Managed Objects Recruits New Partner

INS, a services firm recently spun out from Lucent Technologies, plans to implement the technology through its business service management practice.

Business service management is a concept in infrastructure management through which IT resources are monitored and managed according to the business services they support.

"We're trying to marry the business requirement with what IT is doing," said Michael Trofimoff, managing director at INS, Santa Clara, Calif. "Traditionally within network and systems management, you get lots of data coming in with lots of different SLAs [service-level agreements, but what does it really mean to the business?"

The business service management approach helps customers better forecast their IT needs, Trofimoff said.

Managed Objects' Formula 3.0 software is not a replacement for traditional network management tools from vendors such as BMC Software, Computer Associates International and IBM Tivoli.

Instead, Formula collects data gathered by those tools and funnels it into an interface that organizes the data according to business services, such as online trading or customer support, said Helen Donnelly, vice president of marketing at Managed Objects, McLean, Va.

"A client can use our software to say, 'As long as no more than 20 percent of this server farm is having this type of issue at the same time, the service is green, it's good. But if more than that have it, here are things the operator can do to resolve the problem before service is impacted,'" Donnelly said.

Managed Objects' partnership with INS is part of an active partner recruitment effort in the United States, Donnelly said.

"Our product is typically installed in days, not months, so the value for the systems integrator is in helping businesses understand business service management, making the connection [between technology and business," she said.

The company has about 15 solution providers worldwide. Currently, 15 percent to 20 percent of the company's sales move through its channel.

Donnelly said she expects that number to grow to 30 percent by the end of 2003.

Managed Objects has 50 customers, including AT&T, Bank of America and Fidelity Investments.

A typical Formula implementation costs about $250,000, Donnelly said.