Microsoft is delaying the launch of its Forefront Endpoint Protection (FEP) 2010 anti-malware product until the second half of next year.

The anti-malware product for Windows desktops and servers is part of the upcoming Forefront Protection Suite, formerly known by its codename Stirling.

"Based on customer feedback and market trends, we have made the strategic decision to build FEP on System Center Configuration Manager, Microsoft's solution to comprehensively assess, deploy and update servers, clients and devices," read a posting on the Forefront team blog.

"This approach better aligns our customers' client management and security infrastructure, helping simplify deployment and reduce costs."

Microsoft said that, in the meantime, it will continue to offer the Forefront Client Security solution, which will protect Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, and is currently working on the tools necessary to facilitate the upgrade to FEP.

"We also remain committed to providing integrated management for the FEP Suite," read the blog post.

"We will release Forefront Protection Manager in the first half of 2010, as scheduled, providing multi-server management for FEP 2010 for Exchange Server and FEP 2010 for SharePoint. We will provide information about endpoint security management in Forefront Protection Manager at a later time."