Gateway extends SharePoint security
Gateway extends SharePoint security
October 1, 2008: The ability to protect documents and eliminate the risk of data loss beyond the SharePoint collaboration and document-management environment is being promised with a new Gateway product from Liquid Machines
The Gateway for SharePoint is tightly integrated with Microsoft Windows Rights Management Services (RMS) and Microsoft Office SharePoint Services (MOSS) to persistently protect files opened or downloaded from SharePoint
The Liquid Machines Gateway for SharePoint supports existing business processes and workflows by extending persistent information protection to a broader range of document and file types, and enabling advanced rights-managed workflows.
Since 2003, Liquid Machines has offered solutions that tightly integrate with and extend the efficacy of Windows RMS. Liquid Machines enables users to create and manage a persistent set of access controls that travel with the content, protecting against unauthorized access to files regardless of where they travel.
"Microsoft has sold more than 100 million licenses of SharePoint and surpassed total sales of $US1 billion since its introduction," said Ed Gaudet, senior vice president of corporate development and marketing. "Liquid Machines is extending its award-winning software solutions to support this substantial market opportunity and enable global customers to persistently protect data from loss when used outside of Microsoft SharePoint."
Documents removed from SharePoint are automatically protected by the Gateway for SharePoint with an RMS policy that includes the proper permissions for all authorised library or list users. Authorised users, even when working outside of the network, can collaborate on protected documents without first returning to the library. Different users can have different usage rights based on their SharePoint permissions. If an unauthorized user obtains a copy, they are prevented from opening it. When the document is saved back to SharePoint, the Gateway decrypts the file to maintain indexing and search capabilities within SharePoint.
The Liquid Machines Gateway for SharePoint protects content by automatically encrypting it and applying rights management controls when a user opens or downloads files stored in SharePoint. SharePoint documents are protected no matter where they reside -- at rest, in transit or in use. Similarly, when a user uploads a protected file, the Gateway decrypts the file and stores it for searching or archiving of document libraries. This allows the native SharePoint search and index service to crawl and index content according SharePoint access control lists and permissions, so unauthorized search results are not displayed.
Gateway for SharePoint automatically protects files with a Microsoft Rights Management Services (RMS) policy and extends persistent protection to hundreds of file formats. In addition to Microsoft Office documents, Liquid Machines adds RMS protection to over 400 file types including text, graphic, word processing, spreadsheets, presentation, CAD, database, and email. Examples of supported file types include those from the following applications: Adobe Reader, FrameMaker, Lotus AMI Pro, Corel WordPerfect, StarOffice, WordStar, MacWrite, Paint Shop, Corel Draw, Photoshop, Illustrator, Micrografx, OpenOffice, Visio, Lotus 123, Access, Paradox, Outlook, Project, and Yahoo IM.
Liquid Machines enables distributed collaboration scenarios by protecting files with a custom RMS policy that includes all authorized users and their corresponding previously defined SharePoint permissions. This enables multiple authorized users to collaborate on documents without having to check them back into SharePoint. This is particularly useful for mobile and branch-office workers.
Liquid Machines persistently protects RMS protected content as it is edited within and across desktop applications. For example, a SharePoint user can perform common workflows with protected content such as copying a Visio diagram to the clipboard, pasting it in a PowerPoint presentation, and printing it to Adobe PDF. Annotations and commenting are supported in Adobe Reader when viewing an RMS-protected PDF; similarly, full object linking and embedding of protected content is supported in Microsoft Office applications.