HP Extends OpenView Solutions for Enterprise, Mid-Tier
At the OpenView User Conference, held from June 19 to 23 in Orlando, Florida, HP announced it has extended enterprise OpenView to embrace the Sun Solaris platform and unveiled a new release of OpenView for mid-tier companies. HP also introduced new support offerings and new partnerships.
The new and enhanced components of HP's enterprise solution—OpenView VantagePoint—include a new SMART Plug-In Gallery, a SAP Business Transaction Observer, OpenView Vantage Point Operations 6.0, and an extended support offering. The SMART Plug-In Gallery establishes an online environment in which users can distribute free management software for top e-business applications and infrastructures, like Ariba, i2 Technologies, Portal and Vitria. The new SAP Business Transaction Observer gives IT the ability to see the impact of SAP transactions on volume and usage patterns at the application layer. OpenView Vantage Point Operations 6.0 extends the management of enterprises from UNIX and NT platforms to Sun Solaris environments. And Customer Care Extended adds 24x7 phone-in assistance to the standard Customer Care offering. HP is also offering Customer Care Premier, the highest levels of priority support and proactive services. The latter will be available in the Americas in November.
The expanded suite of VantagePoint solutions is available now. Pricing begins at $2,000.
HP's new release of OpenView for the mid-tier—OpenView Express 2.0—offers a one-day on-site assessment service in which HP personnel perform an on-site installation of Express to evaluate the effectiveness of the solution. The new Rapid Deployment Service includes an initial assessment, installation of the software, and knowledge transfer to the operational staff.
Express has also been enhanced to provide Internet Information Service (IIS) monitoring, real-time alert notifications, and reports that correlate line-of-business data with IT infrastructure data. Firewall security is provided by transmitting alarms and data through the Internet traffic firewall port.
HP has also partnered with Dirig Software to extend Express Web server management to Linux and the Apache Web server. Another alliance—this one with Keynote Systems—allows companies using Express to manage Web server performance using internal IT metric and external performance metrics.
Support of Windows 2000 has also been extended. HP is providing additional management rules for Win 2000 and full data protection for the Active Directory Service database structure and new NTFS 5.0 enhancements. In yet another alliance, HP has partnered with FastLane Technologies to offer Windows NT to Windows 2000 migration services.
OpenView Express 2.0 is available now, priced at $17,295. The Rapid Deployment Service is available now in the U.S. and is priced at $9,500. OpenView Express 1.0 users can upgrade to 2.0 at no cost.
New e-support capabilities for OpenView include a knowledge management system featuring a contextual search engine that allows users to retrieve specific information that meets their needs. A new Software Update Management gives users electronic notification of OpenView updates, and a new Support Contract Assistant provides users with Web-based access to support agreements. Software Call Manager allows users to submit and track support calls via the Web, and OpenView Toolbelt features diagnostic tools used to isolate and correct fault conditions as well as design and implementation tools that hasten OpenView deployments. The Toolbelt is scheduled for availability in the fourth quarter of this year.