Avocent Introduces Avocent MergePoint® Infrastructure Explorer
Powerful New Software Provides an Integrated Platform for
Increased Data Centre Management with Fast ROI
HUNTSVILLE, Ala, May 18, 2009 - Avocent
Corporation (NASDAQ: AVCT), a global leader in IT Operations Management, today
announced a powerful new offering for managing the data centre. Avocent MergePoint® Infrastructure Explorer is a software platform that integrates
resource management (heat, cooling, power, and space) with asset management,
providing a centralized automated view of these resources from a single location
and with a single product. Avocent MergePoint Infrastructure Explorer
provides the most detailed view ever of data centre conditions and assets and
offers ways to design and run a data centre more effectively.
"It's clear from talking to customers that the traditional
domains of facilities and IT are merging," said Avocent CEO, Michael Borman.
"Companies need tools for accurate real-time measurements to optimize existing
data centres and for planning new data centres with the assurance of having
sufficient capacity for servers and cooling equipment. They want to view and
manage their environment using one management tool. Avocent MergePoint
Infrastructure Explorer accomplishes these goals, effectively eliminating the
need for multiple point products currently available on the market."
By utilizing the advanced modeling features within Avocent MergePoint
Infrastructure Explorer, an organization can identify specific discrepancies
between where power and cooling resources are available and where they are
ultimately needed. Reducing these discrepancies enables the significant
reduction in overall power and cooling consumption in data centres. When paired
with technology such as probes, intelligent power distribution units (IPDUs),
and switches placed in the data centre, its advanced user-friendly interface
gives IT managers a complete view of data centre conditions and the ability to catalog, plan, track and define outcomes with capacity planning and asset
management.
Therefore, companies save by eliminating the need to
manually update the spreadsheet and flat files common in today's data centre
operations, and by reclaiming the time now spent repeating processes and
checking for errors.
Asset Lifecycle Management Integration - Rounding Out Avocent's Asset
Management Solution
Organizations today can greatly benefit from better management of hardware and
software assets (licenses) from inception, to production, to disposal. Avocent
MergePoint Infrastructure Explorer integrates with the newest version of
Avocent's LANDesk® Asset Lifecycle Manager version 3.5 (ALM) to enable
this capability. It provides a dynamic view of data centre layout and change
proposals. IT managers can track asset allocation by identifying and cataloging
the necessary information and passing it through the unified platform, run book
automation, and the new processes required to automate IT operations, such as
trouble ticketing, allocating, and reporting.
Data Centre Management with Avocent DSView 3 Manager® Integration
Avocent MergePoint Infrastructure Explorer can also be configured to
leverage Avocent's DSView 3 flagship software for managing data centres.
DSView3 allows remote management and troubleshooting of traditional and virtual
servers and manages Avocent's intelligent power distribution units (IPDUs).
DSView 3 also provides access to data centres via Avocent's KVM switching
families, such as Avocent MergePoint Unity, and the Avocent DSR® KVM-over-IP
family.
Third-Party Software Integration
Avocent MergePoint Infrastructure Explorer provides a foundation for
third-party software integration. This enables a powerful open
standards-based approach to managing even more aspects of the IT operations in
organizations today. Avocent offers application programming interfaces (APIs) to
its partners and others who desire to integrate their solutions for the data
centre with Avocent's.
Avocent Management Platform
At the core of Avocent's software technology is a platform known as
AMP, the Avocent Management Platform upon which both Avocent MergePoint
Infrastructure Explorer and Avocent's LANDesk Asset Lifecycle Manager operates.
AMP is the enabler of integration across the software product set, and Avocent
plans to integrate all its IT operations management tools on the AMP platform.
This open standards based platform will also allow for the standardized
interface for integration of third party solutions to add and extend the value
of Avocent solutions.
New Ease of Operations Management - Facilities and IT Come Together
Complex and costly business problems now often require the attention of both IT
and facilities. Avocent MergePoint Infrastructure Explorer bridges the
gap. A company's facilities managers have the responsibility for building
out and maintaining all data centre operations, including managing assets for
chain-of-custody and building provisioning. Better management of assets, power,
cooling, and space in data centres is a large part of that challenge.
Facilities and IT managers alike must balance and manage an entire continuum of
business concerns driven by company growth, mergers, or acquisitions. Today's
managers deal with more assets, more people, more time zones, and more managed
endpoints/locations - and are balancing that with the need for cost reductions
and staffing to scale. IT must also manage compliance and audit preparation and
response, and requirements for business controls (SOX, BSA, HIPAA, etc.) under
new regulations. These problems can be solved by merging the functions of IT
and facilities with the aid of Avocent MergePoint Infrastructure Explorer.
"Providing a deeper look at data centre assets and monitoring power, heat and
other environmental factors in real time is the next frontier for data centres,"
said Dennis Drogseth Vice President, Enterprise Management Associates.
"With MergePoint Infrastructure Explorer, Avocent provides a way to map the outcome
before you build or rebuild a data centre. With a clear and detailed view of
racks, servers and other equipment, and the ability to track expected power
expenditure and cooling needs - smarter ROI decisions can be made, and IT can
become the prime enabler of an organization's 'Green strategy'."
Avocent MergePoint Infrastructure Explorer is available now. More information
on this product can be found at
www.avocent.com.
###
About Avocent Corporation
Avocent delivers IT operations management solutions that reduce
operating costs, simplify management and increase the availability of critical
IT environments 24/7 via integrated, centralized software. Additional
information is available at www.avocent.com.
Forward-looking Statements
This press release contains statements that are forward-looking
statements as defined within the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. These include statements regarding the availability, operability,
features, functions, benefits, and integration of the Avocent MergePoint
Infrastructure Explorer, Avocent's LANDesk Lifecycle Manager, and DSView 3
software. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the
statements made, including the risks associated with general economic
conditions, risks attributable to future product demand, sales, and expenses,
risks associated with acquisitions and acquisition integration, risks associated
with product design efforts and the introduction of new products and
technologies, and risks associated with obtaining and protecting intellectual
property rights. Other factors that could cause operating and financial results
to differ are described in the Avocent annual report on Form 10-K filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission on February 27, 2009. Other risks may be
detailed from time to time in reports to be filed with the SEC. Avocent does not
undertake any obligation to publicly update its forward-looking statements based
on events or circumstances after the date hereof.
Avocent and LANDesk and their respective logos are registered trademarks
or trademarks of Avocent Corporation, its subsidiaries or its affiliated
companies in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are
the property of their respective owners.
