Gartner event focuses on security

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - With many keeping one eye on Hurricane Wilma churning off the coast, 6,000 IT executives last week heard Gartner analysts offer their vision on everything from security trends to wireless network directions.

The Gartner Symposium and IT Expo 2005 also brought out 190 vendors and included keynote presentations from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, HP CEO Mark Hurd and Dell CEO Michael Dell.

Ballmer said he believes his company has ironed out all of the security problems in its forthcoming Windows Vista operating system so that users can consider adopting it the first day it is released - for the most part.

"Most people will trust it from day one on their home computer, and then they will have to decide about their corporate [PC]. I encourage you to get it early, but I must be honest among friends," Ballmer said.

In a wide-ranging chat with Gartner analysts, Ballmer touched on some of the prominent topics surrounding Microsoft this year, including its all-out effort to improve security, the competitive threat from Linux and Google, and delays in Vista.

Formerly known by its Longhorn code name, Vista was originally supposed to be available by now as an ambitious upgrade to Windows XP. It was supposed to include a new file system and a new presentation surface, among other features, but Microsoft was unable to make sure all the new components would interoperate in time for its current launch date, the second half of next year, Ballmer said. Instead, Microsoft decided to roll out those components over time after the launch. This also gives the company's developers time to run code through tools designed to probe for security weaknesses, Ballmer said. "We are in the middle of the best pipeline of products we've ever had."

The security concern

But Microsoft's security issues weren't the only safety challenges that attracted attention.

Once books close on 2005, spending on security is expected to have increased 16% annually over the past two years, or four times the rate of overall IT spending. That security splurge is unsustainable for most customers, said Gartner Vice President John Pescatore.

To get more secure and spend less, companies should focus on process, not products, said Neil MacDonald, vice president at Gartner. "Businesses should increase the efficiency of the security program either by reducing the percentage of revenue that goes toward security spending or increasing the amount of protection from established security spending levels. And also increase the effectiveness of the security program, reducing the number of successful incidents or providing security controls that don't interfere with business missions."

Pescatore added that network-based intrusion-prevention systems (IPS) are mature and should be deployed. On the other hand, he did not recommend the widespread use of host-based IPS, because it's more difficult to control what's happening at the desktop level.

He added that the new breed of all-in-one security devices could be a good fit for small or midsize businesses or for remote offices or retail branches of a large company, but said all-in-one appliances don't have the performance to handle security for a large corporate headquarters.