Summary: Forefront/Stirling is axed by Microsoft despite all the stupendous attempts to sell it

MICROSOFT'S long list of dead products from 2008-2010 has just grown longer. Several days ago Microsoft quietly announced that a product it had been hyping up, Forefront, is going into the bit bucket. Why did Microsoft speak about this so informally?

Microsoft won't release its planned Forefront Protection Manager (FPM) security management product after all, the company blogged last night.

We have attempted to find more explanations, but there is no compelling one. Many products that go under the same banner are affected:

The development of Forefront Protection Manager, which was to offer centralized management of the range of Forefront-branded security products, has been cancelled. Codenamed "Stirling," FPM was going to provide a single management console for Forefront Client Security, Forefront Protection 2010 for Exchange Server (FPE), and Forefront Protection 2010 for SharePoint (FPSP), as well as integration with Forefront Threat Management Gateway.

This is also covered in:

• Microsoft drops Forefront Protection Manager
• Microsoft Quitely Cans Forefront Protection Manager
• Microsoft to cease Forefront desktop security software
• Microsoft drops enterprise end point security suite
• Microsoft rejigs enterprise end point security management
• Microsoft's Forefront 'Stirling' security suite faces yet another setback
• Forefront Protection Manager Will Not Be Released to Market

This news puts the kibosh on promotional articles such as this new one which recommends Forefront (published just days ago, so imagine those who followed the advice). But Forefront is dead "and up til this month, they were telling people to buy it," says our reader Ryan, "and that it was great." ⬆