To maintain its "sensitive" network in a state of permanent security, the National Defense Inter-arm Infrastructure and Information Systems Directorate retains the LANDesk Process Manager solution, interfaced for the first time with Microsoft SCCM.

London – 3 December 2012 – LANDesk Software, the industry's leading provider of solutions for systems lifecycle management, endpoint security, enterprise mobility, and IT service management, today announced that it has been retained by the National Defense Inter-arm Infrastructure and Information Systems Directorate (DIRISI) to pilot the deployment of security patches for its Windows systems.

For the first time, LANDesk Process Management, LANDesk's automation management tool for changes, workflows and processes, will be associated with Microsoft's SCCM (System Center Configuration Manager), the security patch deployment solution used by DIRISI for its Windows environment.

Security of "sensitive" information
The DIRISI's scope of power is vast. As its name indicates, it is in charge of the IT systems management for three armies, those of the General Secretariat for Administration (SGA) and soon, the General Directorate for Armament (DGA). In addition to this very large scope of intervention, the DIRISI handles data and information which must be secured at all times. Therefore, the three main networks are separated into the Internet network, the Sensitive Intranet, and the Classified Intranet.

As part of the Sensitive Intranet, the deployment of security patches relied on DECOS-S for several years, a project stemming from a study undertaken by the Land Forces in 2006 on the WSUS system (Windows Server Update Services), and recently completed by the Microsoft SCCM solution.

"We wanted to go further with the governance of our systems," explains the colonel in charge of the project at DIRISI. “We wanted to have indisputable visibility associated with a workflow system, for a finer management of security patch deployment."

A project in collaboration
The first technical studies were initiated by the DIRISI in 2010 and probed the market opportunity in an effort to determine which tools could meet its needs. The objective was not to replace the deployment solutions, but to complete them by installing the patches on the basis of a balance between the risks on security and continuity. It was also important to know the state of security of all systems in real-time. As a result, LANDesk Process Manager was selected as it allows the piloting of an application of patches to make the operational security state more mature. “The interconnection with SCCM that relies on DECOS-S was thus an inevitable pre-requisite," the DIRISI team continued.

Immediately after the first meeting, the LANDesk team accepted the challenge and began the development of the interface with SCCM in the first half of 2012. “The reactivity and the technological capacities that LANDesk demonstrated during this first phase strongly influenced our final decision,” said the DIRISI team.

"From the launch of the project, a real culture of trust was established between our teams and those of the DIRISI," added Frédéric Pierresteguy, managing director of LANDesk France. "We were therefore able to understand and rise to the challenge in order to propose a solution that fully meets their expectations."

After the classic pre-study phase, the deployment of the LANDesk Process Manager will be a progressive one, for an operational implementation at the end of the first half of 2013. "We are confident about this target timetable as the LANDesk teams have provided us with everything to ensure project will be completed according to schedule," concluded the colonel.

Further information (external website)