The three cornered Symantec yellow blanket

For some reason, Symantec's corporate yellow color always reminds me of a blanket. But unlike some companies that seem to plot global domination at every turn, Symantec seems happy with its three cornered blanket. Executives expect to do more in the areas of security, backup, and storage management rather than take on new markets. Growth by improving on its strengths, rather than by chasing new markets.

Symantec bought Altiris, according to executives, because you can't have a secure server or client until you manage it properly, and you can't properly manage a non-secure server or client. It actually makes sense, and the Altiris technologies can help Symantec's reach into their three-pronged market of security, backup, and storage management.

The official big news for the conference is the release of Altiris 7 for clients and servers. The big news inside Altiris 7 is workflow, as presenters told us time and again. Demonstrated during both keynote presentations, workflow works as an enhanced script language to perform most steps a tech now has to perform manually. Add in the graphical workflow design sequence, with yes/no branches and triggers for modules from various programs, and a few hours of designing workflow sequences can save scores of hours of hands-on technician time.

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For some reason, Symantec's corporate yellow color always reminds me of a blanket. But unlike some companies that seem to plot global domination at every turn, Symantec seems happy with its three cornered blanket. Executives expect to do more in the areas of security, backup, and storage management rather than take on new markets. Growth by improving on its strengths, rather than by chasing new markets.

Symantec bought Altiris, according to executives, because you can't have a secure server or client until you manage it properly, and you can't properly manage a non-secure server or client. It actually makes sense, and the Altiris technologies can help Symantec's reach into their three-pronged market of security, backup, and storage management.

The official big news for the conference is the release of Altiris 7 for clients and servers. The big news inside Altiris 7 is workflow, as presenters told us time and again. Demonstrated during both keynote presentations, workflow works as an enhanced script language to perform most steps a tech now has to perform manually. Add in the graphical workflow design sequence, with yes/no branches and triggers for modules from various programs, and a few hours of designing workflow sequences can save scores of hours of hands-on technician time.

One example that ties security and management together closely is the increasing focus of Data Leak Prevention (DLP) in Symantec's security pitch. Several times executives talked about the ability of a management front end with a workflow back end saving critical files from being stolen. When the system notices a file tagged as secure being copied to something like a USB drive, the alert kicks off a workflow sequence that identifies the user, the hardware involved, and then locks down the USB ports and suspends that user account. In the movies, copy the wrong file, and alarms ring and security guards come running. With Symantec's Endpoint Security and DLP, workflow triggers shut down the leak and finger the user. Not as much visual excitement, perhaps, but certainly more effective than galloping guards.

Such processes are being embedded in software all the time. Accounting modules that accept a shipment then check off the item from a purchase order and move the order form over to accounts payable have reached down to small business software. Workflow hasn't been successfully integrated in management and security packages, but Symantec aims to change that.

Storage management, an issue as rising storage demands rub against falling hard drive prices, can now help even small companies with a few servers. How much open storage space do you have? How much do you need? Should you buy another storage system today or next month? What if software helped you organize your storage, and pointed out you're using less than half of the storage you have now? That's the idea behind Symantec's slogan, “Stop buying storage.” Figure out what you have, discover ways to back up common files once in total instead of once for every duplicated e-mail attachment copy, and reduce your storage acquisition costs. Even when storage costs less than before, it still costs. Buy it when you need it, and relax until then.