European Demand for Web Services Security Solutions Drives Opening of New Sales Offices in France and the United Kingdom with the Appointment of Two International Security Experts
LONDON – March 15, 2005 – Forum Systems, Inc., the leading provider of Trust Management and Threat Protection Web Services Security solutions today announced the expansion of it’s European presence with the opening of a new sales office in France and the United Kingdom which will be supported by the addition of two new security experts to lead Forum’s expanding international operations.
Building on its 1Q 2004 entry into the European market, Forum Systems will expand its already strong presence in Northern Europe, by appointing Jacques Declas, vice president of European Sales. Most recently, Declas has held senior-level management positions in business development at SoleaCom and Dextera. He has over 13 years of sales experience in building direct and indirect distribution channels in Europe for many US-based companies.
“We’re getting daily requests for a Web services security solution that meets the needs of current standards including FIPS 140-2 Level II and III compliance for government agencies as well as ways to comply with Gramm-Leach-Bliley privacy regulations for the financial services sector,” said Jacques Declas, vice president of European Sales Operations for Forum Systems. “No other US or European-based security firm brings the same level of comprehensive Web services security solutions. Forum’s proven leadership, extensive product portfolio and proven position as the leader in Web services security will allow us to offer a superior value proposition to the European market place.”
Marking its expansion into Southern Europe, Forum Systems opens its first sales operation in Paris, France which will be led by Hervé Aubin, director of European Sales for Forum Systems. Aubin has more than 15 years of direct sales, management and marketing experience for European territories as well as extensive expertise in building European sales operations for US-based companies. Former experience includes executive sales positions with Computer Associates and Mainsoft.
According to the results of a Jan. 2005 BEA Systems survey of more than 1,000 enterprise Java developers from various European cities, nearly 75% said they are already developing or expect to develop service-oriented architectures (SOA) in 2005. Of the developers surveyed, they felt the most useful technologies in SOA were Web services.
Since SOA leverages Web services standards to integrate information technology systems to support business processes, there is a growing need for flexible security solutions that work with an enterprises existing infrastructure.
“Between 70 and 80 percent of our European Web services security requests come from potential customers looking to deploy a solution that integrates with Microsoft ISA Server 2004 or integrates closely with existing application firewalls like NetContinuum,” said Hervé Aubin, director of European sales for Forum Systems. “I’m excited about the opportunity to bring the only Web services security products on the market which integrate seamlessly with the .Net framework and Microsoft technologies to the Southern European region.”
The Forum XWall Web Services Firewall is currently available as the only Web services security solution for the Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2004. With this integrated solution, Microsoft ISA Server 2004 offers a multi-layer firewall that combines Web application security with advanced Web services security.
In addition, the Forum XWall Web Services Firewall is also available as part of a strategic partnership with NetContinuum. The NetContinuum NC-1000 WSE includes all the features of the NetContinuum Application Security Gateway with all features of the Forum XWall Web Services Firewall in a standards-based, single footprint solution with a consistent management interface and integrated audit trail, allowing organizations to streamline deployment times and lower administrative costs.
For international sales inquiries:
· Northern European region, please contact Jacques Declas: +44 1 61 281 8696, London.
· Southern European region, please contact: Herve Aubin +33 1 45 88 2303, Paris.
About Forum Systems
Trustworthy, ubiquitous and robust Web services can only be achieved by combining security controls that are proactive, always on and systematic. Forum Seamless Security Solutions Architecture (Forum S3Aâ„?) is an adaptive approach to building security minded service-oriented applications and data-level networks using life-cycle solutions including vulnerability management, testing systems, firewalls and gateways. Forum products are available as software, PCI-card and appliance options and comply with government requirements including FIPS Certification, Common Criteria EAL 4+ and JITC DoD PKI Certification. Forum Systems is an active a member of OASIS and WS-I helping mature standards such as WS-I Basic Profiles, SAML and WS-Security. Customers can immediately benefit from Forum technology that is bundled with market leading products including Microsoft ISA Server 2004, NetContinuum NC-1000 WSE, Network Engines Web Services (NEWS), and Oblix COREid and COREsv. For more information on adaptive solutions for Web services security visit http://vulcon.forumsys.com.
Forum Systems, Inc. is the Leader in Web Services Securityâ„? with a comprehensive suite of trust management, threat protection and information assurance solutions for the automated Web. Forum Systems flexible hardware, software and embedded products make vibrant business communications possible by actively protecting XML data and Web services across networks and business boundaries. Forum’s products have been chosen by over 80 Fortune 1000 industry leaders and are winners of Network Computing Magazine’s Well-Connected 2004 Award and Product of the Year 2004 Award, Network Computing Magazine’s Editor’s Choice 2003 Award, Network Magazine’s Product of the Year 2003 Award and DEMO 2004 Invitation. Forum XWall Web Services Firewall is the industry’s only XML Firewall selected by InfoWorld LEADERBOARD 2004. Visit Forum at http://www.forumsys.com/.