BMC, CA, HP and IBM had better watch their backs.

"It is the right time for a more unified, easier-to-use management solution," says Robert Abbott, a principal with venture capitalist firm Norwest Venture Partners, which has invested in such start-ups as Kace. "Enterprise networks and data centers are so complex and fragmented that IT professionals need to reduce the time spent managing devices, servers and desktops. They want simplicity in their management environment today," he says.

A group of start-ups intend to revamp the current landscape of network, systems and application management tools with easy-to-deploy, low-cost -- in some cases, free -- products that can address more quickly the most pressing issues of today's IT managers. Despite the race among the management heavyweights to fill holes in their product suites through acquisitions, newcomers are stealing the spotlight with software and appliances that reduce manual labor, speed problem resolution and simply make it easier to manage networks of all sizes.

"Eighty percent of what large enterprise spend in IT goes toward maintaining and operating the current infrastructure, rather then investing in new projects," says Stephen Bowsher, general partner at InterWest Partners, a venture capitalist firm that has invested in Symphoniq, for one. "Venture capitalists go where the dollars go, and it's clear people are still spending on management technologies."

Here are 10 management companies topping our list as ones to watch:

CiRBA

Founded: March 1999
Headquarters: Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada
Management: Gerry Smith, president and CEO, previously with Compuware and ChangePoint.
Funding: $5 million investment from EdgeStone Capital Venture Fund II in February 2006.

What does the company offer?

CiRBA's DCI (Data Center Intelligence) software detects detailed configurations, changes and differences across heterogeneous environments; stores them in a central repository; and lets network managers analyze empirical data to identify risks, problems, and optimization opportunities.

Why is it worth watching?

As interest in data center consolidation continues to rise, enterprise IT managers could look to CiRBA for a tool that accurately inventories their systems, those systems' utilization, and changes to the systems and the impact on performance and availability.

How did the company get its start?

Founded in 1999 to help data center operations managers "get a handle" on their environments.

Where did the company get its name?

CiRBA loosely translates to configuration item request broker architecture, a play on CORBA.

Who's using the product today? CiRBA lists Aetna, Bell Mobility (a division of Bell Canada), Interac, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Rogers Wireless and TD Bank Financial Group among its customers.