Centrify in the News

Centrify announced that Société Générale Corporate & Investment Banking (SG CIB) has selected Centrify DirectControl for a pilot deployment to optimize the efficiency and manageability of its UNIX- and Linux-based computing systems.

A number of Enterprise focused Mac companies have joined forces to form the Enterprise Desktop Alliance (EDA), a new group whose goal it is to facilitate the acceptance of Macs in a Windows dominated Enterprise world. The founding members of the group include Atempo, Centrify, Group Logic, LANrev and Parallels. Together the companies believe they can show organizations how to integrate Macs into their Windows-based environment, while reducing the total cost of ownership.

A consortium of five companies has announced the creation of the Enterprise Desktop Alliance (EDA) to promote the deployment of Macs in the enterprise. The five founding companies -- Centrify, LANrev, Atempo, GroupLogic, and Parallels -- are all focused on integrating the Mac operating system and infrastructure with Windows and PC-based network infrastructure for enterprise-level companies.

Five vendors that build Macintosh and Windows integration products want to change IT's notion that Macs are tough to manage in the Windows enterprise. The companies, which are Atempo Inc., Centrify Corp., Group Logic Inc., LANrev Inc., and Parallels Inc., have formed the Enterprise Desktop Alliance. The group targets Windows IT professionals who believe that Apple Macs are great for creative departments but are trouble to manage with the general population of Windows desktops.

Today, five providers of Mac-and-Windows integration software announced the formation of the Enterprise Desktop Alliance (EDA), an organization to promote and support Macs in enterprise environments. EDA plans to do market education, seminars, and webcasts, as well as work to make their product lines work better together. EDA's five founding members are Parallels (virtualization), Group Logic (file/printer services), Centrify (Active Directory integration), LANrev (remote client management), and Atempo (enterprise backup that can backup to an Apple XSan).

Its one thing for a vendor to self-proclaim that they are the clear leader in a given market, it's another for a respected outside (i.e. independent) analyst firm to analyze a given market in a great amount of detail, interview all the key players, and then based on the facts articulate who really is the leader. That's why we are quite proud to have read in recent reports that the respected independent analyst firm The 451 Group has said that Centrify has "a lead in the market" and is "ahead in terms of market penetration in this pure-play category" of consolidating identity management around Active Directory.

Is the Mac ready for the enterprise? More specifically, would it make sense for a Windows shop to consider moving to the Apple platform? In my opinion, you should consider three factors: training costs, hardware costs, and integration with servers. Here is where Centrify and other GP-related products come to the rescue. You can control Mac through Group Policy. No, not quite like you can on an XP or Vista box –– but enough to say the Mac is ready for the enterprise.

Microsoft's participation in the Kerberos Consortium "shows Microsoft's continued and growing desire as of late to work with the open-source community and industry consortiums around interoperability," wrote Tom Kemp, CEO of Centrify, on his blog. Centrify, a Microsoft partner, makes software called DirectControl that lets servers, workstations and devices from other vendors use Active Directory, which is Microsoft's authentication and provisioning technology. Authentication is accomplished using Kerberos, Kemp wrote. Despite embroiling itself in controversy, Microsoft's involvement with Kerberos has also made use of the protocol more widespread, Kemp wrote. "As we all know there are many out there that like to beat up Microsoft regarding security, but it is ironic that Microsoft by default delivers the added security of Kerberos as part and parcel of the Windows platform," Kemp wrote.

What is Centrify? Well, only the coolest companies to come along in years! They wisely saw a need... a hole in the industry... several holes to be exact... and started filling them. ... The concept is simple. Macs can be controlled mildly through an Apple Server. But people already have an Active Directory domain using Group Policy and most admins have little to no experience using an Apple Server so how can you get a Mac into the enterprise if you cannot control it like a Windows XP or Vista machine through Group Policy? The Answer? ... find another software solution that will make the connection. What's great is you control everything from your Windows Server through Group Policy. The software plugs right in and makes it so that you can easily control Mac systems for the more important settings.

Identify. Simplify. Centrify. That's Centrify's tagline and it says it all. Founded in 2004, Centrify's business is to make Microsoft Active Directory work with non-Microsoft platforms. Today, it is a leading provider of auditing, access control, and identity management solutions that centrally secure an organization's cross-platform environment using Microsoft Active Directory. It boasts more than 300 customers, including 30 percent of the Fortune 50, over 40 resellers worldwide, and $36 million in venture funding from investors including the Mayfield Fund, Accel Partners, Sigma Partners, and INVESCO Private Capital.

"It's time for technology companies to focus on innovation and growth now," says Rake Narang, Editor-n-Chief of Network Products Guide. "Product innovation and customer trust are key to trouncing global economy uncertainties in 2008. We are pleased to honor Centrify DirectControl 4 as winner for 2008 and all the finalists who participated."

eB2Bcom CEO, Bob White, said it had already installed the Centrify product to great effect at a University in Singapore and that the products fitted the company's focus on identity management solutions. eB2Bcom will market to Microsoft resellers and target systems integrators, and approach government customers directly. 'Regulations in the [Asia-Pacific] region are changing by osmosis to be compatible with the regulations in America and Europe,' White said.

Heterogeneous environments are a fact of life in enterprise IT, and Gold winner Centrify Corp.'s DirectControl 4 makes it drop-dead simple to incorporate Linux, Unix, Mac, Web and database platforms into a pre-existing Microsoft's Active Directory (AD) schema, enabling Linux administrators to eliminate redundant identity management systems and standardize on a single enterprise-wide identity management platform.

"Once again we've read the tea leaves in preparation for the coming year," the editors wrote, "to attempt to foresee the companies and technologies that will be preeminent in 2008. … to make the list, a company had to be involved in the FOSS community (one way or another) and have a major impact on that community." Regarding Centrify they wrote: "Centrify DirectControl integrates non-Microsoft systems with Microsoft's Active Directory. … Companies that have spent the money to deploy Active Directory are likely to stick with it, so DirectControl provides the glue between the systems. … As Linux continues to infiltrate the enterprise, we expect to hear more about Centrify in the coming year."