BigFix mixes systems and patch mgmt.

Patch management vendor BigFix this week is unveiling software that will let customers forward application and software upgrades to distributed systems and maintain an inventory of desktops, laptops and servers and the software running on them.

Its upgraded flagship software BigFix Enterprise Suite (BES) 5.0 uses server and agent software to manage devices. A central management console communicates with agents distributed on managed devices to collect data, perform inventory and vulnerability scans, and take action, if needed.

BigFix also provides what it calls Fixlets, which are small messages that contain the intelligence to detect certain problems, such as known security vulnerabilities or misconfigured software, and automate the repair of those errors. BigFix agents contain any number of Fixlets.

BigFix is betting that users will be able to naturally expand the use of BES 5.0 to address other systems management tasks, but despite some similarities in the technologies, patch management and systems management tend to be the responsibility of separate IT groups: security and operations, respectively.

"BigFix is rolling out enterprise features that many customers might already be getting from a larger systems management vendor," says David Friedlander, a senior analyst at Forrester Research. "Patch management is partly software distribution, but it is also partly vulnerability scans and patch identification, most of which is done separately from traditional desktop or systems management."

Patch management requires customers to identify the patches to be distributed and the machines requiring the patch. The process involves accessing systems for vulnerabilities, testing patches, deploying patches and then ensuring the patch deployed actually removed the vulnerability from the machine without causing performance problems.

Patch management products from BigFix and competitors Shavlik Technologies and PatchLink provide the security scans and intelligence needed to spot vulnerabilities and plug them quickly. Software distribution products from Computer Associates, Marimba (now part of BMC Software) and Novadigm (now owned by HP) tackle application upgrades, distribution and rollbacks when problems occur.

The additional management features could benefit customers that already use BES.

"Patch management is what gets attention, but in reality 80% of what's needed to do patch management can be put to use for other IT tasks, such as application upgrades or operating system migrations," says Fred Broussard, a senior analyst at IDC.

He says customers with between 500 and 3,500 servers, desktops and laptops - that don't already have a Microsoft, CA or Altiris product in place - also could use BES 5.0 to send out application upgrades to desktops, for example.

Pricing for BES 5.0 starts at $15.50, per seat, per year.