Avatier Corporation Announces Trusted Enterprise Manager 5.0 for Complete Enterprise Administration in Mixed Microsoft Environments.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

Microsoft Exchange Conference

ANAHEIM, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 8, 2002

Latest Version Automates Migration from Windows NT4 to Active Directory, Simplifies User Management and Extends Enterprise Auditing

Avatier Corporation, a leading provider of award-winning enterprise administration, security and productivity applications for Global 2000 companies, announced today Trusted Enterprise Manager (TEM) version 5.0 with new features that reduce the overall administrative costs associated with managing a complex mixed-mode Microsoft Windows environment, expedite the migration process from Windows NT Server 4.0 to Active Directory, and simplify and extend user management. In use by more than 200 organizations with over 1 million users, TEM enables enterprises to extend Windows NT Server 4.0, Windows 2000 Server, and eventually Windows .NET Server 2003, management and security by improving user management and task automation, simplifying role-based delegation and enabling real-time auditing. Avatier is exhibiting TEM 5.0, Password Station.Net(TM) 3.0 (see separate announcement released today) and Password Bouncer Deluxe(TM) at Microsoft Corp.'s MEC 2002 Conference in Anaheim, Calif., October 8-11, Booth #661.

"Avatier's Trusted Enterprise Manager provides a solution for today's corporate customers who are migrating to Active Directory in an effort to make information location and management easier for administrators and users," said Jackson Shaw, product manager for Active Directory at Microsoft. "Microsoft is happy to see Avatier release version 5.0 of Trusted Enterprise Manager."

SearchWin2000.com recently awarded Avatier customer Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center the Microsoft Decision Conference's Innovator Award for their successful implementation of TEM.

Mixed-mode Support

According to International Data Corporation's June 2002 white paper, "Managing Large Scale Active Directory Deployments," over 95% of organizations surveyed were either planning or executing a migration from Windows NT Server 4.0 to Windows 2000 Server. However, only 9% had completed their migration, leaving 86% of organizations working with a complex hybrid Windows environment. TEM 5.0 simplifies the management and migration of mixed-mode environments by mimicking Active Directory and creating a shadow environment that allows administrators to perform Windows 2000 Server functions in Windows NT Server 4.0 and Exchange Server 5.5.

"Active Directory is gaining a tremendous amount of momentum in the marketplace," said Nelson Cicchitto, president and CEO of Avatier Corporation. "As more organizations begin to execute their migration plans, they are finding a need to streamline what can be a labor intensive process with potential security risks. TEM 5.0 enables companies to quickly and easily move towards an Active Directory environment while maintaining maximum security, flexibility, and manageability throughout the migration path."

Drag-and-Drop Migration

TEM 5.0's new Drag-and-Drop Migration feature further improves the speed and efficiency of migration by enabling administrators to move thousands of users from Windows NT Server 4.0 to Windows 2000 Server and eventually to Windows .NET Server 2003 through the creation of a single set of templates. Drag-and-Drop Migration saves administrator time and increases employee and overall system availability. Leveraging unique template functionality, TEM 5.0 eliminates the need for complex "wizard-based" migration packages, increasing flexibility and allowing administrators to choose the level of automation, prompting and notification appropriate to their environment.

Ease of Management

TEM 5.0 increases administrator productivity by creating a common management interface for all users, groups, computers and services. Inherently difficult or time-consuming administrative tasks, such as new user creation are automated in Windows 2000 Server, Windows NT4 Server, Exchange and Windows Terminal Server environments. Also, TEM's One Touch Administration(TM), comprehensive task automation, delegation, and Admin-by-Report(TM) capabilities allows administrators to manage users, computers and services without having to navigate through the Activity Directory hierarchy. TEM 5.0's new WildCard Delegation enables organizations to simplify their architecture without sacrificing security by delegating administration across sites, organization units and groups based on any user property.

Enhanced Security

TEM 5.0 maintains the integrity of an organization's security model and provides accountable network administration through comprehensive monitoring, reporting and auditing of delegated rights assignments and modifications made to users, computers or groups. With a simple "right-click," the Real-Time Context Sensitive Auditing allows administrators to receive or view comprehensive audit logs on individual users or objects including who made the change, when it was made and what, if any, effect it had on any specific user groups or departments. The updated auditing feature improves the efficiency and effectiveness of an organization's intrusion detection by offering a single console from which administrators can view critical changes made to any security principal in their Windows NT Server 4.0 or Active Directory environment. TEM 5.0 also tracks employee password and last logon properties to identify and resolve potential security risks and allows the creation of sub-administrators for specific tasks, thereby limiting the number of required domain administrators.

Pricing and Availability

TEM 5.0 is available immediately, and is priced on a managed user basis. Current TEM implementations range from 5,000 to over 100,000 managed users. Enterprise pricing is available on request.

About Avatier

Avatier Corporation, with headquarters in San Ramon, Calif., provides software solutions that dramatically improve employee productivity by securing, simplifying and automating the management of distributed Microsoft environments and other connected platforms. Avatier's products, Trusted Enterprise Manager (TEM), Password Bouncer and Password Station.NET, allow large distributed enterprises like NASA, Delta Airlines, Pitney Bowes, Rockwell and the U.S. Armed Forces to decrease internal security exposures, increase the quality of their IT service levels, and lower their total cost of ownership of network technology. Recent awards include Windows & .NET Magazine's Reader's Choice Award for the Year 2000 and SearchWin2000.com's award for innovation. For more information on the company and its products visit Avatier online at www.avatier.com or call or email at 800-609-8610, [e-mail].

Avatier Corporation is a registered trademark of Avatier Corporation. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are owned by their respective holders.