Candle Releases New Performance Tool Version

Candle Corp.'s latest version of its application performance-monitoring tool, CandleNet ETEWatch, has been expanded to support Citrix MetaFrame servers as well as mainframe applications.

The inclusion of monitoring "old economy" applications, those still running in mainframe 3270 environments, simply recognizes the number of businesses still reliant on these systems, said Al Duey, Candle's director of e-business development.

ETEWatch measures the efficiency of applications from the end user's perspective. The core function of the product, first released in 1998, has not changed in version 1.3. The response time of applications, such as PeopleSoft, Lotus Notes or SAP R/3, is studied in three areas--desktop, network and the back end--thus giving IT a clear picture of where a problem rests.

Cornerstone Systems Inc., a Santa Ana, Calif., partner of Candle, will resell the product directly to its customers or offer it bundled in additional services, said Cornerstone President Herb Chittum.

Cornerstone's business is split between services and products focused on IBM Corp.'s S/390 and Unix. While many companies are concentrating on e-business, many still have huge amounts of data tied up in their legacy systems, Chittum said.

"What people are trying to do is make that legacy data available through the Internet," he said.

Candle also offers a hosted version of the product, called eBAN. Under this service, Candle gathers the data on application performance and delivers a report viewable through a Web browser. The service cost $200 per seat for one year.

Candle is in the midst of discussions with several ASPs to offer eBAN as a service, Duey said. Yet conversely, eBAN is also appropriate for companies seeking to verify that an ASP delivers what it promised, he added.

ETEWatch is available now, and pricing starts at $25,000 for 100 users. The 3270 options are an additional $25,000.CRN