San Jose, Calif-based Eccord Systems today announced a framework designed to provide organization-wide service level management (SLM). The framework, which the company describes as “service level intelligence” is designed to equip service providers with a real-time view of service level performance across all networks, applications and systems.
Eccord also announced today Eccord Enterprise, the latest offering in its advanced SLM family of products. With the announcements, the company reports that it is positioned to address the needs of companies needing to track and measure service level agreements (SLAs).
“Service providers, both internal and external, are now competing more on quality of service than on price,” said Tom Slykhouse, president and CEO of Eccord Systems. “In order to do this, companies need a system to monitor service quality. Until now that consisted of a variety of narrowly focused and disconnected tools that can9t solve the larger problem. Service level intelligence enables companies to address the problem head-on.”
Eccord’s service level intelligence framework is a top-down umbrella approach designed to extend beyond the simple element monitoring. The company says its framework delivers Web reporting systems and real time and historical views of service delivery. This not only improves short-term response time but also provides analysis tools for long-term decision making. This will help in developing and managing better service level agreements (SLAs), company officials said.
Eccord Enterprise is a cross-platform system that supports popular management systems, such as HP OpenView, Aprisma Spectrum, and BMC Patrol. However, the company says, its Open Generic Platform Adapter (GPA) allows Eccord Enterprise to include information from additional sources, including customer specific management systems.
Serving as a foundation for companies looking to implement the company’s service level intelligence framework, Eccord Enterprise provides a unique look at system components from an end-user service perspective. Rather than the traditional organizational view of SLM that maps devices to organizations, Eccord’s approach maps service to organizations, allowing a more relevant analysis of the end result of device failure or service degradation. The software allows ASPs, MSPs, ISPs and enterprises to determine a service threshold and then devise a strategy to fix the problems.
Eccord Enterprise also delivers executive reporting accessible from any Web browser for Java-enabled, real-time service views and historical reports. “The versatility of the system in extracting information from existing investments in such management systems as HP OpenView, coupled with the executive-level service reports on real time activity are unprecedented in the industry,” said Slykhouse.
The new version incorporates a complete redesign of the Web reporting system, with six new reports including the following:
- Service health
- Root cause analysis
- Impact analysis
- Quality of service
- Service predictor
- Outage cost reports
Reports are available throughout an organization via a generic Web browser. Eccord Enterprise also includes a new access management capability that enables organizations to identify which users can access reports regarding which services. This capability is designed to allow companies to restrict sensitive service information to authorized users.
With this release of Eccord Enterprise, organizations are able to create a global hierarchy of SLM systems by interconnecting multiple Eccord implementations over the wide area. This enables both local SLM and centralized SLMto co-exist within large, distributed organizations.
Eccord Enterprise is available, according to the company.
