ENHANCED SOFTWARE CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM SOLVES USER SECURITY PROBLEMS

A new version of Visible's Razor SCM tool addresses customers' needs for better security for internal networks accessed remotely

WALTHAM, MA - October 23, 2001 -- Visible Systems Corporation today released a new version of its Razor software configuration management system that takes advantage of security features and provides embedded functions within all popular integrated development environments. Visible also improved Razor's issues tracking functions, giving users a more comprehensive view of parent and subordinate issues. “Our large customers, including the National Security Agency (NSA), typically require tool divergence and diversity while being mindful of the need for increased security measures,” explained Mike Cesino, General Manager of Visible's Configuration Management Tools business. “Razor 4.3 significantly decreases the threat of information compromise by providing one of the highest levels of encryption for remote data transfer. This proves our understanding of the importance of security in the software configuration management environment.” In simultaneous announcements, Visible unveiled new capabilities for its model-based code generator and a Spanish version of its Visible Analyst modeling tool.

Enhanced Security for Customers

Due to its underlying architecture and highly customizable process automation, Razor 4.3 is able to take advantage of SSH Secure Shell to offer High Level Security DSA/RSA and SHA-1 - one of the highest security levels in the world. SSH Secure Shell is the de facto standard for remote logins, with millions of users in 80 countries. Simon Mijolovic, Senior Unix Systems Administrator for Northrup Grumman Information Technology, explained: “Users outside of their firewall are allowed to establish a connection via Secure Shell to a workstation sitting inside the firewall. Once the connection is made, the secured workstation will serve as a client, capable of connecting to the Razor server. At this point, the secured workstations are fully functional behind the firewall and coexist on the same sub-net without compromising the security of the internal network” The Razor Secure Shell solution resolves the most important security problems experienced by virtual private network applications, remote system administration, automated file transfers, and access to corporate resources over the Internet.

Important New Features

Razor has been enhanced in release 4.3 to promote best engineering and configuration management practices. Through enhanced file control/integration with third-party SCC (source code control) tools, Razor now furnishes developers with a more seamless interface to the Microsoft Visual Studio suite of products, including Visual Basic, Visual FoxPro and Visual C++; as well as IBM's Visual Age for Java developers and PowerBuilder for RAD (rapid application development) of client/server, Web, and n-tier applications. Other enhancements in Razor 4.3 include improved problem tracking and corrective action capabilities to better ascertain relationships across multiple issues and requirements documents managed by Razor. Razor's version control has also been enhanced to now recognize extended ASCII characters for Razor's international base of users. Also, Remote Password authentication and Razor administration are available to allow users to securely launch Razor's suite of Systems Administration tools in a distributed environment.

Product and Market Development Partners

Visible has collaborative relationships with several prestigious organizations. The company has entered into a technology exchange agreement with Los Alamos National Laboratories (Los Alamos, NM), strengthened its relationship with Space Coast Information Systems, (Melbourne, FL) and initiated reseller agreements with Hart Technologies (Reston, VA) and Great Circle Software (Middletown, RI). On December 6 and 7, a Razor Users Forum will be held at The Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport, RI.

Pricing and Availability

Visible Systems Corporation,

headquartered in Waltham, MA, is a leader in application development and configuration management solutions, training, and consulting. Besides Razor and Issue Weaver, the company's products include Visible Advantage, Visible Analyst, and Visible Developer, a business application design and development tool.
Visible Systems Corporation (http://www.visiblesystemscorp.com), headquartered in Waltham, MA, is a leader in application development tools, training, and consulting. Visible has over 100,000 users of its products worldwide. Besides Razor 4.3, the company's products include Visible Developer, a model-based application design and development tool, and Visible Analyst a powerful software analysis and design tool that supports UML, XML, round-trip, and structured software engineering in one integrated tool set.