BMC Software , an infrastructure independent software vendor (ISV), today announced GuardianAngel, a subscription-based service monitoring product aimed at service providers.
GuardianAngel is designed to allow managed service providers (MSPs), ASPs, consulting companies and other service providers to offer a multi-tenant-aware hosted service that remotely monitors quality of service.
Delivered as subscription service with no capital investment required, GuardianAngel monitors all of a customer’s servers, network and application infrastructure. The Web-based application can be deployed at the service provider’s data center and is designed to integrate with their application infrastructure.
For those service providers who need assistance, the Houston, Texas-based BMC will set up GuardianAngel at the provider’s data center. BMC Software also offers a hosted version, Mary Nugent, vice president and general manager of Service Provider Solutions, told ASPnews.
Pure-play MSPs can offer GuardianAngel on a private-label or white-label basis, with the appropriate “Powered by GuardianAngel” branding by the partner, Nugent said.
GuardianAngel consists of two parts — the service integration portal (SIP) and remote service monitor (RSM). SIP is XML-based and runs on a J2EE platform. RSM, Nugent said, is patent-pending technology that tunnels inside a firewall to provide the performance monitoring capabilities without requiring the need for downloadable client software.
According to Nugent, GuardianAngel is self-provisioning and allows end-users to subscribe to services and configure their own management requirements, helping service providers hold down their operating costs while improving service levels. Also, end-user reports provide “outward-facing” views, allowing users to monitor how services are performing to determine whether service level agreements (SLAs) are being met. The capability to view their own server, network and application performance also provide the “illusion of control,” Nugent said.
The reporting features allow service provider to view all customers in one report, the “god view,” as Nugent describes it.
GuardianAngel also integrates with BMC’s Patrol product, its client-server enterprise management solution, Nugent told ASPnews. Patrol allows service providers to manage end users (as opposed to only monitoring) activity. It also allows them to correct and prevent problems. “GuardianAngel has one-tenth the power of Patrol,” Nugent said. Together they provide a complete service provider-enabled management solution, giving service providers a more powerful offering, and a way to increase revenues.
BMC Software is a $1.5 billion company and listed as an ASPnews Top Infrastructure Provider.