NetIQ Boosts Active Directory Identity Management

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 12/18/09

NetIQ, which sells system and security management products, will also be selling technology from Centrify to allow its customers to extend Active Directory-centric identity management in their environments. NetIQ has signed a licensing and marketing deal for Centrify's DirectControl and DirectAuthorize and will provide support and deployment services to buyers. The two companies will also work jointly on technical integration projects.

DirectControl turns a non-Microsoft system or hypervisor into an Active Directory client, enabling administrators to secure that system using the same authentication and Group Policy services currently deployed for their Windows systems. DirectAuthorize centrally manages and enforces role-based entitlements for granular control of user access and privileges on Unix and Linux systems and several hypervisors.

"Identity management products are flourishing despite economic challenges. A significant driver for the deployment of Active Directory bridge products--which integrate Unix systems with Microsoft Active Directory--is the cost reduction derived from simplifying the management of heterogeneous workstations and users," said Mark Diodati, senior identity and security analyst at Burton Group. "Organizations also get enhanced productivity by enabling administrators to leverage a single toolset to manage users and systems. Finally, users can benefit from sign-on reduction when accessing resources across both Unix and Windows platforms."

"Centrify is pleased to be partnering with NetIQ to extend our leading identity and access management technology to their product offerings," said Frank Cabri, vice president of marketing and alliances at Centrify. "Increasingly, IT organizations are moving away from tactical tools that address a single platform in favor of a centralized solution for controlling who has access to systems and what specific privileges they have. We believe that NetIQ customers will see tremendous benefit from an integrated offering that is comprehensive in its approach to these key security and compliance issues."

"Centrify's innovative technology will further empower our customers to leverage NetIQ's industry-leading solutions for Active Directory-based delegated administration, Group Policy, and password management solutions as well as extend those capabilities to more securely and efficiently manage multi-platform IT environments," said Ron Hardy, NetIQ's vice president of product management.