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Report: Integrated Security Suites More Efficient Than Point Solutions: Page 2 of 3

Specific test activities included installing and configuring security software packages, setting up administrative processes, updating and distributing software, and managing changes. The Tolly Group tested solutions offered by Astaro, Juniper Networks/NetScreen, and Check Point Software Technologies.

Both the Check Point and Juniper/NetScreen security offerings required the installation and management of Trend Micro and Websense second-party products -- for anti-virus and URL blocking respectively -- in order to be compared on equal footing with the all-in-one security package offered by Astaro.

The study determined that best-of-breed suites require at least 2.9 times more work than Astaro"s single integrated product to install and configure, and that ongoing support effort is at least 90% higher.

"Our staffing evaluation of the Juniper/NetScreen- and Check Point-anchored solutions shows that users pay a prohibitive first-year penalty when they elect to integrate several products into a security suite for SMB or larger networks," the report stated.

Other highlights of the report concluded: