Novell Sets Up One-Stop Security Software Shop

Looking to grab a larger piece of the rapidly expanding authentication and authorization market, Novell Inc. this week rolled out its new security suite, SecureAccess.

The new suite is meant to be a one-stop shop for security software and comprises six Novell products: eDirectory, NDS Authentication Services, iChain, Novell Modular Authentication Services, SecureLogin and BorderManager.

The idea, Novell officials say, is to help IT managers reduce the number and complexity of accounts they must manage for each user.

SecureAccess is built on eDirectory and is clearly meant for use on the companys NetWare platform, but will run equally well in Windows and Unix environments, officials said.

“Were not saying it has to be all Novell or nothing,” said Gabriel Waters, product manager for access and security solutions at Novell in Provo, Utah. “But the reality is that trying to get a lot of third-party stuff to work together takes time and money.”

With this introduction, Novell is moving squarely into the lucrative and increasingly crowded authentication and authorization sector of the security market.

There are dozens of players, both large and small, in this market, but Novell officials say theirs is the only suite that covers all of the various bases, such as Web authentication, secure access to applications and secure access to platforms. And, officials say, many security problems arise in the communications between disparate software products.

By using an integrated solution, users can avoid many of these problems.

“Security is built into our products, not built on,” Waters said. “Its a fundamental part of our products.”

SecureAccess is available immediately, and pricing starts at $159 per user.