EMC Offering Server, Compliance Management Tools

Storage giant EMC is looking beyond its traditional roots in data storage and network management software and will now begin offering a new set of products that address server configuration and compliance management.

EMC plans to introduce two new management tools Oct. 29. The first, Server Configuration Manager, automates the management of individual servers and ensures compliance with different federal regulations. The second, Configuration Analytics Manager, acts as a business intelligence tool and will keep track of data and configuration changes over time.

These two new management tools, which will integrate with existing EMC products such as its VoyenceControl tool for network configuration management, will be available on Nov. 15. The EMC Server Configuration Manager tool will also integrate with VMware’s virtual infrastructure products to allow IT managers to track both physical and virtual machines within a data center.

The fact that EMC is offering tools for server management means that company is looking to offer the type of end-to-end data center management that Hewlett-Packard can offer through its Opsware acquisition and that BMC inherited through its BladeLogic purchase. The new tools also allow EMC to offer customers ways to ensure that servers are being configured correctly and that the organization is in compliance with federal regulations such as HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

“We wanted to add the server component to build out the full complement of data center management capabilities,” said Bob Quillin, a senior director of product marketing for resource management software at EMC. “The server configuration management tool really looks to help the data center managers and folks who are responsible for configuring and patching as well as those people who are focusing heavily on issues around compliance.”