What next for TMG users?
In its latest “Magic Quadrant for Secure Web Gateway Report”, Gartner has reported that Microsoft had advised that it will no longer be shipping TMG – but only “sustaining” it for the time being until its declared end-of-life. Deb Shinder from ISAserver.org blogged about this here and here but there has been no official statement from Microsoft to confirm or deny the news. However, the writing is certainly on the wall: TMG seems to be on the way out.
And where does that leave you as an ISA Server and/or ForeFront TMG client? And how will this affect your organization’s web filtering capabilities? Frankly – it’s too early to tell. Shinder has speculated on what might happen to TMG – will it be merged into the cloud; merged into other Microsoft products? Only Microsoft really knows what’s going to happen.
Whatever may be happening in the TMG world, a lack of web filtering is costing your organization money – in terms of productivity losses, in terms of users’ machines becoming infected with malicious content, in terms of your bandwidth being used up because employees are watching clips on YouTube or streaming media; in terms of downloads of movies or TV series on company time and using company bandwidth. Each of these examples has an impact on productivity and company resources, while also exposing the company (and its management) to increased risk of legal liabilities. And now that TMG’s future is in doubt, it’s a good idea to start considering other alternatives.
With GFI WebMonitor – our web filter software – we are committed to your users’ online web security whilst ensuring that productivity levels are maintained. We are committed to helping small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) keep their web browsing as safe an activity as possible whilst ensuring the full correct use of their resources. We are committed to keeping up with the latest threat developments, and providing you with new versions of our robust software solution to continue catering for your web content filtering needs. And we give it to you at a price which you can afford.
About the Author: David Attard
David Attard has been working in various roles in the IT Industry for more than 10 years. He currently specializes is in the Internet security space. He is Product Manager for GFI WebMonitor® at GFI Software™.
It is a somewhat curious decision, I think, for Microsoft to be discontinuing TMG, but then it’s certainly not one of their most high-profile properties, and there are also certainly better products available (at least I think so) when it comes to threat management. Microsoft rarely closes a door on a product without building a window (bad pun), so I think you’re probably right about its primary features getting integrated into a future version of one of their more prolific programs or suites.
This will be a blessing in disguise for both Microsoft and the ISA Server / ForeFront TMG client. The world of online and offline securities, router system, and firewall have evolved – so that it will not be left behind so should Microsoft’s network security and protection tool.
What’s the next step for TMG? Well, for now, at least some partial integration with cloud computing would be an ideal move. Let’s just wait and see for Microsoft’s official statement.