AlterPoint Announces Availability of DeviceAuthority Version 4.0; Version 4.0 Delivers Enhanced, Enterprise-Class Compliance and Security Capabilities for Network Management.

AUSTIN, Texas -- AlterPoint(TM) Inc., the leading provider of intelligent network change and configuration management (NCCM) solutions, today announced general availability of Version 4.0 of its DeviceAuthority product. The new functionality in Version 4.0 significantly enhances the NCCM solution to meet the growing security and compliance issues faced by enterprises tasked with managing today's large business-critical network infrastructures.

"Our DeviceAuthority 4.0 enhancements were developed in direct response to enterprise customers' requests to address the growing concern for network security and compliance with regulations like Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA and NSA security guidelines," said Jeffrey Ait, AlterPoint president and CEO. "In order to meet the stringent internal and external security and compliance requirements, DeviceAuthority now provides the most powerful capabilities to meet and enforce mandates, such as separation of duties between auditors and administrators, tracking every user action along with 'reason codes' for complete accountability, and masking sensitive information down to the configuration element."

Most large companies have difficulty meeting the demands of security and compliance at the network level in a cost-effective manner. The effort to truly understand the details about every device installed, along with the different operating systems and change data, is a tremendous challenge. DeviceAuthority 4.0 eliminates the need for companies to tie-up their precious network engineering and operations personnel to do this tedious, but critical work.

AlterPoint's customers, in industries like financial, healthcare, government and technology, rely on some of the most complex networks in the world and they understand the impact that better network visibility and management has on their ability to reduce security threats, increase reporting capabilities, and meet auditing requirements. The expanded policy engine in version 4.0 enforces best practices and enables continuous compliance by making it easy to create rules for devices and groups, and then validating, in real time, every change made against the associated policies.

"When a policy violation or a vulnerability is detected, DeviceAuthority 4.0 not only initiates the appropriate escalation, but can also automatically remediate the problem, which is important for a closed loop system," continued Ait. "Our approach of delivering real-time visibility, efficient and safe automation, and policy-driven governance down to the network device configuration element -- whether the network has 500 devices or tens-of-thousands -- is a critical differentiator for us."

"Threats don't wait for change windows, and it may be necessary for an organization to respond quickly to an external threat, either by shielding vulnerable devices, modifying device configurations or upgrading device software," said Amrit T. Williams, director of research at analyst firm, Gartner Inc. "Organizations must have sophisticated, automated procedures in place to rapidly implement critical security upgrades and reconfigurations of networking devices that may need to occur outside of scheduled change control windows without relying on manual configuration that can result in human error and network downtime."

DeviceAuthority 4.0 provides immediate value to network engineering teams by giving them an accurate inventory of network assets in as little as one day. Although version 4.0 gives users an even more integrated, secure network management environment, it maintains all the functionality and ease of use of the earlier versions.

What's new in DeviceAuthority 4.0:

--Hardened application security. Customizable user permissions and roles-based access to increase control and decrease errors

--Expanded external security system integration (including integration with TACACS+, RADIUS, and CiscoSecure ACS)

--Granular activity logging for complete monitoring and reporting to ensure audit and compliance requirements are met and recorded

--Device lifecycle tracking for End-of-life/End-of-service to improve vulnerability assessment and vendor support contract renewal

--User action auditing for complete accountability

About DeviceAuthority

DeviceAuthority, the fastest growing and most widely adopted multi-vendor NCCM solution, delivers real-time visibility, automation and governance of complex IT infrastructures. DeviceAuthority allows IT staff to better assess the impact of changes across network devices (routers, LAN switches, WAN switches, load balancers, firewalls, wireless access points, VPN concentrators, UPS systems); more effectively fulfill compliance requirements; harden overall security; improve the analysis of network failures and performance problems; and optimize the planning for business change. DeviceAuthority scales to support the largest enterprise networks, integrating with the leading network and systems management technologies, and can manage thousands of changes per hour.

About AlterPoint Inc.

AlterPoint develops intelligent network change and configuration management (NCCM) solutions that have pioneered the evolution of network management. Companies worldwide rely on the intelligence and automation provided by AlterPoint's award-winning product, DeviceAuthority, to proactively manage configuration change, compliance and security across their multi-vendor network to maximize the performance and availability of their IT infrastructure. Founded in 2001, AlterPoint is headquartered in Austin, Texas, with offices in Europe and Asia. For more information, please visit www.alterpoint.com.

(C) 2001-2005 AlterPoint Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. AlterPoint, DeviceAuthority, and their respective logos are trademarks of AlterPoint Inc. in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.