BMC makes its move into IT process automation

Network/Systems Management This newsletter is sponsored by Arsenal Digital Solutions Traditional Backup vs. On-Demand Data Protection Services: Critical Questions for IT Decision-Makers When deciding on a data protection solution, budget limits, service quality, and compliance requirements all weigh on the minds of IT leaders. A single overlooked issue can mean the difference between disaster and continuous operations. In this Webcast, Doug Chandler of IDC will explain how many companies have evaluated their data protection choices in today's market and made a successful transition from in-house backup and recovery operations to service-based solutions. Click here to listen to this webcast today! Network World's Network/Systems Management Newsletter, 07/23/07 BMC makes its move into IT process automation By Denise Dubie BMC last week announced it had acquired IT process automation vendor RealOps, and the timing couldn’t be more perfect. Recently I detailed the pressing need for run-book, IT process and operations automation software in a series of stories, which also featured a list of 10 automation companies to watch in that market -- including RealOps. And industry watchers have been speculating as to when the big four management vendors would start acquiring smaller vendors such as RealOps, OpTier, Opalis and Optinuity to bring the automation features in house. New Executive Guide Network World has recently published an executive guide entitled "Virtualization Meets Reality". Find out the 8 key challenges of virtualizing your data center. Download it now! "The next big step for the big four management vendors is a move into automation in the areas of active configuration management and dynamic resource allocation. It will be a big disruptive play and a defining technology when they move into automation technologies," says Will Cappelli, a research vice president at Gartner. "It will be more of a challenge for BMC and CA, than HP and IBM because they have servers and storage technologies from which they can incrementally grow. BMC and CA will have to almost spring into the market with a fully shaped technology through acquisition." Data center automation vendor Opsware has already picked up iConclude for such purposes, and now BMC is the first of its market-leading management competitors to take the IT process automation plunge. The financial details of the deal were undisclosed and analysts say the deal is small, but the technology gain is significant for BMC. "It's a small, incremental deal for BMC customers who are looking to automate IT operations tasks within the BMC portfolio," says Stephen Elliot, a research manager at IDC. "This is a step forward in technology for BMC customers; task automation is a growing requirement for IT organizations to drive down costs. We expect to see more deals in this area over the next year."   What do you think? Post a comment on this newsletter

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Contact the author: Senior Editor Denise Dubie covers the technologies, products and services that address network, systems, application and IT service management for Network World. E-mail Denise. This newsletter is sponsored by Arsenal Digital Solutions Traditional Backup vs. On-Demand Data Protection Services: Critical Questions for IT Decision-Makers When deciding on a data protection solution, budget limits, service quality, and compliance requirements all weigh on the minds of IT leaders. A single overlooked issue can mean the difference between disaster and continuous operations. In this Webcast, Doug Chandler of IDC will explain how many companies have evaluated their data protection choices in today's market and made a successful transition from in-house backup and recovery operations to service-based solutions. Click here to listen to this webcast today! ARCHIVE Archive of the Network/Systems Management Newsletter. BONUS FEATURE IT PRODUCT RESEARCH AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Get detailed information on thousands of products, conduct side-by-side comparisons and read product test and review results with Network World’s IT Buyer’s Guides. Find the best solution faster than ever with over 100 distinct categories across the security, storage, management, wireless, infrastructure and convergence markets. Click here for details. PRINT SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE You've got the technology snapshot of your choice delivered to your inbox each day. Extend your knowledge with a print subscription to the Network World newsweekly, Apply here today. International subscribers, click here. SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES To subscribe or unsubscribe to any Network World newsletter, change your e-mail address or contact us, click here. This message was sent to: networking.world@gmail.com. Please use this address when modifying your subscription. Advertising information: Write to Associate Publisher Online Susan Cardoza Network World, Inc., 118 Turnpike Road, Southborough, MA 01772 Copyright Network World, Inc., 2007