In brief: IBM to ship new Tivoli Identity Manager for SMB

IBM plans to ship a new version of its Tivoli Identity Manager software designed for small and midsize businesses.

Tivoli Identity Manager Express will be a slimmed-down version of the product that can be used by a maximum of 5,000 users, Tivoli says. Tivoli Identity Manager typically is used by very large companies to manage user names and passwords, and audit user activity. The Express version of the product will have fewer customization features than its corporate counterpart, but it also will be easier to install and manage. The software will come with five pre-configured templates to help administrators manage accounts and permissions, managers and other types of users.

Identity Manager Express is scheduled to ship on Feb. 28, and will be priced at $24 per user.

VoIP start-up Whaleback Systems is offering a flat-fee phone service that includes phones, an IP PBX and unlimited calling to any phone in the United States. Designed for businesses with as many as 1,500 phones, the service, called CrystalBlue, is built around the SMB 1500, an IP PBX that Whaleback built using its own code to supplement software the company purchased from several other vendors.

Customers who buy the service first get an analysis of their current phone bill compared with what they would pay for Whaleback's service, the company says. Whaleback charges an installation fee, and customers buy the PBX and the phones, which are made by Polycom. For an office with fewer than 10 phones, the setup, configuration and training is priced at $1,000 for the PBX and $300 for each phone. For offices with more than 10 phones, the price of the PBX increases to $2,500. The phone price stays the same.