SHAVLIK OPTIMIZES SERVER UPDATE PROCESS FOR STATE JUDICIAL SYSTEM.

Shavlik Technologies, LLC, a market leader in simplifying and automating critical-to-perform IT operations, has announced a system-wide deployment of Shavlik NetChkR Protect for the State of Connecticut's Judicial Branch information system. The new deployment automatically manages security updates for the department's entire central server system and meets strict requirements for security, flexibility and costs that deliver an immediate ROI.

Previously, the state judicial system's IT staff lacked sufficient automation for detecting, managing, and deploying security patches for its servers, many having unique update requirements to track and manage. NetChk Protect was selected by meeting a number of demanding criteria including cost - from initial purchase to ongoing maintenance costs - and versatility in managing vulnerability assessment and remediation for typical Microsoft applications and a host of older versions of non-Microsoft applications still used by the department.

The judicial branch's information system data center has continued to grow, and existing manual processes in place to manage multiple update requirements were becoming exceedingly difficult for the IT staff to keep up with necessary system patches, which then resulted in unacceptable security and downtime risks.

"We really like the GUI interface, particularly the rollback and history features," said Jane Gu, judicial branch platform analyst. "Being able to see the update history showing which patches had been applied and when they were applied is a big benefit for us. We now have the ability to generate reports for internal audits or managers that show the exact state and health of our systems. With Shavlik NetChk Protect in place, administrators can easily manage the entire update process, across all of our separate systems. Even the older systems versions and the non-Microsoft applications are smoothly updated."

Other considerations during the evaluation process included the complexity of adding a new system and the security behind that system. The IT staff needed a solution that was easy to deploy, use and administer. To ensure key security issues could be addressed, the solution had to be based internally within its own network without requiring customized configuration of each system. The choice was Shavlik NetChk Protect.

Not only did NetChk Protect prove to be the most cost effective solution to purchase and maintain, but also clearly provided the greatest value for the judicial branch's investment as it now simplifies and automates the critical tasks that the IT staff was once drowning in.

"We found the design and rollout information on Shavlik's web site very helpful, and we were able to do the entire implementation ourselves," said Tom ...