BMC Hones Configuration Strategy

BMC Software Inc. is filling in a missing piece of its change and configuration management strategy with a new partner in its MarketZone Partner Product program.

Voyence Inc. brings to BMC the integration of its VoyenceControl network configuration management software with BMCs SIM (Service Impact Manager). VoyenceControl automates network planning, design, deployment and change management processes.

"Voyence does [discovery of] detailed network configuration data—something we dont do," said Mary Nugent, vice president of service management solutions at BMC, in Houston. "It extends our coverage of the business service, down to how the network is configured for that application."

Voyence, based in Richardson, Texas, used the APIs in BMCs SIM to provide bidirectional communication between VoyenceControl and SIM and to provide real-time service impact information to operators.

"I do agree its important to be able to track those [network] devices and understand the impact of those devices in the event theyre taken out of service," said Peter Pace, manager of change management for United Airlines, in Elk Grove Village, Ill. "You have to understand the entire IT infrastructure in order to manage it."

As part of its strategy, BMC will launch several products over the coming months to help customers speed the implementation of the companys Business Service Management tools.

Due late this summer is the BMC IT Discovery Suite, which includes a Discovery Express module that allows users to identify the infrastructure components that constitute IT environments, a Configuration Discovery module that shows how those components are configured, and a Topology Discovery module that shows how systems are linked and how applications are related. All three will populate a common Configuration Management Database, which is due in October.

In addition to the discovery and detection capabilities, the strategy calls for process-based change management and policy-based configuration automation. It incorporates the Remedy Change Management offering as well as configuration management software BMC acquired with its purchase of Marimba Inc., of Mountain View, Calif.

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