Tivoli Unveils New Internet-Enabled Output Management Solution for Information Delivery Across the Enterprise
Enterprise Management Leader Offers Customers Flexibility with Both Tivoli TME 10-Based Output Management and Stand-Alone Solutions
AUSTIN, Texas (March 02, 1998) – Tivoli Systems Inc., the world’s leader in network, systems and applications management, today announced the first release of TME 10 Output Manager, a comprehensive output management solution for client/server production environments. TME 10 Output Manager, packaged specifically for the TME 10 Framework, automates and streamlines the distribution of mission-critical reports across individual users, groups, servers, and output devices — from printers to intranets — and greatly reduces operations costs, while improving the speed and accuracy of information delivery. It also enables end-users to subscribe to specific output on Web sites, and configure automated routing schemes for their own report distribution.
Customers have the full functionality of a best-of-breed output management application with the added advantage of integration with TME 10. Like all integrated management applications from Tivoli, TME 10 Output Manager allows customers to utilize the Framework’s management definitions for configuration, deployment and administration, and for continuous monitoring of the new product. In addition to TME 10 Output Manager, Tivoli is offering customers the option of purchasing a stand-alone version of its new output management solution, called Tivoli Destiny.
“Tivoli recognizes the growing importance of automated output management as one of the key goals of operations,” said Mark McClain, vice president, enterprise business unit of Tivoli. “Businesses need to orchestrate the numerous tasks involved in directing critical information to targeted users reliably and accurately. The inclusion of TME 10 Output Manager in our enterprise management portfolio significantly adds to the broad spectrum of open solutions that Tivoli offers customers.”
TME 10 Output Manager Delivers Centralized Administration and User Empowerment
Large organizations are now deploying business-critical applications like SAPR/3, Baan and PeopleSoft across distributed computing environments. If key decision makers do not receive the output from these applications when they need it, the application has failed and the business is at risk. Moreover, decision makers want reports delivered in a variety of formats, including printer, fax, e-mail, intranet and publish and subscribe via the Internet. TME 10 Output Manager serves the dual communities of IT and end users by automating output distribution from a central point, while allowing users to access, distribute and publish business information in their preferred formats.
“From the perspective of corporate managers, if a business application isn’t delivering output to the users who need it, then the application isn’t delivering its optimal value, nor is IT delivering optimal service,” said Sue Aldrich, senior analyst at the Patricia Seybold Group. “With products like TME 10 Output Manager and Tivoli Destiny, IT operations and end users can participate equally in both central and ad hoc control of output. IT can set the policies that establish a solid delivery environment and centrally manage the flow of reports, while users can specify the output they want, select their preferred delivery methods and redirect reports from their desktops.”
Key Features of TME 10 Output Manager
TME 10 Output Manager provides a powerful set of features that serve both IT operations staff and corporate end users. It allows administrators to automate the tasks that control distribution of output generated by business processes, while allowing users to control where, when and how they receive the output. The product uses Java-based client interfaces for administering output policies and monitoring report delivery, and creating routing schemes for distributing output from the desktop.
Automated Information Delivery: IT administrators can set business rules that automatically distribute information quickly and easily to output devices located anywhere on the corporate network including printers, disk storage, fax machines, pagers, e-mail (SMTP) and HTML. TME 10 Output Manager confirms file contents, checks output for accuracy and delivers output in multiple formats according to rules set by the administrator. TME 10 Output Manager can be configured to distribute customized output to individuals or groups of end-users based on location, job function, calendar date, output type or a variety of other factors.
Secured, Centralized Administration of Output: Using the administrative interface, operators can easily define, logically group and assign authorizations to users and output resources. Administrators can monitor the status of output production in real time, and review audit trail information online to determine the status of individual files or groups of files. Administrators can also compress and encrypt data, allowing them to move it securely over a network. This capability also provides security for transporting output over the Internet.
Fault-Tolerant Architecture: TME 10 Output Manager’s three-tiered architecture ensures that vital business information will reach its destination, even in the event that a TME 10 Output Manager network server goes down. In the case of a network outage, control programs on each node continue to function, re-synchronizing when the network or system becomes operational. Output from one server can be re-queued if a server or an output device experiences problems.
Powerful Tools for End Users: TME 10 Output Manager extends its powerful output management functionality to the end user’s desktop. Through dialog boxes, users can direct output to any destination for which they are authorized, and automatically notify the party to whom the output is directed. Users can automate their repetitive output tasks, such as distributing a marketing presentation to field representatives via e-mail or Intranet posting. Users can define logical printers and send output to that printer. They can also “subscribe” to output by adding themselves to appropriate distribution lists for which they are authorized. They can establish rules for receiving output, such as directing reports to their home fax or e-mail.
Output Management Enhances TME 10
TME 10 Output Manager, available by Q2 1998, allows users to initiate output management tasks from TME 10, including monitoring events and applying automation routines, such as stopping and starting output management servers, or moving reports to another output device in the event of a device failure.
Later this year, Tivoli will form a Management Working Group comprised of output management partners from Tivoli’s 10/Plus Association. Together the 10/Plus partners will define an open API that will ease the integration of output management solutions with TME 10 as well as allow interoperability between output management and other systems management products integrated with the Framework. This Output Management Working Group will be modeled after the Workload Management Working Group established last year to develop an open API for job scheduling (development efforts to integrate job scheduling services into TME 10 are already underway). Similarly, the Output Management Working Group will identify common services to consider for future integration.
“The addition of new output management solutions and the formation of an output management working group underscores Tivoli’s commitment to openness and partnering,” said Mike O’Rourke, vice president, partner programs, for Tivoli Systems. “Tivoli customers always have the choice of best of breed systems management products, TME 10 integration with those products, and the most extensive interoperability across the systems management arena.”
Source: IBM