CA Renews Tools Message
Within the next 60 days, CA also expects to unveil plans to integrate its development tools with its network management software. The combination will position the Islandia, N.Y., company to compete more aggressively against IBM's Rational and Tivoli brands, sources close to CA said.
The AllFusion 4.1.4 suite comprises seven products: the flagship ERwin Data Modeler, Model Manager, Process Modeler, Component Modeler, Model Navigator, Data Model Validator and Saphir Option for ERP. The discounted pricing for a bundle of five products from the new version is available only to the channel, said Shari Shore, vice president of product marketing for AllFusion.
By midyear, CA plans to offer discounted bundles that pair AllFusion modeling tools with technologies such as database and application management, Shore said.
While CA's AllFusion brand is hardly a household name, solution providers said careful marketing could make the tools, along with CA's network management software, a serious threat to IBM's strategy of integrating components from across its
software brands.
"If CA gets their act together they will be a force to be reckoned with," said Javed Matin, CEO of solution provider Myriad Solutions, Silver Spring, Md.
But today, CA's tools marketing is confusing, according to analysts and solution providers. Case in point: CA dubbed the latest AllFusion release as version 4.1.4, which to most solution providers would seem like an incremental update. Even though CA gave the product that designation before deciding to make it a major release, the version number stuck, Shore said.
If CA gets its marketing house in order, said IDC analyst Rikki Kirzner, its application life-cycle and network management software could match IBM's. "If anybody can go up against IBM, they can," she said.
IBM already offers integration between Rational Robot, a testing and monitoring tool, and the Tivoli Monitor for Transaction Performance, which identifies transaction failures. It plans even tighter integration between Rational and Tivoli software, said Eric Naiburg, market manager for desktop products with IBM Rational Software.