Microsoft Forefront - codename "Stirling" has just been announced at TechEd in Orlando.  Stirling is an all inclusive management console for security, encompassing everything from desktop AV to Firewall.

This product will address a number of pain points felt by the IT Professionals who tasked with implementing and maintaining a secure and well managed infrastrucutre within their organisations.  Today IT Pros have to grapple with multiple security products, consoles and interfaces that are not integrated - leaving it next to impossible to get a single view of the security state of the infrastructure.

The good news is that Forefront codename “Stirling” is a single product that delivers unified security management and reporting with comprehensive, coordinated protection across clients, server applications, and the network edge. Through its deep integration with the existing infrastructure, such as Microsoft Active Directory and Microsoft System Center, customers can reduce complexity, making it easier to achieve a more secure and well-managed infrastructure.

We will have to wait until early 2008 to get our hands on the first public beta of this product.  However, it nice to see that this one-stop-shop management console concept is an integral part of the Microsoft Forefront security product roadmap and plans.

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