Improved Network Security Now Showing at Cineplex Galaxy

INFOSECURITY CANADA - June 15, 2005 – Microsoft Canada Co. today announced that Cineplex Galaxy LP, one of Canada’s largest entertainment motion picture exhibitors, has selected Microsoft® Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2004 and Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) 2005 to help protect its IT systems and to maximize existing IT investments by improving network security and performance.

Cineplex Galaxy LP (CGLP) was created as a limited partnership in November 2003 by merging Galaxy Entertainment Inc. and the Canadian assets of Cineplex Odeon Corp. The company operates 86 theatres, with a total of 775 screens in six provinces across Canada. CGLP has over 3,500 employees, and manages over 250 e-mail accounts within the theatre network and head office.

To meet the needs of its mobile workforce and to help enforce network security, CGLP deployed ISA Server 2004 to help ensure its managers traveling from theatre to theatre, in addition to its internal users, had access to e-mail from virtually any location. The company also deployed MOM 2005 to help its network administrators better identify and resolve IT performance issues before they resulted in costly system downtime.

CGLP was undertaking a large IT restructuring project and approached Microsoft for a solution to help protect its IT systems. The organization chose ISA Server 2004, an advanced, purpose-built application layer firewall, VPN and Web cache solution, as well as MOM 2005. MOM 2005 helps simplify identification of issues, streamlines the process for determining the root cause of a problem, and facilitates quick resolution to help restore services and to help prevent potential IT problems.

“Security is a prime concern for us. We transfer a lot of confidential information and we need to ensure our mobile workers have access to their e-mail at all times,” said Jeff Kent, chief technology officer, Cineplex Galaxy LP. “Microsoft provided us with an effective and reliable solution to help us monitor our network proactively, alert us immediately to any problems, and easily deploy updates and patches when needed.”

“CGLP is another Canadian organization that is experiencing the various security benefits of Microsoft software,” said Derick Wong, senior security product manager, Microsoft Canada. “Microsoft ISA Server 2004 and MOM 2005 offer CGLP the efficiencies in systems and security management it needs as a first line of defense and manageability against unwanted attackers.”

Working with LegendCorp, a Toronto-based Microsoft Gold Certified network solutions provider, CGLP selected both ISA Server 2004 and MOM 2005 for their intuitive functionality and enhanced security features, which it deemed superior to other solutions on the market.

“Security is a prime concern at Cineplex Galaxy. We worked with the organization to ensure it had an effective and reliable solution that would not only help protect its networks but update and monitor those networks when needed,” said Andy Papadopoulos, president, LegendCorp. “We worked alongside the Cineplex Galaxy team to help them understand the capabilities and features of ISA Server 2004 and MOM 2005 so they could make the right decisions about how their network should best be designed.”

LegendCorp helped the CGLP IT team get its systems up and running with MOM 2005 and ISA Server 2004 in less than a month. “With both products, we know our IT systems are being managed effectively,” said Kent of CGLP. “We are confident with our decision to deploy Microsoft-based solutions. We know that our systems have enhanced protection against Internet threats and attacks.”