Patch Management
ANSA is a policy driven, automated management solution that extends to the network, system, and application level, resulting in a secure and reliable computing environment.

When considering the current state of enterprise security and patch management it is difficult to believe that, until just a few years ago, patch management was viewed as a labor intensive project rarely given a second glance (let alone an update) after the initial install. Now, however, the importance of reliable patch management solutions has been sparked by the danger associated with unsecured computing environments which are, at a given moment, susceptible to any number of worms or malicious attacks. Even further, new government regulations (such as SOX and HIPAA) are pushing enterprises to regain control over their asset information. Unfortunately, although fear of compliancy regulations and system infiltration has spurred consumers to find a solution to system vulnerability, it has not put a stop to the frequency or severity of unpatched software. 

The goal of a Patch Management Solution is to create an organized and stable computing environment continuously protected against security breaches. This goal is not attainable, however, without the ability of an IT administrator to validate, test, and deploy patches in a timely manner. Any delay between the discovery and repair of system vulnerabilities allows for an even greater chance of attack. IT departments are overwhelmed by the rate at which new patches, updates and “hot fixes” are released. Short on resources and time, impulsive decisions are often made resulting in oversight and system vulnerability. Due to the criticality of time management and proper installation, the time consuming process of manually deploying updates patch-by-patch is widely rejected by IT executives, analysts and vendors alike.

Autonomic Software, Inc. has developed our ANSA agent to pick up where even the most vigilant administrators often fall short- patch management. With the needs of these IT professionals in mind, ANSA was developed as a tool to extend the capacity of IT resources, enabling project teams to respond in a more deliberate and timely manner.

A powerful and flexible patch management solution

ANSA provides a cross-platform (Windows, Linux, Oracle-Linux, Solaris (UNIX), and Macintosh (Apple) solutions utilizing agent-based, N-tier architecture. Also delivering an automated approach to patch management, our ANSA agent can meet the needs of every organization with computing assets. Through the use of a policy engine, ANSA allows IT Administrators to set rules for various severity levels for patches, and establish what steps should be taken for each. Our patented agent technology allows for an extremely small footprint while still allowing the fastest possible distribution of patches by groups, system function, or system state. Patch Distribution can be managed per site or across an entire multi-site enterprise from a single web-based user interface by one or more parties.

Asset Management
Integrated Asset Management Benefits

70% of organizations have a 30% discrepancy between a planned inventory and their actual inventory (Gartner). Autonomic customers use the expert knowledge gained from proper asset management to realize significant benefits.

Regulatory Compliance – With the existing Sarbanes-Oxley regulations, easy extraction of an organization’s inventory reports addresses one of the most fundamental requirements for a compliant enterprise. Manual inventory is often difficult to leverage in variable situations.

Lower IT expenses – The cost-savings realized through the implementation of an asset management solution can be as much as 26% of an IT department’s overall budget. (GIGA Information Group).

Time Management – Information improves the efficiency of IT organizations. Reducing time spent on support and maintenance issues, provides more time for innovation and production.

Asset Knowledge – Asset management data improves the control and management of IT assets through details on memory, network devices and physical locations, etc.

Integrated Asset Management solutions

• Offered as an integrated solution within ANSA suite, the asset management functions allow users to collect and maintain complete, current and useful IT asset data across the enterprise
• Track IT assets – Detects virtually anything plugged into an Ethernet cable
• Analyze software use - Collect comprehensive information regarding installed software for both long term planning and reclamation
• Monitor unauthorized users – Identify attempts to access proprietary information
• Report compliance – Develop data for internal and external audits
• Resolve user issues – Compile data of current issues
• Hardware and software updates – Plan and target software, OS or file set distributions
• IT standards – Develop, implement and report on enterprise-wide IT standards
• Lease status – Monitor and remove outdated hardware from service
• Diverse platform support – Windows, Linux, Oracle-Linux, Solaris (UNIX), Machintosh (Apple)
• Asset repository database
• Asset repository database user performance
• Change control notification for install and un-install status
• Database aggregation and query
• Data export for analysis and reporting

Configuration Management

Compliance with Government and Company Policies
ANSA Suite’s Configuration Management will allow IT professionals to enforce policies to the desktop and server level through an intuitive web-based interface. The products automation is a big help in making sure that every ANSA-enabled device on the network is compliant. Configuration Management allows for easy reporting and the setting up of rules. A company can utilize the rules provided with the software or customize rules and policies to meet their specific needs.

Manage down to the Desktop
Desktops, for example can be set up to accommodate an approved list of software. If someone uninstalls any desktop application, Configuration Management will notify IT of the discrepancy. Also if someone installs a program not on the approved list, Configuration Management can uninstall it immediately, again notifying IT. This results in desktops and servers being managed for greater efficiently, security and compliancy.

Configuration Management allows IT professionals to:

• Create application signature rules
• Generate and establish compliancy rules
• Monitor compliancy
• Establish numeric compliancy rules
• Group various compliancy rules into a defined corporate function
• Create assign corporate functions
• Uninstall software
• Kill a process and delete a main executable based on an application signature
• Manage desktop and server applications and programs automatically
• Employ an easy-to-use intuitive web-based console
• Quickly install the product and see it working almost immediately
• See a rapid return on investment
• Maximize IT resources

Software Distribution

ANSA Allows Distribution of Software Packages and Scripts Across a Network
ANSA allows an IT Professional to deploy application patches, software upgrades, service packs, or any other type of custom or packaged software that a system administrator can create as an executable; whether it is a script, a BAT file, or an application package. The software can be packaged and sent to all agents on a network in the same way the operating system patches are deployed by the ANSA Patch Manager. In fact, by creating a file on the ANSA controller machine, the file can be made available to ANSA to be deployed either automatically, or scheduled to be deployed in the same manner as described for patch management. This applies to not only patches, but programs and scripts as well. For instance, a system administrator could schedule a custom package deployment which would restart all machines on a network at a specific date and time, or create a desktop icon which would launch a process at log on for every computer on the network.

A powerful and flexible software distribution tool
The same benefits ANSA applies to patch management also apply to software distribution. Many organizations today still rely on the manual approach, or have created custom scripts for software deployment. By automating these tasks, ANSA creates an immediate return on investment. Most organizations also have separate tools for performing patch management and software distribution. By combining tools, these organizations will realize advantages in both cost and usability.

With the ability to group computers at the machine name level and at the IP level, ANSA provides the System Administrator with the tools to manage the entire network from a single point of access. Immediate benefits include flexibility to manage software distribution, ease of use, and scalability, along with the ability to configure, install, and manage remote machines from a central location.

Power Management & Conservation

ANSA Offers “Green Enterprise's” Many Advantages

• Save energy costs – Pacific Gas and Electric and Stanford University estimate proper management of energy mentions power suppliers are offering a first year rebate of $15 per desktop to customers you install a power conversation program– which gives a total of $32 savings per desktop the first year
• IT can conserve energy and still effectively manage and secure desktops and servers
• Power conservation can be integrated and consolidated with other security and system management processes
• Control power profile setting drift on Windows and Macs
• Eligible for a growing list of utility company and government power conservation rebate programs
• Potential to qualify for tax incentives and carbon trading programs


•   Low Carbon IT Savings Calculator (xls file)

Features:

• Policy driven power management of distributed computers
• Scalable from one computer to the entire global enterprises
• Fine-grained controls for hibernation/ standby, subsystem-only shut down
• Control policies targets groups, domains, etc.
• Distributed Wake-On-LAN to synchronize systems maintenance processes with power conservation
• Centralized, graphical user interface, including Dashboard-driven policy setting
• Granular reporting

Special Note: Many power suppliers offer special rebate programs to companies who install and use Power Consumption Management solutions. This feature only operates on Windows computers.

Enterprise Reporting

ANSA Suite Reporting - Granular Reporting that Provides Just the Information You Need
The critical keystone to any enterprise being in compliance with corporate policy and government regulations is timely, accurate network security and analysis reporting that will help assess business risk and manage compliance issues.

ANSA Suite Reporting is a fully customizable, enterprise network reporting tool that graphically reveals if a network is secured and compliant. The reporting tool collects and consolidates security data from across the enterprise, assesses business risk through comprehensive data analysis, and delivers a report that demonstrates the networks security and regulatory compliance status. ANSA Suite Reports are flexible, graphical, and can be as granular as needed.

ANSA Suite REPORTING FEATURES:

• ANSA Suite has a comprehensive report library - Over 31 standard reports for vulnerabilities, patch management, asset inventory/management, configuration management and custom reporting
• Interactive reports allow you to drill down into report data, drilling from a global view down to individual groups for easier reporting of data
• Works seamlessly with third party reporting tools including SQL Reporting Services, Business Objects, and Crystal Reports. Also included are a vast amount of export formats such as RTF, Word (.doc), Excel (.xls), PDF, HTML 3.2 and 4.0, Excel Record, plain text format (txt), CSV, text (.txt), and editable RTF
• Group hierarchy reporting structure provides the ability to report on custom nested groups created within ANSA Suite and directory service groups designated in your Microsoft Active Directory Services structure (active directory imported groups)
• View current status of all reports on-demand instantly
• Reports do not drive the application while reporting is done through the configuration level of machines based on our configuration management suite
• Communication to reports from the database is encrypted by SSL in SQL/ODBC
• Auto Report Generation & Distribution allows for the scheduling of automated report generation and immediate email distribution of reports to authorized users
• Separate Reporting Tool installs on a separate server to minimize disruptions in ANSA Suite. Can be used by management to generate reports on-demand, anytime without having to use ANSA Suite
• Open Reporting Schema creates custom queries based on user-choice to produce highly customized reports that meet the needs and demands of your organization
• Flexible policy-based reporting enables you to substantiate compliance with security aspects of government regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA, FISMA and others
• Reporting provides role-based access to data and reports, making it fast and easy for users to identify data that is critical to their area of responsibility and ensuring that information is viewed only by individuals with proper authority