IBM has a new offering to help service providers manage applications and services across hybrid cloud networks, the technology giant says.
Agile Service Manager extends the capabilities of IBM Netcool Operations Insight, an analytics-driven software platform designed to help organizations gain insights from the massive amounts of operational data that’s generated in hybrid cloud environments.
The add-on provides real-time visual insights about infrastructure performance, allowing companies that are quickly moving apps to the cloud to better monitor changes and avoid customer device disruptions, the company said.
”In today's fast-changing marketplace, companies are under increasing pressure to roll out new and enhanced applications for customers," Denis Kennelly, general manager of IBM Hybrid Cloud, said in a statement. "Agile Service Manager gives valuable new insights about what is going on in the network and how it is impacting service quality and customers in real time.”
Expanding IBM Netcool
Using the new service manager, companies have a view of virtual and physical resources they can use to better manage applications and services in complex hybrid networks, according to IBM.
The computing giant describes Agile Service Manager as one of the only offerings in the IT industry to provide a detailed topology of infrastructure across a broad set of domains, including different public clouds and on-premise systems. It offers real-time updates and historical views.
Agile Service Manager can also help prevent and more quickly resolve problems by providing context about the resources underpinning the network, IBM said.
"This is especially important for companies where applications put significant demands on network resources while requiring continuous uptime to meet customer expectations," the company said.
Vertical Market Customer Experience
The add-on is available to any company that uses IBM Netcool Operations Insight, but it was designed for industries such as telecommunications and financial services that are rapidly moving applications to the cloud.
A communications service provider, for example, could use Agile Service Manager to support launching and scaling a new cloud-based video conferencing service. As the company expands the use of that service, the manager would provide real-time information about the infrastructure supporting it, including response time of specific servers and capacity of storage.
Several major software companies, particularly CA Technologies, have been promoting application management and monitoring to improve the overall customer experience.
