Security software maker Symantec Corp. is weaving together systems and storage management with security features to give IT managers more comprehensive management of enterprise IT environments.
The company"s fledgling Enterprise Administration Business Unit is building off two recent acquisitions to create software that promises to enable administrators to ward off potential intrusions while performing system provisioning and patch remediation across a network.
To drive that mission, Symantec"s Enterprise Administration Business Unit this year will introduce its Recovery Manager and Backup Manager products. The offerings will add management capabilities and advanced imaging to the often-unprotected data backup process, said Don Kleinschnitz, Symantec"s vice president of product delivery and enterprise administration, in Cupertino, Calif.
In the highly competitive systems management arena, the absence of IT asset management in Symantec"s repertoire could limit its appeal. "[Symantec is] still missing a piece of the puzzle, which I think is IT asset management," said Fred Broussard, an analyst at IDC, in Framingham, Mass. "That would complete the major parts of a systems management story."