BMC's 'PATROL' good for your applications

By Zatni Arbi

LAS VEGAS (JP): What is the No. 1 wish of every IT manager? Well, their life expectancy could become longer -- and their hair could grow a bit longer, too -- if their applications and databases would just stop acting like they were water and oil. System integrators may not share their wish, though. On the contrary, integrators actually love the fact that applications, databases and operating systems are not really made for each other like flowers and butterflies, because it gives them a lot of projects. However, IT managers simply want to go home at 5 p.m. each day, not having to worry whether their system is working properly.

Luckily, there are software tools that do increasingly stunning jobs of integrating, monitoring and making sure applications from different vendors -- some of them may even come from fiercely competing vendors -- work together amiably. One of the four top software vendors in this area is BMC Software, which is based in Houston, Texas, where Compaq Computer -- the number one PC maker in the world -- is also headquartered. Incidentally, BMC is also one of Compaq's strategic partners.

Patrolling the system

BMC's solution for making sure that applications run well and are highly available on their customer's system is their PATROL 2000. The product is actually the result of BMC's acquisition of two companies; the first was Boole and Babbage, a company that made the end-to-end enterprise management called COMMAND/POST. The second company was BGS Systems, which made the Best/1 tool that handled system performance management and prediction. Both products have been integrated with BMC's home-grown PATROL, with the end product being PATROL 2000.

In the press pack that I received, there was a long list of PATROL 2000 modules. Depending on what they need, customers can purchase a set of modules that meet their requirements. If they use an IBM S/390 mainframe or AS/400, then they can buy PATROL Enterprise Manager Connect OS/390 or PATROL Enterprise Manager Connect AS/400 or both. There are modules for users who use Baan, CA-Ingress, DB2, Informix, Oracle, R/3, Sybase, Microsoft SQL and other applications and databases. If a customer already has a system management tool such as IBM's Tivoli or Computer Associates' Unicenter TNG, they can also use PATROL Integration for Tivoli or PATROL Integrator for Unicenter TNG.

"We cater for the needs of our customers that already have been using our competitors' products," said Chen Hui Liang, BMC's Country Director for the Philippines and Indonesia, as we walked together in Las Vegas' casino The Venetian toward the conference rooms. I was in the gambling city last week to attend BMC's first international users group event, Assurance 2000, where the software company gathered all its major customers and partners -- Compaq, IBM, Sun Microsystems, Deloitte Consulting and many others -- for a four-day event.

What functions does a system management tool like PATROL 2000 actually perform? First, it continually monitors all critical components of an enterprise system, i.e., the servers, applications, databases, middleware, e-business and storage. Next, it helps the provider and the user define a service level agreement (SLA) and then manages and controls the system's compliance with the SLA. If there is a problem, the tool should be able to diagnose and identify the root of the problem. Finally, the tool also optimizes the system's performance to increase response time as well as predicts the result of performance improvement using "what-if" analyses.

SLA

"Service level agreement" is an interesting concept, although it is actually not a new term in the IT industry. It refers to an agreement between a vendor and its customer that specifies the level of service that the provider should give during the term of contract. It may specify the bandwidth that should be maintained, or the limit of acceptable response times for queries, or the acceptable limit for turnaround time should a problem occur.

SLA was by no means the only highlight of the Assurance 2000 event. As part of its marketing effort, BMC Software also introduced SureStart, an installation program that guarantees an implementation within a timeframe that has been agreed on. If the company fails to complete the project within the stipulated period, a 20 percent rebate will be applied to the professional services fees while the company still has to stay and finish the entire work.

While people may view this purely as a marketing gimmick, this program may set a new standard in the industry where it is not uncommon to see implementation go far beyond its schedule at a time when an Internet year is becoming increasingly shorter than a dog year and users are fighting to grab opportunities as quickly as possible.

Furthermore, in line with the boom in Application Service Providers (ASPs, Internet outfits that offer applications to e- business companies), BMC is also planning to ride the wave by working together with local ASPs in the Asia-Pacific region. The most significant benefit of ASPs, of course, will be felt most by small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), which will be able to start making their business available on the Internet without having to make a significant up-front investment in technology and human resources.

In order to help give the ASPs' customers some kind of assurance, BMC has announced the OnSite certification program. With the help of PATROL, the company will check the ASPs and make sure that their customers' business-critical applications will run optimally 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. If the ASPs' methodology, products and services meet the standards of the certification, they can carry BMC's OnSite logo. BMC will inspect the site twice a year to evaluate compliance.

To run the OnSite certification program, BMC has set up over 28 Service Assurance Centers in many places around the world, including Sydney, Tokyo, Beijing and Singapore. Unlike most other software companies that I know, BMC seems relatively more focused in their acts. This company, which is considered one of the best 100 companies to work for by Fortune magazine in addition to being included in Forbes' top 500 companies, is perhaps not as well known to the public as Microsoft or Oracle, but it has an impressive list of customers, including Deutsche Bank, Southwest Gas and Unocal.

Stability

Although it has had a number of customers in Indonesia, including BCA, BNI and Astra, BMC is at present in the process of establishing a representative office in Jakarta.

"Stability," responded Chua Tock Ling, BMC's Asia Pacific Vice President and General Manager, when I asked him about the biggest constraint he felt as his company made the move into Indonesia.

"Indonesia really needs to work on securing stability before the country can start rebuilding its economy." Chua had a valid reason for this statement. In the Philippines, for example, BMC's customer base is growing while in Indonesia he has not really had any new contracts that he can disclose yet, although his company has been in serious discussion with potential customers in the finance, banking, telecommunications, government and manufacturing sectors. Indeed, Chua was echoing once again what other potential business players have said about our beloved country, while they all have strong faith in their business future in Indonesia.

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you that, if you happen to meet Chua in person, you would be impressed -- just as I was -- by his fluency in Bahasa Indonesia. (zatni@cbn.net.id)