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Qualys Opens First European Secure Operations Centre

New Data Centre highlights the adoption by European companies of Qualys’ Software as a Service approach to security

Frankfurt — September 14, 2005 — Qualys, the leader in on demand vulnerability management and policy compliance, opened today its first Secure Operations Centre (SOC) in Europe. The centre – the first of its type in Europe, located in Frankfurt – underscores Qualys’ commitment to the European market and the growing significance of vulnerability management in the region. Enterprises and institutions across Europe are implementing vulnerability management at an accelerating rate to protect their critical assets, comply with new security regulations and enable the growth of their organisations.

“Qualys’ Software as a Service, or on demand solution, has allowed us to deploy Vulnerability Management as one important building block of our IT risk management process across the global network in a record time. This is because the unique combination of a secure operation centre with remotely managed appliances eliminates the costs and complexity associated with the deployment and management of software in multiple locations,” said Andreas Wuchner-Bruehl, Head of Global IT Security at Novartis AG. “The building of a secure operation centre in Europe is a clear sign of Qualys commitment to the European market and of the success of their model.”

“Managing networks is not just about ensuring reliability; it is about providing security and openness to customers, partners and suppliers,” said Philippe Courtot, Chairman and CEO of Qualys. “It is also about guaranteeing confidentiality and integrity of data to satisfy business requirements and regulatory compliance. Understanding a network’s potential vulnerabilities, establishing regular audits, prioritizing remediation and ensuring compliance to internal and external regulations – all once very costly and difficult if not impossible to achieve on a global scale – are now possible using a Software as a Service model.”

The new European Secure Operations Centre extends the benefits of on demand vulnerability management to a new range of European organisations, particularly to those in certain sectors, where companies and agencies face strict rules about data being stored outside the EEC. The combination of a central data centre, with remotely managed appliances and a fully on demand service, is the only practical way for large enterprises to deploy vulnerability management on a global basis and the most cost effective solution for smaller organisations to deploy vulnerability management for their networks. This approach has already been experiencing considerable uptake – with European sales revenues for Qualys increasing 90% last year and with more than 600 subscribers across Europe.

The new Security Operations Centre is protected by the industry’s most advanced access control and data security standards. The centre is TÜV-certified for EnSEC1 (Enterprise Security Management) and is configured as a private vault set-up to offer the highest level of physical security. It offers encrypted data storage and secure processing of vulnerability data based on a fully redundant architecture of load-balanced application servers. The new Security Operations Centre is strictly monitored and managed 24 hours, seven days a week by Qualys.

QualysGuard is the first comprehensive security and policy compliance solution delivered on demand. This unique delivery architecture provides organisations with the ability to assess and manage business risk from any Internet browser at any time. QualysGuard users avoid capital outlay for equipment and software. Due to the level of automation, large-scale enterprise deployments can be up and running in hours and remediation workflow can be delivered remotely across the enterprise.

1 TÜV Rheinland is a global leader in independent testing and assessment services. EnSEC is a set of technical procedures established by them setting a high standard in data protection.

About Qualys

With more than 2,000 subscribers ranging from small businesses to multinational corporations, Qualys has become the leader in on demand vulnerability management and policy compliance. The company allows security managers to strengthen the security of their networks effectively, conduct automated security audits and ensure compliance with internal policies and external regulations. Qualys’ on demand technology offers customers significant economic advantages, requiring no capital outlay or infrastructure to deploy and manage. Its distributed scanning capabilities and unprecedented scalability make it ideal for large, distributed organisations. Hundreds of large companies have deployed Qualys on a global scale, including AXA, DuPont, Hershey Foods, ICI Ltd, Novartis, Sodexho, Standard Chartered Bank and many others. Qualys is headquartered in Redwood City, California, with European offices in France, Germany and the U.K., and Asian representatives in Japan, Singapore, Australia, Korea and the Republic of China. For more information, please visit www.qualys.com.


Qualys, the Qualys logo and QualysGuard are proprietary trademarks of Qualys, Inc. All other products or names may be trademarks of their respective companies.

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