Why 'Cisco's strategic IT mgmt.' may no longer be an oxymoron

NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: JEFFREY NUDLER ON NETWORK/SYSTEMS
MANAGEMENT
08/15/05
Today's focus: Why 'Cisco's strategic IT mgmt.' may no longer
be an oxymoron

Dear networking.world@gmail.com,

In this issue:

* Cisco's network management ambitions
* Links related to Network/Systems Management
* Featured reader resource
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Today's focus: Why 'Cisco's strategic IT mgmt.' may no longer
be an oxymoron

By Jeffrey Nudler

Cisco's recent announcement of a definitive agreement to acquire
Sheer Networks <http://www.networkworld.com/nlnsm5016>, a
developer of network and service management software products,
represents a major strategic IT management market reversal, as
well as an endorsement of emerging technology. With the Sheer
acquisition, Cisco's strategic shift towards multi-vendor IT
infrastructure management represents a major change of market
focus for Cisco, and may have a significant impact on the IT
management market in general.

For Cisco customers who previously had devoted enormous amounts
of time and capital to integrate functional IT management
infrastructures from multi-vendor products, the Sheer
acquisition holds the promise of reducing this deployment
burden. Cisco and its numerous IT management partners have
gained through this acquisition an integration platform for a
wide variety of IT management products, thus lifting much of the
integration and deployment burden off the customer's shoulders.

Sheer and other judicious acquisitions, along with Cisco
well-focused partnerships, will, in time, enable Cisco customers
to easily "mix and match" the IT management functionality best
suitable to individual customer requirements and budgets. All
this is possible in part because Cisco, in the past few years,
has already made significant investments in its IT management
capability through internal development such as Network Based
Application Recognition (NBAR) and Application-Oriented
Networking (AON), partnerships such as with Opnet
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlnsm5017>, and acquisitions such
as NetSolve
<http://www.networkworld.com/news/2004/0909ciscotoac.html?rl>.
Moreover, the recent acquisition of Topspin Communications, a
grid server manufacturer, enables Cisco to package IT management
for its customers on high performance systems platforms.
Whichever route Cisco may take, Cisco will likely have an impact
on the IT management marketplace qualitatively and
quantitatively.

Sheer's most distinctive feature is its Dynamic Network
Abstraction (DNA) network modeling functionality. DNA supports
the execution of network management tasks, such as fault
management, and enables the rapid development of additional
management functionality. The DNA network modeling functionality
enables IT to:

* Meet the customer needs for multi-vendor infrastructure
management tools.
* Concentrate technical resources on improving support for
business mission rather than "firefighting" issues with IT
infrastructure components.
* Provide flexible (on demand) mix and match IT management
functionality to suite specific customer needs.
* Enhance the capability for automated management actions - an
essential functionality for utility computing.
* Deliver a management platform scalable for very large IT
infrastructures.

These major benefits promote and support Cisco's shift towards
multi-vendor IT infrastructure management as well as endorse the
modeling approach found in products of other network management
vendors such as Intelliden and ILC.

The top 5: Today's most-read stories

1. Cisco to double Catalyst 6500 switch capacity in coming
months, report says
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlnsm5018>

2. Ex WorldCom CFO Sullivan gets 5 years in jail
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlnsm5019>

3. Microsoft open source exec: Not the loneliest guy in Redmond
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlnsm4810>

4. Cisco mulls acquiring Nokia, report says
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlnsm5020>

5. IT staff shortage looming
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlnsm5021>
_______________________________________________________________
To contact: Jeffrey Nudler

Jeffrey Nudler is a senior analyst with Enterprise Management
Associates, whose major focus is performance management and
related issues. Jeffrey has over 25 years of communications and
computer industry experience, including extensive experience
with the design and development of network management solutions.
His areas of expertise include networks (both voice and data)
fault, performance and configuration. Jeffrey is also active in
EMA's research in the area of configuration management database.
He can be reached at: <mailto:jnudler@enterprisemanagement.com>
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by Netuitive
Serious ROI: Automate Systems Management; Slash Costs

Want to generate serious ROI for your company? Technology pros
from Wells Fargo, XM Satellite Radio, NIH, Priceline, and more
offer insight and tell how they overcame today's most critical
performance management challenge. Download the white paper:
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=110587
_______________________________________________________________
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Management Research Center:
http://www.networkworld.com/topics/management.html
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