McAfee, Seagate suite scan NT
McAfee and Seagate Software Storage Management Group announce a new suite next week that combines the leading Microsoft Windows NT server backup product with an antivirus scanner.
The suite, called NT-ssential, combines Backup Exec for Windows NT from Seagate Software with McAfee's NetShield's server-based, real-time virus detection and eradication software. The combination means that data will be scanned in advance of system backups, insuring uncorrupted data.
The integration of these two products is the first in a series of announcements combining the Backup Exec technology with several McAfee products, including its Saber LAN Workstation network management suite and its Vycor Enterprise help desk tool.
McAfee will also include Backup Exec technology in an unannounced enterprise network management suite called McAfee Enterprise that will be unveiled at the Networld+Interop trade show next month.
Backup Exec for Windows NT and NetShield are both 32-bit Windows NT applications that provide native functionality for backing up or virus scanning on Windows NT servers. NetShield's virus detection tool includes the latest Microsoft Word and Excel viruses.
Why virus scanning and storage management tools? "They're the two 'must have' disciplines in a client-server environment," said John Staudenraus, a McAfee product marketing manager.
McAfee was spurned in its attempts to acquire Cheyenne Software earlier this year. "We kind of feel like we have to be a player in the storage management area," Staudenraus said.
McAfee currently offers ServerStor for Novell NetWare servers, but that product may have reached the end of its life cycle, according to Staudenraus.
Staudenraus said the initial NT-ssential offering will not be well integrated, but the two companies wanted to get the product to the marketplace as soon as an agreement was reached. Customers will, however, save money when buying the new suite.
The McAfee direct sales force will also resell Backup Exec for Windows NT as a standalone product.
A 25-node license for NT-ssential wil be priced under $2,000, according to McAfee officials. The product will be available by the end of next month.