Big Blue strengthens network management capabilities

IBM looking to integrate automatic network management into Tivoli

Services and hardware giant IBM has acquired network management vendor Intelliden for an undisclosed sum.

In a statement Intelliden said that it would be integrated into the IBM software Group as part of the Tivoli Software arm.

IBM Tivoli Software general manager Al Zollar said that firms have to manage ever more complex and ever-changing infrastructures, “companies are managing a virtualized computing layer that more than ever relies on the network.”

“Intelliden’s intelligent network automation is an important addition to IBM's portfolio to extend automation across all business and IT assets,” added Zollar.

One of the key network management problems is the capacity for manual configuration errors, which can lead to expensive network outages, especially with customer-facing retail firms. Intelliden specialises in helping very large enterprises in network policy management, especially with respect to them meeting regulatory compliance, whilst at the same time being able to resolve configuration-related network security problems in real time, automatically.

Intelliden chief executive Alan Black said that, “firms are looking for tighter integration and management between networks, the software applications, and the server and storage hardware. We think the acquisition gives new opportunities for our customers, partners and employees.”

No information was given in the statement as to whether IBM was looking to integrate Intelliden’s software into its new Tivoli appliances – launched last Autumn, or what would happen to Intelliden’s hardware appliances which normally run such software.