Safestone Encourages Customers to Try i OS Password Software

October 6, 2009 Alex Woodie

Safestone Technologies announced last week that it’s giving away complimentary evaluation versions of its i OS password software, Password Self Help, which allows System i users to reset forgotten passwords by themselves, without involving the help desk or IT personnel.

It is no secret that forgotten passwords are a huge burden for organizations of all sizes. Among companies big enough to have a help desk, Gartner calculates that 30 percent of help desk calls are for password resets. Considering that each internal password reset costs $70 (according to Forrester Research), the cost of forgotten passwords can add up quickly.

Safestone’s Password Self Help utility helps organizations deal with passwords, which are necessary, if cumbersome. In addition to allowing users to reset forgotten passwords if they correctly answer a series of challenge questions, the software provides other password administration functions, such as removing default passwords, mandating complicated passwords, and requiring (and reminding) users to periodically choose new passwords, to keep them hard for hackers to guess.

Now, Safestone is ramping up its password rhetoric with a new program that allows System i shops to try Password Self Help. Users can download a fully functional, trial version of Password Self Help after they register with Safestone.

“We are confident that organizations will see the benefit of Password Self Help during their evaluation period,” says Nick Blattner, technical services engineer with Safestone.

The software can be downloaded at www.safestone.com.