New GroundWork Open Source Release Targets MSPs

Network management specialist GroundWork Open Source (GWOS) today launches version 6.2 of GroundWork Monitor Enterprise, bringing role-based views to the table — a feature the company says is aimed squarely at the managed services community. Here’s the scoop.

Let’s back up for a moment — we’ve discussed GroundWork Open Source and their Enterprise Monitor previously, but the short version is that they provide open-source enterprise systems monitoring and management to customers and service providers with heterogeneous network environments.

The company’s been building out its user base rapidly by taking business from companies like IBM Tivoli. GWOS is also gaining exposure through partnerships with companies like Eucalyptus Systems.

That brings us to GroundWork Monitor 6.2. GWOS Senior Director of Product Management Simon Bennett says that the new role-based views are designed to help MSPs add value to monitoring services. One example Bennett gave is of giving users on sales and marketing teams a services-centric view into business processes on the network.

Other examples GWOS provided include giving technicians visibility into only the local infrastructure that concerns them, or giving a Cisco or Oracle specialist a view of network infrastructure and services that fall into their purview. Even Bennett acknowledges it’s not a game-changer, but anything that makes a service provider’s life easier is worth noting.

Also included in the 6.2 release are Java application server monitoring, increased VMware coverage for vCloud and ESXi, and integration with the Webmetrics end-user monitoring solution. Subscriptions start at $4,000 for 100 devices, and the 6.2 release is fully compatible with Eucalyptus and the Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud.

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