Check Point Software Technologies Ltd, the Ramat-Gan, Israel security software vendor, has updated its product line to keep in line with Microsoft technology in the Windows 2000 operating system. Check Point customers will be able to obtain information on access privileges from Windows 2000’s Active Directory, and data on certificates issued from the Public Key Certificate Server, two products which broaden Check Point’s firewall and virtual private network product set.
There is also a financial element to the Microsoft-based move. Windows NT is by far the dominant platform, says Upesh Patel, manager of the OPSEC (open platform for security) alliance, the company’s best-of-breed partnership strategy, so it makes sense for the Israeli firm to keep its products in sync with Microsoft’s operating system, which currently provides 50% of the company’s run-rate. To put the Windows operating system’s pre-eminence into context, the next largest platform is Sun’s Solaris Unix with between 12% and 15% of the company’s sales. Check Point also supports the HP-UX and AIX flavors of Unix.
