Startup to Deliver App Optimizer

While many vendors say they help IT do more with less, RTO Software Inc. officials say theyve got the proof in the numbers when it comes to RTOs latest TScale application performance optimization tool.

The Suwanee, Ga., startup this week will release Version 2.0 of its TScale tool for Citrix Systems Inc.s MetaFrame and Microsoft Corp.s Terminal Server applications for customers that have documented server capacity of more than 55 percent.

"We went from 45 to 70 users on a box," said Larry Maurer, director of IT at Somerset Medical Center, in Somerville, N.J. "I probably saved $55,000 putting the product on my servers. I had no trouble selling this to administration."

TScale uses a server-side agent to monitor and analyze an applications resource use. During off-peak hours, the tool executes optimization routines that reduce the amount of page file activity. Version 2.0 adds the ability to speed application and component load times and make multithreaded applications more efficient.

"We get improved end-user response time of 20 percent or more and improved transaction rates of 20 percent or more," said CEO Bernd Harzog. "That allows server consolidation, allows improved [return on investment] on new projects—and its not hard to do."

The release adds a new PMC (Performance Management Console) for larger server farms, allowing users to more easily manage multiple servers and deploy and install multiple agents to target servers.

PMC shows users the results of optimizations, including a summary of results over time and results per optimized application. The console allows users to create optimization policies and manage TScale licensing. It is installed on a shared administrative server or a workstation.

The tool addresses the fact that most application developers, in the rush to deliver features and functions, dont focus on optimizing their applications in the terminal server environment.

Somerset, which is "a big reference site for a big Cerner [Corp.] health care application," was struggling with "Cerner not accepting the number of users they had promised," said Maurer. "If it wasnt for TScale, I probably would have to buy another seven servers," he said.

TScale pricing ranges from $495 for a single-CPU system to $1,995 for a quad-CPU system.