Duo partners on application security.E-security Inc. has joined its security information management technology with application security hardware from Cisco Systems Inc.
The companies signed a deal that will integrate e-Securitys Sentinel software with Ciscos AON (Application-Oriented Networking) hardware. The combined product will feed application data collected by AON to Sentinel for incident management, problem remediation and reporting, according to Reed Harrison, founder and chief technology officer of e-Security.
Cisco is expanding from traditional networking gear to software and hardware that enhance the performance of software applications that run on networks. Last week, the company used its Worldwide Analyst Conference in San Jose, Calif., to unveil software called ANS (Application Networking Services). The ANS technology will improve the performance of critical applications, such as ERP (enterprise resource planning) and CRM (customer relationship management), Cisco officials said.
Under the deal between Cisco and e-Security, AON customers will be able to buy software from e-Security that can be deployed on AON 2600-, 2800-, 3700- and 3800-series gear. The software will create an integration point between Sentinel and AON, allowing application data collected by the AON devices, such as security events and compliance data, to be analyzed by the device that Sentinel is running on.
"We listen at the AON level, take the events, correlate them and create an incident if necessary," said Harrison in Vienna, Va.
Sentinel can then send instructions back to the AON device, which can be used to remediate or contain problems, he said.
The deal with e-Security will allow customers that already have deployed AON to add Sentinels event correlation and analysis features, as well as workflow and incident response and containment features, Harrison said.
Cisco and e-Security are focused on addressing compliance now, but the integration of the two products could be just as useful for vulnerability management and other functions, Harrison said.
AON is a big part of Ciscos strategy for the future. The e-Security deal sweetens the AON offering by adding technology to address regulatory compliance, a major pain point for enterprises, said John Pescatore, an analyst at Gartner Inc., in Stamford, Conn.
However, the promised benefits of integrating Sentinel with AON assume customers are using applications that are integrated with the AON platform. Today, those applications are few and far between, despite promises from Cisco to partner with IBM, SAP AG and others to develop AON solutions.
Software to integrate AON with Sentinel is available now from e-Security.
AON-osphere
Ciscos AON technology is a key element of the companys future plans. Heres an overview of AON:
* Versions Catalyst 6500 Series AON module (enterprise core and data centers), Cisco 2600-, 2800-, 3700- and 3800- series AON (branch offices)
* Features Application message routing: AON can act as a protocol gateway between different applications, as well as manage and transform XML traffic between applications
* Security AON can improve application security with message authentication, authorization and digital signing of application data
Application Development 
