Novell to Demonstrate Cloud Security Service at Burton Group Catalyst Conference

Novell will unveil the industry's first cloud computing security service that provides identity and access management for hosted applications and hosted storage, as well as a compliance reporting suite, at the upcoming Burton Group Catalyst Conference, July 29 - 31 in San Diego. Based on more than 60 cloud-related patents and patent applications, the Novell® Cloud Security Service enables Cloud Providers and Software as a Service (SaaS) vendors to ensure their offerings meet the strict security and compliance standards required by global businesses.

Managing user access, data storage and compliance are critical capabilities that any cloud vendor needs to offer its customers. The Novell Cloud Security Service is based on "annexation" technology, which enables businesses to treat the cloud as a natural extension of their data center by delivering single sign-on capabilities using a federated enterprise identity model. With the Novell Cloud Security Service, organizations can confidently use cloud applications and assets with the assurance that their specific corporate security policies and regulatory concerns will be enforced in the cloud.

The Novell Cloud Security Service is currently in a limited private beta with select customers, including PivotLink. "As the leading provider of cloud-based SaaS business intelligence, our customers trust us with their organization's most sensitive data," says Dyke Hensen, Chief Marketing Officer, PivotLink. "These enterprises require a complete solution with multi-tier security that begins with synchronized and federated identity and access management. Novell's service allows us to extend this model by integrating PivotLink's application and data level security into the overall framework, offering security assurance and trust that is unmatched in cloud computing."

One of the major benefits of cloud computing is its on-demand model that enables enterprises to use the cloud only when the business requires more computing power. Many enterprises could theoretically share the same physical computing capacity, using it at different time intervals. This shared resource concept presents significant security and audit challenges, as today's compliance regulations require strict access and identity controls supported by a complete audit trail. With the Novell Cloud Security Service, organizations can annex a portion of the cloud temporarily, use it with the same security controls that they have in their existing data center, and then release the cloud capacity when they are done using it.

"In traditional IT environments, organizations control their applications, servers, and storage infrastructure. In an internal cloud environment, the architecture changes, but not the complexion of control. However, the control architecture changes profoundly for public cloud offerings such as Amazon EC2, Google Apps, or Salesforce," said Dan Blum, senior vice president and principal analyst, Burton Group. "When it comes to putting your IT resources and sensitive data such as personal names, addresses, and phone numbers into the cloud, control and trust issues must be addressed."

Novell is also working with GoGrid, the cloud hosting division of ServePath Dedicated Hosting, to gather more information about customer requirements for security in cloud computing.

"As a multi-tier, cloud computing platform, our commitment is to deliver 'Control in the Cloud' by offering startups, medium businesses, government and enterprises the ability to manage complex and robust server networks and infrastructures quickly and easily in the cloud," says John Keagy, CEO and Co-Founder of GoGrid. "The ability to deliver this capability with the assurance that an organization's specific security policies and regulatory-issues are being enforced and reported on is the catalyst that will accelerate the wide spread adoption of cloud computing in the industry."

With the Novell Cloud Security Service, cloud computing providers can accept trusted identity information in many formats without having to replicate credentials at their site and manage those credentials separately. Only Novell provides both single sign-on and support for the sharing of roles, policies and workflows in a cloud computing environment.

"Cloud computing is the on-ramp to tomorrow's transparent and trustworthy computing model, where on- and off-premise components drive the dynamic enterprise," said Dipto Chakravarty, vice president of worldwide engineering at Novell. "Security concerns are the #1 inhibitor to enterprises adopting cloud computing. Any cloud assets used by an enterprise must be treated as an extension of the data center with the policies and procedures in place to enforce regulatory compliance and prudent business practices. Cloud computing will not be successful if it forces the enterprise to engage a separate and distinct operating environment."

The Novell Cloud Security Service utilizes proxy technology so that critical information is never exposed. Designed with interoperability in mind, the Novell Cloud Security Service supports multiple industry standards used by both public and private clouds. This enables customers to seamlessly control security policies and industry regulations between cloud environments and an organization's existing data center.

"Technology solution providers that enable customers to take full advantage of the flexibility and scalability of the cloud business model are well positioned in the market," said Jeff Kaplan, cloud industry expert and managing director, Think Strategies. "Risk management issues are top-of-mind as organizations investigate cloud computing to offload IT processes. The Novell Cloud Security Service alleviates security and compliance concerns, so organizations can focus on driving core business value."

Press and industry analysts interested in seeing an early version of the Novell Cloud Security Service should attend the Burton Catalyst Conference, where Novell will participate in an industry-wide interoperability demonstration. The Burton Group Catalyst Conference takes place on Wednesday, July 29, 2009 at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront. Please visit www.novell.com/cloud for information.