The Pipeline

Layer cake
Government and policy go together like peaches and cream. So naturally, when any information technology development project is under way, managers need a way to ensure that policies are being enforced.

To address that issue, WebLayers released a new WebLayers Center platform that performs automated policy management, implementation, enforcement and auditing. “This platform provides the ability to bridge the gap between what the IT leaders are trying to accomplish and what the IT project teams are actually delivering,” said Gregg Bjork, senior vice president of field operations at WebLayers.

The product is organized into three solution-specific modules: service-oriented architecture (SOA), outsourcing/offshoring and enterprise systems integration. The modules let organizations define, enforce and audit policy compliance for each of their IT initiatives.

The WebLayers Center platform tools include custom dashboard reports, a policy library center, detailed analysis and diagnostics, and auditing.

Government agencies can use the platform to enable development teams to comply with project and enterprise policies, govern publication to Universal Description, Discovery and Integration registries and repositories, monitor the runtime of SOA messaging environments and qualify outsourcing project deliverables.

The product lets managers automatically define and create policies, import current policies, instantly view managerial information and easily drill down for quick diagnostics. The WebLayers Center consists of servers, governors (which are software programs that enforce policies) and libraries. Server pricing starts at $150,000.

Crash but don’t burn
On the highway and on the desktop, crashing is a fact of life. But now, at least for computers, burning doesn’t have to be.

PC crashes sometimes occur because of viruses, worms or other malware, but they can also occur for no apparent reason. This is why a product such as Recover Pro 6 from Phoenix Technologies can be valuable.

The product is a self-contained application that resides on a protected portion of the hard drive. According to Phoenix, that hidden partition is impervious to all threats, including viruses that commonly affect operating systems.

Recover Pro 6 works by saving snapshots of your system to the hidden partition so that when a crash occurs you can revert to your computer’s previous state.

Recover Pro 6 sells for a suggested retail price of $49.95. Volume discounts are available.