Patching both Microsoft, non-Microsoft programs from within SCCM now a reality

Issued by Global Research Partners for SecureData

Johannesburg, 13 Jul 2010

SecureData Security, part of JSE-listed SecureData Holdings and the sub-Saharan distributor for Shavlik Technologies, the market leader in simplifying and automating critical-to-perform and manage IT operations, today announced the latter's Systems Center Updates Publisher (SCUP).

SCUP is a standalone tool that feeds patch detection and deployment information into Microsoft's System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM), allowing anyone to create and modify patch metadata and publish that data to a configured update server.

Shavlik SCUPdates is a data catalogue that contains the detection logic that Shavlik uses in NetChk Protect to patch Microsoft and non-Microsoft products. This allows SCCM to patch the most attacked products such as Adobe Reader, Adobe Flash, Apple QuickTime, Apple iTunes, Skype, VMware Server, VMware Workstation and Mozilla Firefox.

“SCCM does a great job of distributing software and deploying updates for the latest Microsoft operating systems,” commented Doros Hadjizenonos, Product Manager at SecureData for Shavlik products. “However, patching non-Microsoft programs is a major business pain. With SCUPdates, you now can patch Microsoft and non-Microsoft programs from within SCCM, thus fully maximising your investment in SCCM.”

“Many skilled IT pros can create and publish patch metadata, but it is extremely difficult and very time-consuming to create the detection logic that eliminates false positives,” continued Hadjizenonos. “Shavlik SCUPdates lifts this time-consuming burden off the backs of administrators and puts it into the expert hands of the Shavlik Data Team, which is the recognised industry expert when it comes to accurate patch detection and management.”

“In addition, it's very simple to utilise SCUPdates,” concluded Hadjizenonos. “SCUPdates just needs to be downloaded; the SCUPdates catalogue needs to be imported into SCCM SCUP and synchronised to a configured updates server; and then SCCM needs to select the products that are required to be detected and patched. Without question, it's one of the most useful utilities I have ever come across.”

For further information, please contact Doros Hadjizenonos at tel. +27 11 790 2500; fax +27 11 790 2599; e-mail dorosh@securedata.co.za.

Shavlik Technologies

Shavlik Technologies is the market leader for simplifying and automating critical-to-perform and manage IT operations, including patch management, antivirus + antispyware, configuration management, asset management, and policy and compliance auditing. Shavlik's innovative approach to simplifying and automating enterprise wide system management frees up IT staff for initiatives that grow your business without sacrificing the visibility and control needed to ensure system availability and security.

With thousands of customers worldwide, Shavlik is trusted to provide solutions that can be relied upon to identify gaps and automatically and reliably fix systems that are missing patches or don't conform with the corporate-defined configuration baseline.

SecureData

SecureData is a specialist, value-added distributor of perimeter, application, network, endpoint, storage and identity information security solutions and risk management solutions for the African sub-continent and Indian Ocean islands. A cross-section of the available solutions from SecureData illustrates wide coverage of the following information security and risk management domains: business continuity, security appliances and devices, hardware authentication, identity and access management, security and vulnerability management, secure content management, threat management and security services.

SecureData's information security and risk management solutions include best-of-breed solutions, devices and appliances for the perimeter, data centres, applications, network, endpoints, messaging and Web. In addition, as a value-add to vendor, channel and customer, SecureData also provides a full complement of support, pre-sales and professional services around the solutions positioned in each discrete security vertical.

For more information, visit SecureData at www.securedata.co.za.

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