DigitalPersona unveils fingerprint solution for Small Business Server 2003 22 August, 2007 By Liam Lahey

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Available in two configurations, the DigitalPersona Pro SBS software is designed for users of notebooks with embedded fingerprint readers and for desktop PCs and notebooks without embedded fingerprint readers. The Pro SBS Pak (software and readers) is for users of desktop PCs and notebooks without embedded fingerprint readers.

Amr Assal, senior product marketing manager for Redwood City, Calif.-based DigitalPersona, said there are three primary reasons for small businesses to secure their networks: Because passwords don't work, compliance regulations require companies to track and audit network and application access, and increased productivity for employees by avoiding interruptions and costs due to forgotten passwords.

"This is our fingerprint authentication solution and all its' features packaged for the Microsoft Windows Small Business Server community," he said. "There are trends that show small businesses are looking for enterprise solutions . . . securing a network is the most important of reasons for the Small Business Server community to purchase our solution.

"The Small Business Server community is a very close knit community with about 83 user groups worldwide . . . and ours is an enterprise-level solution that is priced affordably for small businesses."

DigitalPersona Pro SBS is designed to provide secure sign-on and password management for networks with up to 75 users (as Microsoft SBS is restricted to 75 users), centrally managed authentication to enable the IT manager to define and enforce security policies, tight integration with Active Directory, and a viewable log and audit trace files essential to enabling regulatory compliance, such as HIPAA, Sarbanes-Oxley and Gramm-Leach-Bliley.

"We're getting good feedback from our channel partners," said Pauline Turski, channel marketing manager for DigitalPersona. "We looked for select distributors that are connected to the Small Business Server space and could in turn get us into the hands of the right resellers."

The company is working with Harrisburg, Penn.-based D&H Distributing in the U.S. and in Canada with SimpleTechnology, a Concord, Ont.-based value added distributor of OEM and IT security products. Turski said between the two distributors and DigitalPersona's own 2,000 resellers, the company has now reached out to an estimated 10,000 IT resellers with its solution set.

"DigitalPersona Pro SBS works very well on Microsoft Windows SBS 2003," said Steve Lennox, vice president of Richmond Hill, Ont.-based Premiere Systems Solutions; a DigitalPersona partner. "It's great that the Small Business Server community can reap the benefits of security and ease of use that were, until now, only available to larger organizations."

"According to a report by IDC, Microsoft SBS installations will exceed the one million mark by 2009," Assal added. "DigitalPersona Pro SBS addresses a growing market demand for an out-of-the-box, and cost-effective fingerprint authentication solution that delivers convenience, strong network security, and assists with regulatory compliance."

The solution is priced at less than $10,000 (U.S.) for 75 users (maximum configuration), officials said. The Pro SBS (software only) for 10 users is listed at $999 and the Pro SBS 10-user Pak (software and readers) is listed at $1,689.