Dell is on a mission it said will make systems management easier for
network administrators and IT in general to manage their computing
infrastructures.
Dell on Tuesday, along with long-time collaborator and systems management solutions provider Altiris , unveiled a new console architecture and
standardized approach to infrastructure management.
The two companies also announced they have extended their partnership to
co-develop the next generation of OpenManage applications based on the
Altiris platform, for customers who want a single console from Dell with advanced hardware and software management
capabilities.
Dell said it is also making it possible for competing systems management
companies to manage Dell hardware via the Dell OpenManage Certified Partner
Program. The program includes OpenManage developer toolkits, which enable the
integrated control of Dell hardware to applications.
The idea is that companies will be able to choose from a number of
certified vendors to run their choice of systems management software from a
single console. Altiris, Microsoft (System Management Server 2003 R2),
Oracle (Grid Manager), LANDesk Server Manager and Novell (Zenworks) are
among those Dell said are participating.
“As companies add more and more hardware, they need the ability to
pick and choose the right solution” to manage it all,” Subo Guha, director
of enterprise software marketing at Dell, told internetnews.com. “The
key value proposition here is that there is no lock in; customers can pick
and choose from Microsoft’s SMS, Novell, BMC and others.”
IDC analyst Fred Broussard thinks the Dell/Altiris offering will have the
most immediate appeal to organizations with a few thousand desktops and two
to three hundred servers. “These companies are looking for simplicity of
management, but the BMCs, IBMs and CAs of the world tend not to be in
that range,” Broussard told internetnews.com.
In related news, the new Dell Client Manager suite replaces three
individual utilities, with client hardware inventory, monitoring and BIOS
configuration now combined. Client Manager is available at no charge. An
upgrade, Dell Client Manager Plus, provides software delivery, imaging, PC
migration and software inventory functionality.
