IT management and automation market shrinks, yet players grow

Acquisitions and funding show as the IT management software market consolidates to fewer vendors, interest in the technologies designed to control, optimize and automate advanced IT environments continues to grow.

Network/Systems Management Alert By Denise Dubie, Network World
April 07, 2010 10:02 AM ET

Industry analysis by Beth Schultz, plus the latest news headlines.

IT environments today demand advanced IT management technologies to take on virtual systems, cloud services and myriad tasks that human operators simply can’t keep pace with in sophisticated data centers.

Five must-have IT management technologies for 2010 |
10 big IT management moves in 2010

The need for such tools drives market consolidation for some and helps other secure addition funding. This week iWave Software, a maker of run-book and IT process automation technology announced it has acquired Enigmatec, which provided software for data center orchestration and cloud management. The two companies coming together could address emerging needs from customers exploring cloud computing and related services, according to iWave Software executives.

"The Enigmatec acquisition represents a key addition to our cloud management strategy," said Brent Rhymes, president of iWave Software, in a statement. "It answers our customers' demand for a robust next-generation method for automating the management of data centers and on-demand enterprise IT environments."

Related Content

The U.K-based Enigmatec delivered software, and partnered with Unisys, that used policy-based management to automate the allocation of systems resources and speed problem resolution in large data centers. The software includes its own network of agents and taps into existing management products to identify problems and deploy resources.

Industry watchers say run-book automation (RBA) capabilities will be critical in cloud environments. According to a statement from Gartner research vice president David Williams, "RBA tools are considered a management fabric, ensuring the cloud IT infrastructure is orchestrated in-line with service demand."

The iWave Software acquisition of Enigmatec closed April 2 and iWave plans to assimilate Enigmatec operations into its existing U.K.-based office.

Separately, MokaFive announced in April it had secured $21 million in a Series C round of venture capital funding.

MokaFive, which delivers its MokaFive Suite of virtual desktop management capabilities for managing distributed computing endpoints, lets companies more easily control employee desktops used for both personal and professional use.

"Corporations can now secure the enterprise’s IT and data assets in a resource efficient manner, consequently improving productivity and reducing costs substantially, while allowing employees to use their own computing device at work," said Rosemary Ripley, managing director of NGEN Partners, the leading investor along with Khosla Ventures and Highland Capital Partners in the latest round of funding.

Wanted: IT case studies with a twist. Have an interesting high-tech experience that doesn't seem to fit the standard case study mold? How has technology helped you or your client accomplish some unexpected goals? Network World has chronicled stories ranging from a deliberately spammed housewife to an 11-year-old network manager and we're in search of more. Please share with me your tips on offbeat end-user experiences with high-tech tools at ddubie@nww.com.

Do you Tweet? Follow Denise Dubie on Twitter here.

Read more about infrastructure management in Network World's Infrastructure Management section.

Schultz is a longtime IT journalist. You can email her or find her here.