplify that risk. Weston Software, Inc. integrates all user permissions into Active Directory, for consolidated audit, authentication, authorization, and enterprise-wide reporting. PowerOne™ delivers consistent, multi-platform authentication, authorization, access control, and privileged ID management. PowerOne™ provides local account and group management, Active Directory account and group management, single sign-on, and secure data transfer, using the standards-based SSH protocol. PowerOne™ extends the Microsoft Management Console - agentlessly - to Macintosh, Linux, UNIX, and hypervisors in the data center; on local, remote, and mobile devices; and in the public, private, and hybrid cloud.

"I am delighted that Weston Software, Inc. can extend this offer to agent-based users," said Hank Voight, Founder and CTO of Weston Software, Inc. "The cost of migrating from one agent-based platform to another is daunting. Until the recent introduction of Weston Software's PowerOne™, agent-based Active Directory bridge solutions were the only way to consolidate management across different operating systems. During my days at Microsoft, I envisioned an agentless approach. With the advent of SSH-based remote management and enterprises exploring the adoption of next generation cloud based infrastructure, I realized that the only viable, scalable management solution would have to be agentless. That's why I founded Weston Software, Inc. Agents, even free agents, take time to install and are no longer needed. All modern-day operating systems support native Active Directory integration. Our products have been designed to follow Microsoft and non-Microsoft vendors' and community's best practices for system management."

Organizations facing uncertainty about their existing vendor solution should consider the cost of migration, not just the price of acquiring a replacement technology. Even a "free" agent-based offering will consume considerable resources to deploy. It takes four hours, on average, to install test and configure an agent: The platform must be removed from production, upgraded to the proper patch level, modified with the agent, re-certified for production operation, and re-installed into the production environment. The organization will spend, on average, one person-year migrating 500 machines, assuming all goes smoothly. PowerOne™ deploys to 500 machines in a few minutes, because it is a simple MMC snap-in. One thousand machines would take a few minutes more. PowerOne™ requires no special training, because it uses the familiar Windows console to manage Macintosh, Linux, UNIX, and hypervisors just like the Windows administrator who manages Active Directory accounts today. Logon is fast and efficient, because PowerOne™ does not maintain separate, parallel directories, or caches that can get out of sync. And PowerOne™ can securely traverse organizational boundaries, any DMZ, and reach true public and hybrid cloud environments without requiring an agent pre-vetted by the cloud provider.

Organizations currently paying maintenance for their Likewise Enterprise installation should contact Weston Software, Inc. for details of the upgrade offering. Weston Software, Inc. will replace Likewise Enterprise for half of the organization's current maintenance price. This program will expire on December 31, 2011. Proof of purchase of Likewise Enterprise may be required.

For more information on Weston Software, Inc. and PowerOne™, please visit http://www.westonsoftwareinc.com or contact Weston Software, Inc. via [email protected] or phone at +1 (203) 292-8440, option 1.