News Briefs and Product Shorts

• STORServer is offering to configure its line of iSeries-compatible backup appliances to conform with new rules being mandated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). STORServer's backup appliances, which first supported OS/400 last fall, are PowerPC- or Intel-powered all-in-one storage devices that quicken backups by off-loading I/O and copying data to a bank of hard disks before completing the long-term archival process on tape. Last week, the Colorado Springs, Colorado, company announced the availability of its HIPAA Conformant Backup Appliance, an offering that's a combination of software, training, and consulting services that can be purchased with new STORServer backup appliances or applied to existing backup appliances. The software and consulting portions of STORServer's offering address these key areas related to HIPAA: sending and receiving electronic health information, providing privacy and security protection for patient data, offering security and electronic signature standards, and establishing uniform healthcare identifiers. STORServer's HIPAA training covers training staff to use new HIPAA forms, documents, and templates; backup, archive, and disaster recovery for all electronic transactions managed at the file level; and documenting employee training. STORServer will configure existing backup appliances to conform with HIPAA-mandated file-level data security specifications for online backup, archiving, and disaster recovery for $12,850. New backup appliances can be purchased, with file-level data security changes through September 30, starting at $20,000. STORServer's HIPAA training services start at $150 per person, while HIPAA consulting services start at $2,500 per day. For more about STORServer's solutions for iSeries, see "STORServer Unveils Backup Appliance for iSeries."

• Quadrant Software has started shipping a new release of FastFax/Enterprise, its top-of-the-line hardware/software offering for centrally managing all inbound and outbound fax activity in iSeries and PC LAN environments. The key new feature in FastFax/Enterprise Version 4.5 is the Model 4 processor, a Windows 2000-based electronic fax and e-mail server that can handle higher fax volumes than previous Quadrant fax engines, according to the Taunton, Massachusetts, company. With this release, FastFax/Enterprise users can also run file server software directly on the Model 4 fax processor, eliminating the need to run it on a separate network file server. FastFax/Enterprise 4.5 also features automatic TIF conversion capabilities for documents in PDF, PostScript, DOC, and XLS formats. Before this release, users had to manually convert these file types to TIFs before faxing them. Quadrant's new software also includes new development tools that automatically troubleshoot undeliverable faxes and e-mails. Quadrant also updated its "Getting Started Guide" for FastFax/Enterprise 4.5, which starts at $10,700. Go to www.quadrantsoftare.com for more information.
  
  
• DRV Technologies recently announced SpoolFlex Version 1.4, an update of the Atlanta company's document output management software for OS/400 servers. SpoolFlex 1.4 has several enhancements, including a new centralized processing center that's designed to automate the handling of spool files. SpoolFlex 1.4 also supports the capability to send spool files in CSV format without programming changes, which adds to the product's existing support for PDF and HTML formats. DRV Technologies also says it has increased the performance of the Spool Sentry module, and has streamlined its pricing, which begins at $500. For more information, go to www.drvtech.com.
  
  
• The iSeries software developer Advanced Systems Concepts is preparing to beta-test a new plug-in for Eclipse, IBM's open Java-based development environment. ASC's new product, called SWTworkbench, will provide a WYSIWYG method of developing GUIs for client-side Java applications built in the Eclipse framework, which uses the Standard Widget Toolkit. ASC is firmly behind the Standard Widget Toolkit, which, ASC says, will make client-side Java applications look like the platform they're written for, yet run efficiently. However, as ASC points out, there is no actual GUI builder for Eclipse. So it is developing the SWTworkbench to be that GUI Builder. "Eclipse is the emerging Java development environment in the world. Our plan is to make SWTworkbench a must-have for any Eclipse developer," says Chris Wilson, ASC's director of programming tools. SWTworkbench is expected to enter beta sometime in late March or early April. For more information, go to www.swtworkbench.com.
  
  
• Resolutions recently announced it has added new R2 fax retrieval and send capabilities to its line of R-Fax and R-File Manager applications for faxing, imaging, and archiving. The Suwanee, Georgia, company says its new R2 capabilities allow a user to more easily find documents in the R-File Manager archive, then instantly fax the documents, through R-Fax, with the press of a button. Resolutions gives the following example. If a client calls customer service with a question about a transaction, R2 allows the employee to search for the archived document with a single keystroke. Once the document has been retrieved, the user only has to click the Send Fax button to have the image of the documents automatically formatted and sent to the customer. R-Fax and R-File Manager are components of the ResolutionsDMS suite of document output and forms management software for iSeries servers.
  
  
• MBK Homes of Irvine, California, recently went live with Homebuilder Management, J.D. Edwards' new ERP applications designed specifically for companies in the home construction business. It was the first time that any company had gone live with Homebuilder Management, based on the J.D. Edwards 5 suite of ERP software the Denver software company announced last year. The home construction company chose the new application in part because its parent company, MBK Real Estate, had reported such success with Real Estate Management, another application that J.D. Edwards had tailored for a specific type of business. MBK Homes was one of a handful of beta test sites for Homebuilder Management, and the company deployed the application on a mixture of iSeries and Windows servers, J.D. Edwards says.
  
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• Productive Systems, an Orion, Michigan, developer of forms management software, recently announced the availability of FLEXform 5.5, the latest release of its Windows-based forms software. The key new feature in FLEXform is support for Zebra Technologies' printer language, called Zebra Printer Language, or ZPL. Support for ZPL lets users design barcode labels using Zebra's software, then use the FLEXform software to merge the labels with host-resident data and send the labels to the printer. FLEXform supports a wide range of hosts, including mainframes and OS/400, Unix, VMS, and Unix servers.
  

Sponsored By KISCO INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Protect your iSeries or AS/400 from unwanted network intrustions The iSeries 400 (AS/400) has changed much over the last few years. In the process, it has changed its role in most organizations from a centralized processor to a decentralized server. In the old days, you could easily point to the wealth of data security features built into OS/400. This gave you a feeling of confidence in the integrity of your data. With the recent changes, your confidence may not be as high, and rightly so! Most iSeries installations support attached PCs in some form of Client/Server function. For some shops, this takes the form of PC's that are simply running terminal and printer emulation. Many more shops are running a variety of Client/Server functions on these PCs. Neither of these arrangements bodes well in the area of network security; read on. Did you know . . . Many Client/Server functions bypass traditional OS/400 security checking unless you have fully implemented object level security. Without this same full implementation of object level security, a PC-based Client database tool, such as Microsoft Access, can ACCESS any data file on your system. That same MS Access user can UPDATE any data file on your system. The same MS Access user can even DELETE records or files on your system. SafeNet/400, from Kisco Information Systems, protects your iSeries system from unwanted and unauthorized access via network connections, including the Internet. It lets authorized users do the work they need while keeping unauthorized users out. Modern network connections, like Client Access/400, FTP, ODBC and others, can leave the information on your AS/400 exposed. SafeNet/400 closes this exposure, and it does it without forcing you to change the way you already have your system set up. For more information, visit www.kisco.com/safenet. Go to www.kisco.com/tips for free helpful advice about configuring security on your system.