As of Dec. 1, the company is discontinuing Forefront Protection 2010 for Exchange Server (FPE), Forefront Protection 2010 for SharePoint (FPSP), Forefront Security for Office Communications Server (FSOCS), Forefront Threat Management Gateway 2010 (TMG) and Forefront Threat Management Gateway Web Protection Services (TMG WPS).
The company indicated that some of the capabilities are covered by other products. The basic anti-malware protection from FPE is being integrated into Exchange Server 2013. “This protection can be easily turned off, replaced or paired with other services (like Exchange Online Protection) to provide a layered defense,” Microsoft said.
For collaboration protection, SharePoint and Lync Servers offer the built-in security capabilities that many customers use to protect shared documents. For remote access, DirectAccess and the Routing and Remote Access Server (RRAS) VPN in Windows Server 2012 provide secure remote access for Windows and cross-platform clients, as well as cross-premise access through site-to-site VPN.
Microsoft is meanwhile rebranding Forefront Online Protection for Exchange, which has long been part of the Office 365 solution, as Exchange Online Protection to remove the Forefront branding.
The recently launched Forefront Identity Manager and Forefront Unified Access Gateway roadmaps remain intact. Forefront Unified Access Gateway provides secure application publishing and cross-platform SSL VPN remote access for a range of mobile devices.
FPE, FPSP, FSOCS, and TMG WPS subscriptions will be supported until the end of 2015, or each customer's current subscription date, whichever comes first. TMG will receive mainstream support until April 14, 2015, and extended support until April 14, 2020.