Citrix Lauches Password Manager

As Citrix's annual iForum user conference nears, the Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based company released MetaFrame Password Manager, one of several products billed under the company's new MetaFrame Access Suite brand.

Once a user authenticates to a system using a single password, Password Manager automatically logs that person into any password-protected system while enforcing password policies. It also monitors all password-related events and can automate tasks such as password changes, the company said.

Citrix maintains that its single sign-on product compares favorably to other offerings because it does not require scripting or application-level integration.

Citrix solution providers say they're seeing strong interest in the product.

"We have a lot of people we've targeted for this [product]," said Paul Kunze, director of sales at IntraSystems, a Randolph, Mass.-based Citrix solution provider. "When you have people with multiple passwords, it tends to make people write down the passwords, and that's the last thing you want. If a remote user has multiple authentication keys and they have to log into different apps, you can have Password Manager intelligently learn their password."

Password Manager costs $179 for concurrent users, a model that lowers the per-user price to less than $60, the company said.

Citrix, which is banking heavily on the security aspects of its terminal services software, plans to detail other enhanced products at iForum beginning Oct. 13, including updates to the components in its suite, and a MetaFrame XP update, sources said.

According to a Citrix document examined by CRN, the third feature release of MetaFrame XP will offer Windows Server 2003 support, Universal Print Driver II, SpeedScreen browser acceleration, Web Interface 2.0 (formerly NFuse) and simplified license activation.