Prod Web apps to run faster by cutting the amount of data they send on your network. Greg Smith, senior director of product marketing at San Jose-based NetScaler Inc., argues that pokey Web programs don"t have to be so slow if you eliminate the transmission of duplicate data. Not surprisingly, that"s exactly what NetScaler"s AppCompress Extreme software will do when it ships in Q3 as part of an appliance. (It will also be a nice welcoming gift to Citrix Systems Inc., which is due to complete its acquisition of NetScaler in that quarter.) Smith says AppCompress Extreme "removes redundancy in application content" by sending only the data that has changed to end users requesting information. Based on a Tolly Group report commissioned by NetScaler, tests of the software with a variety of Web-based programs showed that enterprise applications will get the biggest boost in performance. For example, one Oracle app that was tested ran 44 times faster, Smith claims. He says that even Web sites like Google, which is a customer of NetScaler, should see an eightfold jump in response times. Bundled pricing for AppCompress Extreme and NetScaler"s hardware will start at around US$10,000.
Technical help from afar seems ...
... to be close to home. That"s the theory behind the IT tools developed by 3am Labs Inc. in Woburn, Mass. The company sells the Remotely Anywhere diagnostic tool for help desks and will soon offer an online service called LogMeIn Rescue. Now in beta, LogMeIn Rescue lets a help desk technician manage up to three end-user sessions simultaneously and perform a wide range of diagnostic operations by taking control of remote Windows-based PCs after a small applet is loaded on them. The service should be ready for use in mid-July, and CEO Michael Simon says support for Linux and Macintosh clients will be ready in Q3. Pricing starts at a monthly fee of $99 per help desk staffer. Or, if your computers are rock-solid and your end users are clever enough to solve most of their own problems, you can use a $5-per-incident payment plan.
Secure your Web code by attacking it ...
... like a hacker would. Cenzic Inc. in Santa Clara, Calif., today plans to release Hailstorm 2.5, which Mandeep Khera, vice president of marketing, calls "a hacker in a box." The software simulates the actions of a hacker trying to sneak past your IT security mechanisms to get to the data in your Web-based programs. In Version 2.5, developers get a wizard view that lets them run "turbo" security checks on code within minutes or "extreme" checks that can take a couple of days to complete. Khera claims that buying the software is much cheaper than using a code-auditing service from a big consultancy, which can take three to six weeks and cost far more than the $15,000 starting price for Hailstorm. For that amount, users can test code from one application with an unlimited number of Web pages for security flaws. Still not convinced? Well, Cenzic also is offering a managed service that will evaluate code on 50 Web pages for about $6,000.
Cheaper Web apps through ...
... the use of Russian programmers. That"s the promise of Exadel Inc. in Concord, Calif. CEO Fima Katz says he can save you about a half-million dollars on average if you use his Russia-based development staff and Exadel"s open-source technology instead of asking IBM or BEA Systems Inc. to create software for you. Maybe so. Although Exadel lacks the familiar ring of IBM or even BEA inside your executive suite, saving money always strikes a happy chord among business types. Even if that doesn"t sway you, your engineers might like to toy around with Exadel Studio Pro 3.0. The company gladly sells the $99 Eclipse-based development environment that its programmers use. Studio Pro 3.0 will hit the streets in early August with a visual JavaServer Pages editor.
Calm your fears about wireless ...
... security holes by applying centralized policies to all laptops. Kip Meacham, director of product marketing at Senforce Technologies Inc. in Draper, Utah, says his company"s Wi-Fi Security Version 3.0 software will let you enforce various security policies on laptop PCs running Windows 2000 and XP. For example, you can disallow a computer connected to your corporate LAN to also have an active Wi-Fi link, a scenario fraught with danger. You can also use the agent-based software to enforce encryption procedures and, if you deem it appropriate, deny wireless connectivity to a laptop even if it has a wireless modem installed. The software is scheduled for release on July 5, and pricing starts at $45 per seat.