Burton Group's Catalyst Conference to Showcase First Demonstration of SAML 1.0 Industry Standard.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 3, 2002

OASIS-Sponsored Demo Features Standards-Based

Interoperability Between Vendors' Diverse Security Solutions

Burton Schedules SAML 1.0 Telebriefing for June 12

Burton Group, a technology-industry pioneer of network research and consulting, will showcase the first public demonstration of standards-based interoperability among SAML 1.0-conformant security software products on July 15 at its annual Catalyst Conference.

Sponsored by the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS), the industry standards group that developed the proposed Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) standard for Web services security, the demonstration will feature products from several network security software vendors.

SAML 1.0 is a proposed OASIS standard for exchanging authentication and authorization information among disparate Web access management and security products.

SAML 1.0, which will soon come up for a vote by the full OASIS membership, addresses the need for secure single sign-on (SSO) across diverse Web access management environments implemented across various organizations, applications, Web sites and portals. The proposed standard defines standardized exchanges of identity and access management (IAM) information, leveraging such Web services standards as XML and SOAP.

"SAML is an important security interoperability initiative," said James Kobielus, senior analyst at Burton Group. "Most Web access solution vendors have committed resources to the emerging standard and are in the process of implementing SAML 1.0 in the next releases of their products. OASIS' SAML interoperability demonstration will prove the standard's viability in practice."

"This interoperability demonstration is a milestone in the development and recognition of the SAML 1.0 specification as an open standard," said Prateek Mishra, director of technology at Netegrity, member of the OASIS Security Services Technical Committee (SSTC) and editor of the SAML 1.0 Bindings Specification.

"We are pleased with how the industry came together to develop SAML 1.0 and how quickly vendors are implementing the new standard in their products."

The SAML interoperability demonstration will involve several current and future commercial software solutions that support Web SSO, access management and other network security services.

As of May 15, 2002, vendors who have indicated their intention to participate in the event are Baltimore Technologies, Crosslogix, Entegrity Solutions, ePeople, Novell, OverXeer, Netegrity, Oblix, RSA Security, Sigaba, Sun Microsystems and Tivoli Systems.

The SAML 1.0 demonstration will feature cross-enterprise SSO across several vendors' Web access management products, which will support consistent vendor implementations of the SAML 1.0 Web Browser profile. In particular, the event will demonstrate the following scenarios:

-- IAM interoperability - Businesses using different vendors' Web access
management products establish trust relationships for the purpose of sharing
authentication, attribute and authorization decision information.

-- Cross-enterprise Web single sign-on - Browsers/users authenticate at
"portal" sites and then are able to access Web resources managed under other
"content" sites. (The latter sites continue to manage authorization of access
to their content. Technically, this will involve bilateral interoperability
between different vendors' Web access management platforms with "source"
servers operating as portals that provide access to resources at one or more
"destination" servers. Users will be able to leverage an assertion produced at
their source server over one or more destination servers in the context of a
single SSO session.)

Additionally, OASIS SSTC co-founder and participant Hal Lockhart, security architect for Entegrity Solutions, will present a progress report on the SAML 1.0 standard on Tuesday, July 16 at Catalyst Conference. Lockhart will discuss SAML 1.0's status, review the scope and objectives of the previous evening's industry interoperability demonstration, and discuss future directions in the development of the SAML standard.

Information about Catalyst Conference is located at www.burtongroup/catalyst.

NOTE TO PRESS ONLY: Burton Group is offering complimentary Catalyst Conference registration to members of the media.

A press conference on SAML interoperability will be held at Catalyst Conference on July 15 prior to the demonstration.

Members of the media: To register for Catalyst Conference or for information about the SAML press conference, contact Thomas Aitchison ([e-mail] or 512/335-8771 ext. 15).

SAML 1.0 TeleBriefing: Wednesday, June 12, 2002 at 12 p.m. ET

Burton Group will hold a TeleBriefing on Security Assertion Markup Language 1.0 on June 12 at 12 p.m. Eastern Time. Burton senior analyst James Kobielus will clarify the details of the SAML 1.0 standard, which is on the verge of ratification by the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS).

Kobielus will also discuss deployment and integration issues surrounding use of SAML in distributed security environments and vendors' plans to implement SAML 1.0 in their products this year.

To register, send e-mail to [e-mail], or call 800/824-9924 ext. 174 (International calls, dial 801/304-8174).

About OASIS (www.oasis-open.org)

OASIS (Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards) is a not-for-profit, global consortium that drives the development, convergence and adoption of e-business standards. Members themselves set the OASIS technical agenda, using a lightweight, open process expressly designed to promote industry consensus and unite disparate efforts.

OASIS produces worldwide standards for security, Web services, XML conformance, business transactions, electronic publishing, topic maps and interoperability within and between marketplaces.

OASIS has more than 400 corporate and individual members in 100 countries around the world. OASIS and the United Nations jointly sponsor ebXML, a global framework for e-business data exchange. OASIS operates XML.org, a community clearinghouse for XML application schemas, vocabularies and related documents.

OASIS hosts The XML Cover Pages, an online reference collection for interoperable markup language standards.

About Burton Group (www.burtongroup.com)

A technology-industry pioneer, Burton Group is the only company to offer integrated research, advisory and consulting services, which are critical to Global 2000 enterprises planning the evolution of their network and applications infrastructure.

Burton consultants and analysts champion vendor-independent viewpoints as they guide IT professionals in the strategy of building and the tactics of managing scalable, secure, efficient networks.

Burton has specialized in network-technology research and analysis since its formation in 1990. The company predicted and defined the role that meta-directory plays in an enterprise. Today, Burton continues to anticipate the direction of key networking technologies and guide the decision-making process for almost half the Fortune 100 and other global clients.

About Catalyst Conference (www.burtongroup.com/catalyst)

Burton Group's Catalyst Conference is an annual, three-day event that focuses on relevant, critical network- and applications-infrastructure issues. The only conference of its kind, Catalyst brings together vendors, end users and analysts/consultants in a dynamic and intimate forum.

This industry-shaping conference is well known for its end-user-driven agenda, intense focus and high-profile speakers. Since the first conference in 1993, Catalyst has reinforced Burton's reputation for substance, timeliness, credibility and integrity.

For more information about Catalyst and speaking or hospitality suite opportunities, visit www.burtongroup.com/catalyst or e-mail [e-mail].

Catalyst North America, which is sponsored by Network World and the Network Applications Consortium (www.netapps.org), will be held at the Hilton San Francisco, July 15-17, 2002. Catalyst Europe, which is also sponsored by the NAC, will be held at the Arabellasheraton in Munich, Sept. 24-26, 2002.