Opsware: Data Center Boost

Using a point-and-click interface, Opsware 4.0 now offers solution providers the ability to automate the server and application life cycle across Windows, Unix and Linux environments, according to the Sunnyvale, Calif., company.

One of the new features in 4.0, called Data Center Intelligence (DCI), tracks IT investments such as the amount being spent on technology assets and labor.

ON Technology, a Waltham, Mass.-based solution provider that develops software to manage devices across the network, recently started working with Opsware because of the complementary nature of their solutions.

"It's an excellent feature because what it does is bring the concept of centralized management up to a higher level in terms of reporting what it costs to manage an infrastructure," said Phil Neray, vice president of marketing at ON Technology. "For many CIOs, there's no way of tracking labor costs. I would guess that over 50 percent of companies still track labor costs manually as far as manpower spent on upgrades, patches, fighting viruses and so on."

The DCI software provides a central view into operations activities and server and software usage across all data centers. It also provides information on current and historical server configurations, patch levels, active vs. decommissioned servers and other data operations.

Pricing for the Windows version starts at $600 per server, and pricing for the Unix and Linux versions start at $1,200 per server and $600 per server, respectively.