and Hello EMC!

If you read my previous post, you know that I still had some issues to clean up around the Configuresoft to EMC transition. I’m happy to say that these issues are all now nicely put to bed, so I can now move forward as a member of the EMC team!

My official title is, “Principal Software Engineer”, which, in an organization like EMC, is not a bad title to have. I will be part of the (soon to be rebranded, more on that in future posts) Resource Management Software Group (RMSG), which is essentially the group that manages the datacenter. Effectively my world went from building tools that satisfy a small slice of the data center management problem, to now being a part of a much larger and more exciting data center management strategy. (Kind of a hoot to click here and see “my” product at the top of the list)

Anyway, I’m still learning my way around, and will likely keep a low profile for the next several weeks. Having said that though, I’ll be travelling to the “mother ship” (kind of cool to have a “mother ship” after so long *being* part of the mother ship) next week for more integration meetings.

Exciting times await!

So long, Configuresoft…….

For those that know me, you know I’ve spent untold hours over the last seven years working with a fantastic company and some of the best people I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing. When I first came aboard, Configuresoft was a very-small-yet-vibrant company trying hard to make a mark in the IT Configuration Management field. Over the years, I’d say we hit that goal and then some.

With all of the consolidation in the Configuration Management market, and the economic realities of the day, it was only a matter of time before we became part of something bigger. That day came last week as it was announced that Configuresoft would be acquired by EMC corporation. My personal thoughts on this vary, it’s sad to see the company that has been such a huge part of my life over the last several years disappear, but on the other hand, the forward-looking opportunities are simply amazing. We became part of the (soon to be rebranded) RMSG group within EMC, which means that we have the resources of a $15B, 47,000 employee company behind us, and a suite of products in our arsenal that are second to none in the industry.

I don’t yet know what this means for me personally. I think I am going to stay, but there are some legal issues that need to be worked out. I do know that “my” product, which has been branded by EMC as “Configuration Analytics Manager” (CAM) will play a huge role in RMSGs strategy moving forward, and if it works out, I’m going to be very excited to play a role in all of that.

So, goodbye Configuresoft, it’s been a wonderful ride!

Compliance Checker for PCI DSS 1.2 Announced Today

My Company (Configuresoft, Inc.) announced the impending availability of the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standards (DSS) compliance checker. The tool will be downloadable 1 week from today via our website.

From the website:

Compliance Checker for PCI DSS v1.2 is a free, downloadable tool that provides a real time compliance check for multiple Microsoft Windows servers and desktops against PCI DSS v1.2 requirements. The tool collects data from these servers and desktops and produces a detailed summary of which requirements are met and which ones are not. This summary of PCI DSS v1.2 compliance can be used to drive a remediation / mitigation strategy. Compliance Checker for PCI DSS v1.2 also includes a self assessment module based on the PCI Security Standards Council's Self Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ). A compliance summary along with the SAQ results can be used during an audit to demonstrate PCI DSS v1.2 compliance.

 

Check it out here: http://www.configuresoft.com/pcidss-compliance-checker.aspx

MSDN Events – The Best of PDC – Colorado Springs – Jan 26

Well, the year starts off with a bang in terms of the event schedule. Our sales conference is next week, then I will be presenting a session on the Microsoft Solutions Framework (MSF) and the Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF) on January 23rd at the Microsoft Certified Trainer Summit in Redmond. On the 26th of January, We (Configuresoft, http://www.configuresoft.com) will be hosting a Microsoft Developers Network event covering C# 4.0, WCF and REST, Silverlight and Windows Azure. This promises to be a very good event. See the details below:

MSDN Events Unleashed Presents: The Best of PDC

Please join us as we present some of the highlights of PDC! 

We will be reviewing some technologies first discussed at PDC -- such as Windows Azure and C# 4.0.

But we will not only be talking about the future.  We will also discuss some recent releases that you can take advantage of now, including the WCF REST Starter Kit and the Silverlight Toolkit. 

COLORADO SPRINGS

Monday January 26, 2009

Configuresoft, Inc.

7450 Campus Drive
Colorado Springs, Colorado 80920

Time: 1:00 pm – 5:30 pm

Register:http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032399786&culture=en-US 

  OR

                 1-877-673-8368,reference Event ID 1032399786

VMware ESX Server “Compliance Checker”

My company (Configuresoft, Inc.) recently released a free tool called the “Compliance Checker” for VMware ESX Server. Here is the info on it:

VMware ESX servers are vulnerable when they are not configured correctly. Whether you have 3 ESX hosts or 50, you want to ensure that they don’t become the target of an attack due to an incorrect configuration. Protect your ESX hosts from vulnerabilities and threats with the help of Configuresoft Compliance Checker. Compliance Checker downloads, installs and assesses the security of your VMware ESX hosts in minutes.
ACT NOW: Download your FREE copy at http://compliancechecker.configuresoft.com.

With Compliance Checker you can:

• Validate that your ESX hosts are meeting VMware hardening guidelines and Center for Internet Security (CIS) benchmarks
• Check up to 5 ESX servers at a time
• Print audit quality reports
• Get a detailed explanation of each guideline
• Understand what needs to be done to remediate a rule violation
• Access a wealth of information on virtualization security and compliance from the tool