HP Lowers Barrier Of Entry for OpenView

The technology vendor on Monday introduced HP OpenView Client Configuration Manager — client management software that, unlike more sophisticated technology delivered by its full-blown enterprise cousin OpenView, is simple enough for business networks managed by only one administrator to use, said Bob Meyer, worldwide solutions marketing manager for HP, Palo Alto, Calif.

Available in October, OpenView Client Configuration Manager is designed to come right off the shelf and provide the basics of client management with little or no programming expertise, said Meyer. Routines for client inventory detection, software distribution, and patch management are all part of the new product's tool kit, while complexity has been left out, he said.

"The broader OpenView configuration is designed for thousands and hundreds of thousands of devices," said Meyer. "Client Configuration Manager is for the lower-end of the enterprise, and is something more easy to deploy."

Designed to go head-to-head with client management products from competitors like Altiris and LANDesk, OpenView Client Configuration Manager is targeted at seats counts ranging from 500 to 800 and above, said Meyer. Behind the tools used in Configuration Manager is technology gleaned from HP's Feb. 2004 acquisition of Novadigm, he said. HP has massaged the automated policy enforcement and rights management technology of Novadigm into the full OpenView suite, but has left it out of Configuration Manager, intent instead to focus solely on the simplicity of automated configuration management, he said.

And all this is what makes OpenView Client Configuration Manager a logical stepping stone for medium-sized businesses that want to get their feet wet with the flavor of OpenView, said Meyer. "Client Configuration fills a void in the mid-market for OpenView functionality, and when customers are ready to upgrade, we are there with OpenView," he said.

So far, Agilysys, Mayfield Heights, Ohio, is the only distributor certified to resell OpenView Client Configuration Manager, which will also be sold through HP's direct sales force, with opportunities for VARs to buy direct from HP as well, said Meyer. More distributors will be added as HP nears the product's October availability, he said.

HP OpenView Client Configuration Manager starts at $25 per seat license, according to HP.