Here’s a clear-cut winner from the Demo 07 show: the Alcatel-Lucent Mobile Endpoint Management System (a more memorable name is coming, I’m told, when the product actually gets released). The telecom multinational with the ITT and Bell Labs pedigree may have solved one of the enterprise’s most intractable problems: how to safely manage and secure laptops when they’re not in the office. Any number of recent embarrassing incidents involving lost laptops can attest to the severity of the situation. The system is a 3G-based PC card that IT managers can access 24/7 — even when the laptop is turned off. The card itself, which is always on, has a 3G modem, its own processor, a Linux OS, and battery. Remove it, and the laptop shuts off instantly, and can’t be restarted until the card is reinserted. As you’d expect, it does hardware encryption of the hard drive (the encryption key is on-card). Alcatel-Lucent also threw in GPS, a SIMM card slot, and a Micro SD slot for expandable memory.IT managers will be able to do reliable remote patch management, deactivate the laptop if it’s lost or stolen, backup the hard drive to the card, even remotely delete the encryption key, rendering the PC unusable if it goes missing. For another layer of security, a VPN agent on the card ensures all data is tunneled through the VPN. I’ll be interested in seeing how reliably this works, since VPN management can be tricky, especially for mobile users who may be connecting to the Net using every possible connection and configuration option. Company representatives say this product will be available in 2007, for a price to be determined. At this point, they are not sure how they will bring it to market. Many network managers who struggle with keeping tabs on their mobile workforce will be rooting it happens soon. Technology Industry