A Tender Farewell to 2010

Welcome to 2011, and it’s already looking frenetic. Enex TestLab finished 2010 with a flurry of tenders and 2011 has started much the same. Governments and Commercials are ramping up contracts and Enex TestLab is right in the thick of them all. “The end of the year has been all about tenders, tenders and more tenders,” says Matt Tett, Director, Enex TestLab. Of particular note has been a contract signed between Enex TestLab and the Department from Broadband, Communcations and the Digital Economy (DBCDE) establishing a standing agreement for Enex TestLab to provide technical advice and support to the department. This is a critical alignment, Enex TestLab’s vast technical experience and independent perspective will provide continued valuable support for the department’s decision making process.

2011 also welcomes the prospect of the first major project for Enex TestLab to be undertaken with its China-based affiliate. Digital broadcasting is an exciting emerging area for us to be working in – more news will follow.

In a string of announcements, we are also proud to confirm our affiliation in Australia with well known vendors Compuware and MicroFocus. In the UK, Enex TestLab and MicroFocus already has a strong ongoing relationship. In future we expect to extend these agreements into other regions such as China.

Enex TestLab Gaming, Wagering, Lotteries and Casino Testing Division has been a major source of activity through 2010. We have recently completed our ISO 17025 gaming accreditation, meaning that Enex TestLab can now be an Accredited Test Facility (ATF) for the UK Gambling Commission, adding this jurisdiction to an already impressive list of licences held by Enex TestLab including all of Australia, New Zealand and Macau. Enex TestLab had a significant presence at the AGE (Australian Gaming Expo) held in Sydney in Q4 2010, and marks our aggressive growth in this market. Enex TestLab is bringing a welcome increase in choice, value and independence to this industry. You will see an ongoing ramping up of our presence and activity in this sector for 2011.

As we mentioned briefly last newsletter Matthew Hackling has joined Enex TestLab as General Manager of our Australian Security testing division. Matt is the first of what will be a number of management announcements for Enex TestLab. We look forward to revealing a number of new additions in 2011. With the expansion of our physical and materials testing division, and our ever growing work in media and communications, new additions to these will see Enex TestLab’s local senior headcount rise significantly.

Finally, a new year also marks the return of the Internet Industry Associations (IIA) annual Gala dinner. Enex TestLab is once again sponsoring the entertainment for the event and we look forward to seeing our clients and friends there again in February.

Tweeting through Windows, eThreatz and a Family Web.

Did you know Enex TestLab is tweeting? You can also stay up-to-date with Enex's operations and testing, including all of its products and services via Facebook. If you've already been following, you might have heard about Enex's work with Microsoft to perform compatibility testing for Windows7.

Enex TestLab Microsoft Windows7 Compatibility Testing and Microsoft Windows Logo Certification Packages are new cost saving services offer by Enex for managing application compatibility with Microsoft's upcoming Operating System - Windows7.

Significant changes made to Windows7 (particularly to the way third-party code is handled) mean there is no guarantee an application will be fully compatible, even if it installs successfully on the Windows7 Beta version.

Enex TestLab Microsoft Windows7 Compatibility Testing is a low-cost service that has attracted a lot of interest from businesses keen to keep costs down as they prepare for the new OS. The rapid turn-around test is proving to be a popular way for organisations to minimise the potential need for patches after release, as well as keeping developer resources focused.

Other customers are seizing the opportunity to use Enex to manage their product successfully through Microsoft Windows Logo certification. See microsoft.testlab.com.au

Enex publishing has continued to push out a steady flow of reading material this quarter with integrated security devices returning to focus. tinyurl.com/enexutm and the Cisco ISR891 router tinyurl.com/enexcisco Continue checking zdnet.com.au for regular Enex reviews.

This quarter Enex is also proud to release a new flagship product eThreatz. eThreatz is the world’s first fully automated malware testing service. Developed to be the most accurate, flexible and cost effective service available, eThreatz addresses the complete range of malware, including: spyware, worms, trojans, viruses, rootkits, adware, crimeware, and botnets.

Enex TestLab eThreatz malware testing is designed to be repeatable - automatically. This means that the same batch of malware can be used repeatedly in order to regressively test for a specific requirement. Or, (for example) Enex TestLab can run live, constantly updating tests in real-time to determine how effectively a product can defend against malware in the real world, at any given moment in time.

Using real-time, real-world, malware and testing conditions, eThreatz delivers the most accurate and most useful security testing in the world. It can be fully customised, and because it is automated, it is extremely cost effective. Reporting is also fully customisable, and is delivered – automatically. It’s amazing no-one’s done anything like this before! See ethreatz.com

Q3 2009 also saw increased activity with a number of tests conducted by Enex for the Internet Industry Association's (IIA) Family Friendly Content Filter Scheme.

Each year, accredited filters are put through rigorous compliance testing by Enex TestLab to provide a benchmarked assessment of each content filter’s capability, including its effectiveness in relation to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) blacklisted sites.
Accreditation through Enex offers formal certification that an Internet content filter complies with the Australian Internet Industry Association (IIA) codes for regulating online content. See testlab.com.au/web/guest/iia

Lastly for Q3, Enex capitalised on its membership on the Victorian Government eServices Panel. Enex has a long history of work with the Victorian Government. As a member of the panel, Enex can deliver testing, and performance and metrics consultancy services across the complete Government portfolio.

Ultimately, this means Enex will provide a really diverse range of services such as testing Government software development to minimise risk and contain costs; testing products during procurement evaluations; security testing; application performance testing; and even usability testing - ensuring applications or services are accessible to everyone who needs to use it. See testlab.com.au/web/guest/eservices

Lots more news to come in Q4 - or catch our musings and newsings as they happen with all the tweets, blogs and bleeps you could every wish for.