Microsoft brings endpoint protection management

Microsoft’s goal of merging endpoint security with systems management is one step closer to reality – at least for folks already working with System Center.

The release candidate for Forefront Endpoint Protection (FEP) 2010, the follow-up to Microsoft’s Forefront Client Security product, was announced at TechEd Europe this week. The product is built on System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) to create a unified infrastructure for Windows endpoint management and security.

Adwait Joshi, Microsoft senior technical product manager, said the intent is to simplify endpoint management while at the same time reducing costs.

“The idea was that if we build [FEP] on SCCM, the day-to-day operations for security can be done by the same person that’s doing your desktop management — patching, pushing client deployments and those kinds of things,” he said. “That will then enable the security guys to focus on end-to-end security issues.”

Joshi added that combining FEP with System Center should also alleviate the costs.