RSA Security is preparing to deliver a powerful authentication solution for the long-neglected small to medium-sized business (SMB) market. Called the RSA SecurIDR Appliance, the two-factor authentication appliance will be formally announced Thursday. It will be demonstrated at next week's RSA Conference, in San Francisco.

RSA has hardened servers utilizing the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 operating system based on Microsoft and National Security Agency guidelines, the IT-security firm said. In addition to RSA SecurIDR Appliance, the bundled solution includes RSA SecurIDR tokens and RSAR Authentication Manager 6.0 software.

RSA's SecurID two-factor authentication system asks users to identify themselves with two unique factors--typically something they know, such as a password or a PIN, as well as something they possess, such as an RSA SecurID token. The token generates a one-time pass-code every 60 seconds. Before a user can gain access to secure data, both factors must be presented.