Thank you for this article. You have compiled a good list here. You have also recently reported on another company, Stratavia as adding predictive analysis to an IT automation product (see: http://www.networkworld.com/news/2007/100307-stratavia-data-center-automation.html). How does this company stack up against the others here? Do any of these vendors have predictive analysis capabilities?

Unfortunately, many vendors are point tools (requiring our company to buy a bunch of tools and then figure out how to integrate them) or are just glorified script executors... There is no analysis behind the automation. I see a real need for the kind of intelligent automation you are talking about and would love to see a broader product comparison/shootout.

In any case, Stratavia seems to be headed in the right direction by including analysis in the platform. I would like to see more information about this company in the future.