* Microsoft releases beta version of System Center Reporting Manager 2005 for data management
Are you a data junkie? When it comes to your network, your servers and your desktops, do you feel that the more data you have the better you can manage the network? If so, how much time do you spend searching through that data for the right nuggets of information that will not only help you manage your environment better but also justify the time you spend looking?
If that describes you, Microsoft has a new tool – just released to beta testing – that could be very useful to you.
System Center Reporting Manager 2005 promises to be a tool to enable enterprise analysis of management data so that IT administrators, managers and executives can query, report, and forecast IT operations to deliver higher service quality at a lower price. That’s quite a tall order. But System Center Reporting Manager (SCRM) appears to have the functionality to do just that. (You can get your hands on the beta at the Microsoft Beta Web site.)
The heart of SCRM is a new facility that integrates multi-management groups from Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) and multiple Systems Management Server (SMS) operational databases into a single data warehouse for easier, quicker abstracting and reporting. Among the many benefits claimed for the service are:
* A single, centralized, and simplified query and report authoring tool extending across MOM and SMS historical data, as well as business context data, to enable reporting scenarios that are not possible with the current SMS and MOM reports.
* Offloading of expensive decision support operations from the SMS Central Site server while simultaneously improving performance of key queries and reports.
* Clear value for “SMS-only” customers through new reports and new analytical scenarios (such as deployment status by cost center).
* Clear value for “MOM only” customers with about 150 new, centralized reports across multiple MOM 2005 management groups.
* A Web-based reporting front end usable from any desktop using SQL Reporting Services without requiring client-side software to be installed.
* The ability to create additional reports and queries that can be shared using a community driven process.
* Delivers a new set of predefined reports that are designed for IT managers and business executives.
If you are already using MOM, SMS or both, you ought to get the beta version of System Center Reporting Manager 2005 and see if it can help you manage your network more effectively and more efficiently.
