IBM has announced new software and services from its Tivoli division to automate and manage IT processes.
The new software, called the IBM Tivoli Change and Configuration Management Database, or CCMDB, along with three new IBM Tivoli Process Managers, will be available on June 30, said Mike McCarthy, director of strategy at IBM Tivoli. The new software is used for managing storage devices, addressing IT failures and deploying new software releases and patches, he said.
The CCMDB provides a way for management applications to share data with each other, such as data about a customer's IT infrastructure, McCarthy said. The software gives users the capability to automatically discover all the parts and total configuration of the user's infrastructure and store it in a repository, he said.
In addition, the CCMDB provides workflow technology to codify processes, McCarthy said. "What makes this different is we integrate this with management tools so you can automate steps within the process," McCarthy said.
"It's all about integrating people and processes, and integrating the data, and to address customer issues around efficiency and effectiveness," he said.
The software automates processes such as the rollout of a new application across software, hardware, storage and network environments across an enterprise, McCarthy said.
In addition to the CCMDB, IBM announced the IBM Tivoli Availability Process Manager that identifies failing components, and dynamically launches the appropriate diagnostic tools; the IBM Tivoli Release Process Manager that is for deploying software patches, updates and new releases; and the IBM Tivoli Storage Process Manager to help users manage their storage environments, McCarthy said.
Are IBM and Tivoli a match made in heaven? Click here to read an interview with Tivoli General Manager Al Zollar.
McCarthy said other process managers are in the works, including a process manager for capacity management, which will be available in the second half of 2006. Future process managers will address areas such as security, compliance and IT financial assessment, among others, he said.
Moreover, McCarthy said the process managers and CCMDB are built on an open SOA (service-oriented architecture), which enables enterprises to use their existing technology investments.
In addition, IBM is releasing new management services from IBM Global Technology Services to complement the new software products. These services combine software code, intellectual property and best practices based on thousands of IBM software and Global Technology Services customer engagements.
"One reason we think this will be particularly valuable is we have more experience than anybody in the world in running data centers," McCarthy said. "And we think our customers will benefit from that."
Also, in parallel to its product efforts, IBM is working on standards to improve how IT information is shared and used. IBM is teaming with others in the industry and the IT Systems Management Forum to create a new interoperability specification to federate and access information across a complex, multivendor IT infrastructure using a Configuration Management Database, company officials said.
IBM also provides online tools to help customers implement IT service management, including ITUP (IBM Tivoli Unified Process), a free downloadable navigational tool, and the OPAL (Open Process Automation Library) catalog. ITUP is a reference tool to enable customers to better apply the IBM Tivoli technology.
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