Eileen, thanks for taking the time to discuss the new GSX 360 with us. Can you please briefly describe the role of GSX 360?

Eileen Fitzgerald, Senior Vice-President for Customer Delivery and Product Management: GSX 360 was created to simplify the processing of standard service requests for enterprise messaging servers. These requests meet the following criteria:

• Right or wrong implementation ( no grey areas ),
• Can be structured,
• Can have default values, and
• Can be delegated.

While the processing of standard service requests can be routine, they tend to require considerable technical and organizational knowledge to fulfill. For example, in processing individuals, you may need to know the applicable server, the standard password strength, and the default group to which they belong.

How does GSX360 differ from GSX Monitor & Analyzer?

Eileen Fitzgerald: Monitor and Analyzer monitor the availability and service performance of the collaborative environment. GSX 360 assists in managing changes.

What are its main benefits?

Eileen Fitzgerald: GSX 360 enables you to:

• Assign service requests to less knowledgeable employees.
• Delegate specific tasks without granting total admin access.
• Pre-populate templates to ensure compliance with company and organization standards.
• Reduce errors and ensure consistency.
• Employ your highly trained and costly administrators on other tasks.
• Minimize the escalation of service requests.
• Reduce service request turnaround time.

What led you to create GSX 360 - was it requests from GSX customers or enhancement possibilities you perceived from your own analysis of IBM Lotus and BES?

Eileen Fitzgerald: We saw GSX 360 as the next generation and logical development of the GSX ID manager, which would cater to all the service desks within a company. We also saw the need to go beyond the messaging part of service desks - GSX 360 can be utilized within the collaboration environment as well.

Does GSX 360 lower cost of administering IBM Lotus & BES?

Eileen Fitzgerald: Yes. By minimizing errors (creating a user may take 15 minutes, but getting it wrong could take 10 hours to fix), and by enabling less skilled administrators to perform routine tasks.

I call the processing of standard service requests the messaging environment's ‘hidden operational cost‘. Management often has no idea of the volume of these tasks or the time it takes to complete them. GSX 360 identifies both the volume of tasks and the time it takes to complete them, enabling you to reduce costs while improving quality of service.

Likewise, does GSX 360 enhance IBM Lotus & BES security?

Eileen Fitzgerald: Yes, by doing the following:

• Reducing the level of access needed to process standard service requests.
• Tracking who is processing what request.
• Enforcing an approval cycle for specific requests and profiles.
• Setting up profiles designating which users can process which requests.
• Pre-populating templates to enforce corporate policy.

What are the benefits of GSX 360 vs. the costs?

Eileen Fitzgerald: While we don't have specific cost-benefit ratios, or customers have found that the cost of GSX 360 is justified through:

• Reducing service desk overhead while improving quality of service.
• Freeing up highly trained and paid admins to attend to more value-adding projects.
• Reduced human error associated with repetitive tasks.
• Improving the response time to customers.

We see that GSX 360 doesn't administer Microsoft Exchange - is that in the works?

Eileen Fitzgerald: Yes, it will available within the next 12 months.

Is GSX 360 geared to only to large enterprises with multiple messaging servers, or can SMBs benefit as well?

Eileen Fitzgerald: It's for anyone who wants structured administration, not just large organizations with a service desk. Junior administrators can be productive immediately, without acquiring a complete understanding of all the technical and organizational intricacies.

Do you have direct competitors for GSX 360 and, if so, how do you set yourself apart from them?

Eileen Fitzgerald: We don't have any direct competitors to GSX 360. Our closest competition might be identity management solutions, but they only focus on the user level. GSX 360 goes beyond the user level to focus on the service level, ensuring that the deploying organization can fulfill standard service requests in a secure and efficient manner. Basically, we can configure any service request for template development, and provide user metrics for specific services. For example, if your search metrics are set for the total mail routing, GSX 360 can provide specific stats around this service.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Eileen Fitzgerald: The key to GSX 360 is that we are not trying to be an identity management solution - these are normally very complex and costly to implement as they have to be closely aligned with the business (and realigned whenever it changes). Rather, we process standard service requests aligned with the collaboration portfolio.

I should close by saying that our aim is to empower the service desk, while reducing costs and improving the quality of service.#

For more information please go to www.gsx.com, for screen shots or to request a demo go directly to:http://www.gsx.com/solutions/360/ or follow the company on twitter @GSX_Solutions

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