Hewlett-Packard is positioning its Openview and Netaction
portfolios to take advantage of a future it sees as characterised
by Web services and pervasive, intelligent device computing, writes
Antony Adshead.
The announcements came amid more than 50 solution and product
launches at the company's Software Universe event in Monte Carlo
last week.
The centrepiece of the company's Openview announcements was the
launch of Integrated Service Assurance in the Integrated Service
Management suite of products. The software, which is available for
Unix and Windows environments, allows network management
information to be viewed at general and event-based levels. Users
can also check network performance against keyed-in service level
agreement metrics and be alerted by alarms or print reports.
The Netaction range of carrier-level network management tools was
extended with the launch of numerous products including Netaction
Web Services Transactioning, which allows users to connect
disparate Web services applications, and Netaction Process Manager
Interactive Edition, which enables composite applications for
mobile devices to be developed.
Also announced was Utility Data Centre, a new platform for large
computing environments. It can be configured at installation and
reconfigured on the fly without physical changes having to be made,
said HP. It can manage environments including servers and storage
arrays and simplifies deployment of new applications and
services.
The company also said that Application Server is Java 2 Enterprise
Edition compatible, is fully scalable and would be made available
as a free download.
The product announcements are slated to fit with what Bernard de
Valence, European president and general manager, cited as HP's
future in an environment characterised by the broadband Internet
and mobile connectivity.
HP, he said, is focused on the "e-transformation" which has grown
from within the enterprise through links with trading partners to
the onset of software as a service in a future of an always-on
Internet infrastructure carrying e-services and linked to
intelligent devices, such as systems in cars and the home.
"We are moving to an environment where everything is connected in
an eco-system of friendly, always-on, intelligent devices," he
said.
Brenda Peffer, director of marketing for HP's Openview division,
identified a service ethic as informing HP's strategy.
"Our target market is very service-minded towards its
infrastructure," she said. "These days it is not just about making
sure infrastructure is up and running. Today's problem is 'what
service am I going to provide and am I meeting the commitments that
I made?' This is the mindset among forward-thinking
enterprises."
For news of HP's products and solutions announced at Software
Universe go to www.hp.com.