http://www.managesoft.com

Solution Automates Release Management and Reporting to Help IT Organizations Minimize Risks and Lessen Costs Associated with Sarbanes-Oxley

Boston, Mass. – Large US companies are using automated software management solutions from ManageSoft to help reduce the burden placed on IT from Sections 302 and 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act of 2002. The unique, patented ManageSoft smart-agent architecture helps to enable an auditable software release management process – one of the critical success factors of SOX compliance – as well as provides documentation to substantiate sufficient use of internal controls.

Through its dynamic software management capabilities, ManageSoft offers enterprises a rapid, accurate, repeatable and complete methodology for release management as well as a solution for managing and monitoring IT assets, while reducing costs associated with supporting SOX compliance. ManageSoft also allows enterprises to implement controls in support of compliance with other industry regulations such as HIPAA, California Act, Basel II and CLERP-9.

According to Gartner, “Sarbanes-Oxley compliance is a significant effort for all midsize or large businesses…Ad hoc or departmental approaches will provide neither the needed efficiency nor effectiveness. Compliance should embrace enterprise wide processes; it should be managed and supported by owners, well-designed systems and appropriate technology.” (“Beyond Sarbanes-Oxley: Risk, Compliance and Transparency,” Carol Rozwell, Gartner IT Asset Management Summit, Sept. 20-22, 2004.)

Unlike Y2K, SOX compliance represents an ongoing cycle of process, documentation and audits. According to Financial Executives International (FEI), it is estimated that the total costs of first-year compliance with Section 404 of the SOX Act could exceed $4.6 million for each of the largest U.S. companies. Under the SOX Act, executives are held personally responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the financial data they report as well as for ensuring that appropriate internal controls are in place and material disclosures are rapid and current.

For companies to achieve compliance, IT organizations are under tremendous burden to put processes and an infrastructure in place to address two sections of the law. Section 404, which requires companies to have internal controls around issues such as change management, security, application deployment and release management, means IT must put in place a process-based approach that is auditable. In addition, companies must ensure, under Section 302, that any data contributing to financial reports is accurate and complete. This includes data concerning software and hardware assets, as well as software license compliance.

ManageSoft provides IT organizations with a complete software management and reporting solution to automate the IT processes required and supplement documentation necessary for companies to be on the road to compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley. Companies are using ManageSoft to reduce the burden and cost of compliance by:

- Performing IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) best practice release management processes;

- Ensuring enterprise security compliance;

- Maintaining constant fulfillment of corporate policies by providing ongoing release management of software, security patches and digital content;

- Minimizing risk of non-compliance litigation through effective license management;

- Reducing the burden of auditing and tracking hardware and software assets;

- Managing data center operations.

“Given that financial documentation and controls are heavily dependent on IT systems, it is imperative to include an IT perspective when approaching Sarbanes-Oxley compliance,” said Walter Elliot, CEO of ManageSoft. “By deploying ManageSoft’s solution, C-level executives are demonstrating their commitment to achieving Sarbanes-Oxley compliance in an efficient and cost-effective manner. Using ManageSoft’s solution, enterprises reduce the burden on IT to achieve not only SOX compliance but for other regulatory initiatives as well.”

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About ManageSoft Corporation

ManageSoft, The Software Management Company, reduces IT support costs for desktops, laptops, handheld devices and servers located anywhere in the world by enabling large organizations to automatically deploy, update and manage software and security patches for Windows, Linux and UNIX devices. Unlike competing products, ManageSoft solutions combine policy-based management with a scalable and cost-effective client-centric architecture to streamline IT service support, improve IT service delivery, and dramatically reduce IT costs. ManageSoft provides category-leading automated software management solutions for security patch management, server management, software deployment, license management, mobile management, IT asset tracking, software license management and IT business intelligence.

4ManageSoft Corporation is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, an IBM Business Partner, and a global partner of Siemens Business Services. Founded in 1990, ManageSoft has offices in North and South America, Australia, and Europe, with corporate customers including Diageo Guinness, ANZ Bank, Siemens, Abbey National, Thomson Prometric and T-Mobile. For more information on ManageSoft see http://www.managesoft.com.