Rapport Extends Reach

Formed earlier this year when thin-client vendor Wyse Technology spun off its management software business, Rapport has sold its software,which currently manages only thin-client devices,through Wyse and Hewlett-Packard, and those vendors' channel partners.

With the release of Rapport 4.0, the vendor is transforming itself into a company that also manages enterprise devices including Windows-based and Palm-based PDAs, mobile phones, set-top boxes, point-of-sale units, kiosks and other products using Flash RAM.

"While these types of devices are exploding on the marketplace, there's still concern in the enterprise about how to manage them," said Max Toy, president of Rapport, based here.

The opportunity for Rapport and its partners could be huge as customers struggle with managing multiple computing platforms, said Paul Ghostine, CEO of Emergent OnLine, a solution provider in Reston, Va.

"Their existing customer base is a captive audience that's already using Rapport to manage thin clients. It's an easy sell to go to those clients and expand the platform to manage all of their devices," Ghostine said.

The vendor is also seeking to bolster its partner ranks with solution providers that have expertise working with those devices, Toy said.

Using software agents on each managed device that communicate back to software installed on a central server, Rapport 4.0 provides software distribution, asset management, and historic and realtime diagnostics capabilities.

The software utilizes local data repositories on different subnets throughout an enterprise, so data can be transferred to users from the closest server.

Rapport 4.0 encrypts data as it moves between the device and the server and has remote disabling capabilities. It currently can provide data to network management tools from HP and IBM Tivoli to allow centralized management, Toy said.

"Rapport is moving to a level [that represents the next generation of how to effectively manage a network," said Gerry Purdy, principal analyst at Mobile Trax, Cupertino, Calif.

Pricing for Rapport 4.0, available in workgroup and enterprise editions, ranges from $30 to $50 per seat.