Oblix hones Web functions of security software

[InfoSec News <isn () C4I ORG>]

http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-2315028.html?tag=st.ne.1002.thed.ni

By Stephen Shankland
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
July 21, 2000, 4:50 p.m. PT

Security software start-up Oblix will unveil improved software Monday
for letting large corporations control access to Web sites, files and
other computing resources.

The new software, called NetPoint, is designed to ease security and
authorization headaches for large companies that must worry about many
users tapping into corporate networks. While Oblix sells similar
software now, NetPoint is designed to be used chiefly within corporate
networks, while the new version is designed to govern the access of
outside users as well, said Shelley Wilson, vice president of
marketing.

Oblix, a 150-person firm in Cupertino, Calif., is run by chief
executive Gordon Eubanks, former CEO of antivirus and security
software company Symantec. It competes with companies such as
Encommerce or Netegrity, though Oblix argues that its product set is
more complete.

The company's main audience is corporations setting up
business-to-business operations, though Wall Street's enthusiasm for
the "B2B" buzzword has diminished. Oblix, however, is taking a
traditional approach to making money by selling boxed software.

The company will charge $50 per user of the software, with prices
discounted for larger-volume users, or negotiate a fee for a site
license allowing unlimited users, said Nand Mulchandani, co-founder
and vice president of product marketing.

NetPoint comes with features that allow companies to manage the
identities and permissions of various users or groups of users, to
delegate such management to others, and to authenticate users as they
log in and keep a record of what they do, the company said.

Oblix's software relies on the comparatively new "directory" software
that's becoming more widely available. Directory software keeps track
of details of a multitude of computer users such as what sorts of
computers they have or what servers they have permission to access.

Oblix software is most commonly used with directory software from
iPlanet, the software sales arm of Sun Microsystems and AOL that sells
Sun and Netscape software, Mulchandani said. The company also supports
directory services from Microsoft and Novell. Netpoint runs on Sun
Solaris, Windows NT and Windows 2000.

Among Oblix's 50 current customers are Ford Motor Company, Charles
Schwab, Kinko's and Worldcom.

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