Venafi Delivers Encryption Management Capabilities for IBM z/OS

Supports IBM Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Services to Help Companies Such
as Fifth Third Bank Reduce System Failure, Increase Operational Efficiency,
Improve Data Security

SANDY, Utah, Jan. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Venafi, a provider of systems
management for encryption software, today announced the integration of Venafi
Server Encryption Manager (SEM) with the IBM (NYSE: IBM) Public Key
Infrastructure (PKI) Services for z/OS. The new offering enables users of
IBM's flagship mainframe operating system to easily deploy, manage and control
digital certificates, significantly reducing the risk of system failure from
un- or under-managed encryption while assisting efforts to increase
operational efficiency, improve data security and facilitate compliance with
new industry regulations.
With encryption use on the rise, IBM System z customers are seeing a
proliferation of certificates in use throughout their organizations, and are
using PKI Services for z/OS as a secure, robust certificate authority. The
latest release of Venafi SEM will enable these customers to automate the
issuance and maintenance of new certificates as well as the discovery of
existing certificates; facilitate policy-driven configuration of applications
to utilize the certificates; and perform ongoing certificate lifecycle
management, monitoring and reporting.
"Managing these certificates within z/OS provides a high level of
resilience and security, and with Venafi SEM now integrated with our PKI
Services, these companies can now significantly simplify the process," said
Jim Porell, chief architect, IBM System z Software. "This in turn supercharges
PKI Services for z/OS with a potential for a much lower total cost of
ownership for internal certificate authority functions."
Fifth Third Bank is already beginning to automate encryption management,
according to Erik T. Heidt, assistant vice president cryptographic consulting
and architecture team at the Fortune 500 financial services firm. "The z/OS
support in Venafi SEM is going to enable Fifth Third Bank to leverage our
existing investment in mainframe security controls to build a solid foundation
for our internal PKI infrastructure," Heidt said. "To build out equivalent
controls around another hardware platform would make deploying a secure
Certificate Authority cost prohibitive. Being able to leverage our existing
z/OS investment and use Venafi to select Certificate Authorities (internal or
commercial), by policy we will realize year-one savings and greatly accelerate
our ROI."
According to Trell Rohovit, Venafi president & CEO, simplifying encryption
management for IBM z/OS will help users of IBM z/OS mainframe take better
advantage of the encryption that is critical to data protection. "We have had
numerous requests from our customers and the marketplace to leverage the
certificate authority capabilities of IBM z/OS," Rohovit said. "Delivering
support for IBM PKI Services for z/OS significantly extends our business and
is a tremendous win for our customers and prospects."
About Venafi
Venafi provides systems management for encryption by enabling
organizations to deploy, manage and control encryption technologies across
their diverse operating systems and infrastructure environments -- from the
desktop to the datacenter. Venafi products provide automated discovery of
encryption, application encryption configuration, key and certificate
lifecycle management and reporting. The tangible business value for Venafi
customers includes significantly reduced system failure due to under-managed
encryption, increased operational efficiency, reduced operating costs, and
improved compliance and data security. Venafi customers consist of some of the
most prestigious financial services, telecommunications, and online services
companies in the world. For more information, go to http://www.venafi.com.
For more information on IBM Systems z, please visit
http://www.ibm.com/systems/z
SOURCE Venafi

Jeff Allen of Venafi, +1-801-676-6900, ar-pr@venafi.com or Kelly Wanlass of
Wanlass Public Relations, +1-801-766-2362, kelly@wanlass.com, for Venafi