Anticipating RSA 2007
The 2007 RSA security conference is a week away, but for security geeks like me, it's already in progress. I can't tell you how many vendors have contacted me with invitations to view new products and services, speak with customers, drink martinis, etc. Last year's RSA Conference was in sleepy downtown San Jose, Calif., and it was packed. This year's event is back in San Francisco at the Moscone Center, so it is bound to be bigger, louder and more showy than ever.
So what will people talk about at RSA? I believe the event will focus on four areas:
1. Data security. The string of publicly-disclosed breaches combined with federal privacy legislation and PCI has enterprises in a tizzy. They have mountains of data from desktops to the data center, but they have no idea whether data is confidential, who has access to what data and what users are doing with it. The RSA conference will be all abuzz about data classification, encryption, key management and policy enforcement.
2. Identity. Last year's feature topic is back for a return engagement. Why the two-year run? Because user identity needs to be fixed, but we are a long way away from doing so. Lots of techno-speak in this arena, so its not for the faint of heart.
3. Vista. Up until now, the Vista buzz has been somewhat understated outside of the tech community. Get ready! Starting on Tuesday, the volume around Vista will increase precipitously, and something tells me there will be more than one Vista ad on Superbowl Sunday. Anything that relates to Microsoft is bound to stir the pot at RSA--we are sure to hear everything Vista can and can't do. Everyone will talk about Windows Vista support in one sentence, while bad-mouthing Microsoft in the next. The discussion may not be accurate, but it ought to be entertaining.
4. The industry. RSA has always been an industry- focused event where business development managers show up with a huge stack of business cards in search of partners, OEMs, or M&A folks. Since Check Point, EMC, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle and Symantec all made security acquisitions last year, this year's RSA Conference will likely resemble a Boca Raton flea market. I can't wait to hear the rumors about who's buying whom.
Amid the security jargon, chotchkes and cocktails, I plan on meeting as many enterprise security professionals as I can. Large organizations are sick of security point tools and are looking for enterprise-class products and services. How are they doing with this effort? The answer to that question will determine a lot of what happens at the RSA Security Conference of 2008.