DataPower continues to solidify its leadership role in the provisioning of intelligent XML-aware Networking (XAN) infrastructures, by announcing that it is the first XML Web services security provider to demonstrate real-world Web service deployments with customers utilizing SAML/WS-Security support for federated authentication and authorization across domains to partners and customers. Furthermore, DataPower offers enhanced integration with leading identity management/SSO vendors like RSA, Netegrity, Oblix, CA, IBM, Oblix and Sun.

Prior to this, DataPower distinguished itself through its committment to leadership that often set it above its peers. It was the sole Web services security vendor to successfully participate in GSA-sponsored SAML Interop event RSA Conference 2004. DataPower has demonstrated that it offers, with its XS40 secure gateway, the most comprehensive and robust XML Web services security solution for immediate deployment.

This distinction makes clients feel much more at ease and secure when conducting their own business; furthermore, the highest degree of customer satisfaction can be achieved, by offering customers easy access to service providers. A security specialist at one of the country's largest insurance providers said, "Making it easy to do business with us is of the highest priority." He added, commening on DataPower's security solutions, "Support for industry-wide standards like ACORD, WS-Security and SAML for federated identity is mission critical to providing secure, uncomplicated connections for our partners and customers. Using leading technologies like DataPower's XS40 as our secure gateway to partners and customers, including enforcing access policies stored in our existing Netegrity SiteMinder systems, enables us to meet this essential commitment to customers and partners."

The company's XS40 XML Security Gateway, creates at a single point, a highly secure hardware policy enforcement spot. From here, authentication, authorization, audit and accounting functions based on the source, transport and content of incoming XML transactions, can be made. Moreover, many other essential security functions are included, like a full XML Firewall for protecting against XML threats, XML Encryption and XML Digital Signature, WS-Security and content-based routing. All integration is based on DataPower's innovative AAA Framework.

What sets the fine-grained control of authorization that DataPower offers, apart from typical URL-based access controls, lies in the specificity which XS40 provides in its interrogation of every individual SOAP/XML transaction. The software can determine whether transitions should pass through based on payload contents, security policy, and identity information. So while a transaction defined as secure that takes place at 5 o'clock for one set of variables will go through, the same transaction that tries to go through at 5:05 or at any other time, irrespective of any similarities between them, will not be permitted to pass.

"Scalable, real-time policy enforcement is critical if Web services are to succeed in the corporate world," said James Kobielus, senior analyst at Burton Group, a leading research, analysis, and consulting firm. "Enterprises should explore use of hardware-based Web services policy enforcement points, including performance-optimized devices for XML firewalling, content-based routing, federated SSO, and other critical functions. DataPower has addressed these requirements through its hardware-based XAN infrastructure products."

DataPower is the only XML firewall/gateway solution to long support SAML, WS-Security, SSL Acceleration, XML Encryption, XML-DSIG, RADIUS, LDAP, XKMS and on-board policy control. DataPowers vice president of engineering, Bill Tao, concluded by saying, "DataPower takes Web services access control beyond simple-minded authentication, delivering fine-grained and federated authorization directly tied to business policies. Our enhanced support for SAML-based identity management and production-proven integration with the leading ID management solutions is an important milestone of DataPower's integration for management strategy that enables a seamless connection between XML-aware networking and organizations' existing infrastructure."

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