Web dashboard keeps tabs on app developers

IT management tool specialists Cast and Numara both release software for app management

IT chiefs wanting to improve their application management processes have been given new options as IT management tool specialists Cast and Numara have both announced new software.

Application governance software vendor Cast will this month launch a version of its Application Intelligence Platform featuring a new web-based dashboard to give IT managers a better view of application development efforts.

The new dashboard enables managers to monitor the productivity of their application-development teams and the health of application portfolios, and will allow them to benchmark any changes to applications, said Kevin Young, Cast’s senior vice-president of marketing.

“This means that you can spot technical problems earlier and therefore it helps you to prevent downtime and reduce maintenance costs,”Young added.

The product will ship next month and may particularly appeal to IT directors who have to monitor applications developed or managed by third-party providers, according to Young.

“We’re seeing strong interest in the platform from companies that have outsourced as it allows them to monitor the quality of the development work carried out by their partner,” Young said.

In a separate move, mid-market IT helpdesk and management software specialist Numara last week updated tools to manage the installation and patching of business applications. Its new modules, Numara Deploy 8.0 and Patch Manager 5.5, integrate with the vendor’s flagship Track-It asset management suite and are aimed at mid-market firms, said David Weiss, president and chief executive at the company.

“[We] are experiencing growing demand from mid-market companies that are increasingly concerned about security and compliance,” Weiss said. “We have enhanced the ease of use and improved price points [for the modules] to target this market.”