Big Brother network appliance

'Only the paranoid survive' is the title of a book by ex-Intel boss Andrew Grove, but it would also make an apt marketing slogan for network appliance maker Chronicle Solutions.

The company develops what it calls 'content capturing solutions' for enterprises and government agenices that need to keep close tabs on what's happening on their networks. The netReplay appliance (which comes in several versions tailored for different-sized organisations) performs real-time monitoring, capturing and indexing of all user communications, including email, web mail, instant messaging, blogging and VoIP traffic.

With corporate governance and compliance increasingly high on the business agenda, the advent of such a product was inevitable, but it's hard to imagine how much more intrusive an organisation could get. Blanket CCTV coverage? Microchipping the staff?

Before passing any judgement, however, we must review this thing. Check the Reviews channel in the coming weeks for a full evaluation.