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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Request for Sole Source FindingCITY OF MIAM1, FLORIDA INTER -OFFICE MEMORANDUM Todd Hannon, City Clerk September 23, 2015 DATE . FILE SUBIEG Redaction of Data Resolution R-15-0041, February 12, 2015 Kevin Burns, CIO REFERENCES ENCLOSURES: I am respectfully requesting that the information below be redacted from page 5 of the memo and attachments that was submitted as supporting documentation to Resolution R-15-0041 that was passed on February 12, 2015 and was found at the following link: http://egov.ci.miami.fl.us/Legistarweb/Attachments/79038.pdf Bank Information Beneficiary. ArgSoft Group LLC Bank Address. Bank of America Nashua, NH 03060 USA Please sign below and return. ArrSaft Group LLC City of Miami Anthony Salarnone VP. Sales Kevin Bums Cti0 Please let me know once this has been accomplished so I may contact the vendor. CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA Inter -Office Memorandum TO: Annie Perez, Director Purchasing Department FROM: Kevin Burns, Director Information Technolog' Department DATE: December 4, 2014 SUBJECT: Request for Sole Source Finding: Authorizing the purchase of Enterprise Monitoring & Alerting Software This memorandum serves to request that you approve a finding the Argent Software, Inc., located at 100 Wall Street, 7th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10005, is the sole provider for the Enterprise Monitoring & Alerting Software (Argent Commander, Argent AT, and Argent Reports). Being the sole provider for their propriety software, Argent is the only company available to sell, load, configure, train, and perform adequate testing. The Department of Information Technology (IT) has over 300 servers, databases, software applications, and network appliances that will be monitored by this software providing proactive alerts and notifications to key IT personnel, in an effort to prevent system issues and downtime which coincides with our strategic plan and that of the City. It is therefore respectfully requested that you approve a sole source finding for Argent Software, Inc., to include the purchase of Enterprise Monitoring & Alerting System to provide us with the necessary tools to provide optimum support and system uptime. Approved: Perez, Director, Purchasing Department KB:lj Attachments Date: MARKET RESEARCH Contract No.: NIA Current Term: Expiration Date: Title: Argent Software for IT Recommendation: /1 Sole Source Contract Procurement Contracting Officer/Specialist: Richard McLaren 12/04/2014 ❑ Solicit Competition ❑Access Contract ❑ Other Background: This market research is intended for a term contract sole source end user license agreement (EULA) of an Enterprise Network Monitoring & Alerting Software system for the City of Miarnr.g Department of Information Technology (IT). IT is interested in acquiring and fully utilizing an enterprise network monitoring solution. The goal is to proactively monitor all software and applications including Microsoft, Linux, Oracle, Cisco and all devices that have an IP address. This should reduce downtime and system failures as well as allow key IT personnel to monitor their applications and take immediate corrective action from anywhere at any time. Research Conducted: Market research was conducted to source the industry and analyze the cost of providing the software as required by IT. In doing so, the Department of Procurement, has conducted research .to determine the best approach to secure the software. Procurement staff has also conducted internet searches as'an alternate source. The following web sites were researched: www.argent.com, www.bmc.com, http://www8. hp. com/us/en/software-solutions/enterprise-software-products-a- z.html?view=list&jumpid=hpr r1002 usen link2, http://www-01.ibm.com/software/tivoli/. Extensive market research was conducted to determine possible sources for acquiring the required services, as well as identifying potential bidders. Procurement and IT conducted extensive research on this type of software and learned that Argent is the premier provider of Enterprise, Network Monitoring Software. Argent's software is the only one that crosses platforms, including Microsoft, Linux, Oracle, Cisco and all devices with unique IP addresses. This software is also unique in its ability to dynamically build scripts based on key words and phrases. And it has a direct connection to Office 365 and Azure for the future. Recommendation: A sole source contract is in the best interest of the City because: a) There is only one source of supply that fills all of IT's requirements therefore competition is not necessary. b) Argent is the sole source provider of the Enterprise Network Monitoring & Alerting Software Suite. c) The City's IT department has unique needs precluding the use of alternative approaches or solutions. d) No other vendor has been identified with the capability of meeting the needs of IT. e) There are no competitive contracts to access forthis purpose as other governmental entities obtain the software through a licensing agreement with Argent. It is recommended that the City contract with Argent, Inc. as a sole source provider. The benefit of this recommendation is that IT has tested the software provided by Argent and has determined that it works well in our environment and it meets their needs with minimal training or implementation. Procurement Contracting Officer: Director/Asst. Director: �?'-,/tit, 4011 Date: I'd IL- k�( Date: ARGENT 100 Wall Street, 7th Floor, Unit 1, New York NY 10005 Ph:212-222-9868 Fax:646-530-8676 www.Argent.com help.Argent.com Date: Monday, 22 December 2014 To: Kevin Bums Re: Partnership with Argent *One onsite per quarter; WebEx will be scheduled closest business day to the 15th of the month AU prices are in US Dollars and exclude tax This quote is valid until 5 p.m. Wednesday, 31 December 2014 Trade Secret of ArrSoft Pacific intellectual Property Ifoidings (I-IK) Limited Proprietary lnfonnation Page I of 3 A rgSoft: Ensures business success by ensuring all critical business applications run properly Accurately finds and diagnoses issues, eliminating finger - pointing Integrates all monitoring activities into SLA management reports Maintenance: Improves and expands SLA initiatives Provides a central console for your entire infrastructure Provides critical insight into application performance and stability Maintenance, which includes technical support 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, as well as all new releases of the product, is included in the purchase price at no additional charge for the first three years. In the fourth and subsequent years, maintenance is 20 percent with an annual five percent CPI increase. Some customers who rely on Argent include: • American Suzuki • Asurion • Atlanta Falcons . Brandes Investments . Capital One • Church and Dwight • Clear Channel . Cleary, Gottlieb • Dupont • Gaylord Entertainment • Hewlett Foundation • Intelink • LendingTree • Mazda • Nokia . Petco . Packard Foundation • RBS • Social Security Admin • St. Jude Medical • Tellabs • Tullett Prebon . UCLA • WD-40 Company . Wells Fargo ...and over 2,500 others Trade Secret of ArgSoft Pacific Intellectual Property IlolJings (I-IK) Limited Proprietary Information Page 2 of 3 Bank Information Beneficiary: ArgSoft Group LLC Bank Address: Bank of America Nashua, NH 03060 USA Please sign below and return. ArgSoft Group LLC City of Miami Anthony Salamone VP, Sales Kevin Burns CIO Trade Secret of ArgSoft Pacific Intellectual Property Holdings (HIC) t.lmited Proprietary Information Page 3 of 100 Wall Street, 7th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10005 Tel: 212 222 9868 Fax: 646 530 8676 21 October 2014 Mr. Kevin Burns Chief Information Officer City of Miami Information Technology Department 444 S.W. 2nd Ave. MRC 5th Floor, Room 551 Miami, Florida 33130 Re: Sole Source Supply Dear Mr. Burns: I am writing to confirm that Argent Software is the developer, manufacturer and sole supplier of enterprise monitoring and alerting software sold under the Argent Software trademark. Argent products, including Argent Advanced Technology, comprise a proprietary solution that is patented, owned, marketed, maintained and supported exclusively by Argent Software. Argent sells directly to end users and does not normally deal with resellers. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance. Regards, Dean Lekos, General Counsel Trade Secret of Argent Software Confidential and Proprietary Information Page 1 of 1 City of Miami — Statement of Work Argent is prepared to complete the following implementation, training, testing and validation tasks in order to commit to a successful implementation of the system. 1. Create SQL database to be used for Argent installation. 2. Install Argent AT on Argent server using the SQL Server database back -end. 3. Discover servers in Argent CMDB-X and added them to licensing. 4. Provide an overview of using Argent monitoring Rules, Monitoring Groups, Alerts, and Relators. 5. Configure SMTP mail settings and successfully tested email alerting. 6. Create Email Alerts for initial alerts and correct condition alerts. 7. Configure Monitoring Groups for ALL_SERVERS, WEB_SERVERS, AD SERVERS, NETBACKUP SERVERS, SQL_SERVERS, etc. 8. Configure monitoring Rules and Relators for Connectivity, CPU, Memory, Disk, NIC, Web Services, Active Directory Services, NetBackup Services, etc. 9. Provide tutorial on viewing and answering events in the Argent Console. 10. Provide tutorial on creating Argent SuperMap views. 11. Review alerts generated from the initial configured monitoring. 12. Configure ESX Host monitoring in Argent for Connectivity, CPU, Memory, Disk, NIC, Datastore Size, Hardware failures, Disconnected State, etc. 13. Configure Exchange monitoring in Argent for Mail Queue Sizes, Mail Connector State, Mailbox Database Size, Public Folder Sizes, etc. 14. Install Argent Commander web interface and configured Server Health Views, TopX Report Views, Performance Graph Reports, etc. 15. Configure Active Directory monitoring in Argent for DNS connectivity, Global Catalog connectivity, LDAP connectivity, Kerberos connectivity, Replication Delayed, DNS timeout, etc. 16. Configure SQL database monitoring in Argent for Concurrent User Connections, Database Backup Checks, SQL Job status, Offline Databases, etc. 17. Configure monitoring for Cisco devices in Argent for CPU, Memory, Power Supply, Fan, Temperature, Bandwidth Utilization, Packet Latency, etc. 18. Provide a tutorial on using Argent Commander reports and server health views. 19. Provide an overview presentation of Argent AT to staff. 20. Configure the Security section of Argent to allow access to the administrators for their specific area of responsibility (Exchange admins for Exchange servers, SQL admins for SQL Servers, etc.). 21. Provide a tutorial to the Infrastructure Team showing them how to monitor the Cisco devices. Reviewed monitoring for Cisco CPU, Power Supply, Fan, Temperature, bandwidth utilization, packet latency, etc. Showing them how to create and view reports on bandwidth utilization, router CPU, etc. 22. Install Argent Reports and provide an overview to the team. 23. Provide a tutorial to the team on how to create historical performance graph reports, Top X reports, etc. 24. Provide a tutorial to the team on creating Report Groups, and scheduling them using Report Automators. 25. Provide a tutorial to the database admin team on monitoring Oracle and SQL databases. 26. Provide a tutorial to the Systems and Programming Team on configuring website URL monitoring in Argent. 27. Provide a tutorial to the Networking and Infrastructure team showing how to configure escalation and condition corrected alerts. Argent Software, Inc. Company Profile - Yahoo Finance Page 1 of 2 Yahoo! My Yahoo! Mail YAHOO/ '' / FINANCE Wel[Sign come, Guest /11����� jJ Out, My,�ccount] Get FILStay Fit RearatihoWat Finance Home - Help Wednesday, December 3 2014 7:41am ET - U.S. Markets open in 1 hour and 49 minutes. NEWT HOME INVESTING NEWS & OPINION PERSONAL FINANCE EXCLUSIVES Search HOO ER p a Oik:[r roe Finance Search INDUSTRY CENTER - BUSINESS SOFTWARE & SERVICES Industry Center > Business Software & Services > Argent Software, Inc. Company Profile More On This Industry Summary News • Leaders & Laggards • Company Index • Industry Browser Related Industries • Application Software • Information & Delivery Services • Information Technology Services • Multimedia & Graphics Software • Security Software & Services • Technical & System Software Top Industries • Aerospace/Defense - Major Diversified • Auto Manufacturers - Major • Biotechnology • Business Software & Services • Chemicals - Major Diversified • Comrnunication_Eguip_ment • Conglomerates • DiversifiedComputer Systems • Diversified Investments • Drug Manufacturers - Major • Electric Utilities • Food - Major Diversified • Industrial Metals & Minerals • Major Airlines Argent Software, Inc. Company Profile Argent Software knows that the key to business success lies in having a good system. The company provides systems management software used for tasks such as network monitoring, job scheduling, and e-mail server management. Argent's software also addresses meeting Sarbanes-Oxley compliance regulations, Web analytics, and software inventory control. The company's products are compatible with Windows and UNIX environments. Argent's customers come from fields such as financial services, manufacturing, telecommunications, and health care. The company was founded in 1991. Contact Information Address: 2 Bridgewater Rd. Farmington, CT 06032 Phone: 860-674-1700 Fax: 860-674-0101 Key People • President and CEO: Andrew Blencowe Industry Information Sector: Technology Industry: Business Software & Services Top Competitors • BMC Software, Inc. (bmc) • Hewlett-Packard Compaq (hpq) International Business Machines • Corporation (ibm) http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/1 1 3/1 1 3 3 51.html;_ylt=AwrBT8rZBH9ULX8ARIxXNyoA;_ylu=X... 12/3/2014 Argent :: Partial Customers List Page 1 of 3 What's Relevant You are not logged In. Login or register for access to free demo keys and white papers. Videos Welcome from Argent's CEO Links Comparison and While Papers Home » Company » Partial Argent Customer List Partial Argent Customer List AIG Fiji Revenue & Customs Agency Nuplex Industries ABB Finnlines NY State Insurance Fund About.com First Financial NY State Teachers Retirement Service Accenture First Nallonal Bank of Marin NYPRO Agder Energi FirstMac Oasis Stores AIDS Healthcare Fleet Financial Occidental College AIM Mutual Funds Food and Drug Administration Occidental Petroleum Air Nuigini Foothill Capital Office of the Prime Minister Air Pacific Fox Racing Olmsted Medical Center Airbus Fox Rothschild O'Brien and Frankel Olswang Akerman Senterfdl Franklin Electric O'Melveny & Myers Alaska Communication Systems Fred's One Beacon Insurance Alberta Finance Freeman Companies Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Alexant Systems Tech Fremont Investment & Loan Ordyss Group Aliens Arthur Robinson Gallup Organization Ortho-McNeil Allergy Therapeutics Gatton Shire Council Orvis Company Alliance Pipeline Gaylord Container Osborne Clarke Solicitors Alliance Title Gaylord Entertainment Packard Foundation Alstom GE Capital Mortgage Pall Corporation Akrecht GEAC Computers NZ Parexel AM Best Company General Motors Park Center American Bank of Albania General Services Administration Pasadena City College American Cancer Society Genzyme PBSJ American Psychological Association Gisbome City Council Peninsula Regional Medical Center AmSurg Corporation Gladstone City Council Pep Boys Aon Consulting GlaxoSmilhKline Perpetual Services AON Risk Services Global Insight Pesticides Safety Directorate APS Gold Banc Corporation Petco Arab Banking Corporation GoldenTree Asset Management Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Arkansas Highway Transportation Department Goodrich Lighting Systems PGT Industries Armasuisse - Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Pharmaceuticals Management Agency Arthrex GreatAmerica Leasing Pinnacle Systems Arvin Meritor Green Bay Packaging Pittwater Cily Council Ashfield District Council GreenShield Canada Planar Systems Association of American Medical Colleges Grupo Empresarial ENCE Poorman Douglas AT&T Grupo Financiero Inbursa Port Macquarie Host Council Atenta Chile . GunnAllen Financial PowerSlream Atkins Global Hamilton Health Sciences Center Premier Atlanta Falcons Hanley Wood Primerica Financial Services Atlantic Assurance Harlequin Enterprises Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savlich Austin Industries Harvard Business School Progress Energy Australian Associated Press HeellhExdras Property Casualty Insurers Association of America Australian Lab Services HemoCue Proximity London Australian Meal Holdings Henkel Loctite QS Group PLC Aux Sable Liquid Products Hertz Queensland Cotton Corp Aviva Hibernia Management Queensland Motorways Bacardi High Point Regional Health Systems Queensland State Library Baker & McKenzie Hillman Group Queensland Treasury Baker Donelson Hinshaw & Culbertson Raritan Valley Community College Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll Hitachi Ravenholm Computing Bank Al Jazira HK Academy Performing Arts Redstor Bank of Ireland Hobsons Bay City Council Retch & Tang Asset Management Barclays Private Bank Holy Cross Hospital Resmed Barley Snyder Home Wilkinson Lowry Rinker Material Barrick Goldstrike Mines Honda Roto-Rooter BatteriesPlus Honeywell Royal Bank of Scotland Baw Baw Shire Council Horizon Home Care Russell Athletic Bayer CropScience Hunton and Williams Russell Mellon Bemecon Hyphen Solutions Ryder Integrated Logistics Bemis Hypoverelnsbank Bank Sa Sa International http://www.argent.com/company/customersephp 12/3/2014 Argent :: Partial Customers List Page 2 of 3 Bendigo Regional TAFE Benton County, Oregon Bermuda Telephone Company Bill Barrett Corporation Biota Holdings Limited BISYS BlackRock Blockbuster Entertainment Blockbuster Video Denmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wisconsin Bluewater Energy Boca Raton Community Hospital Boliden Bon Secours Health Systems Boral industries Bradbury Brewers Distributor Ltd Bristol Port Company British Columbia Lottery British Library Broadcom Brookfield Homes Bullivant Houser Batley Bureau of Meteorology Bumie City Council C&H Distributors Cactus Feeders California School Employees Assoc California Steel Industries Calpine Corporation Camoplast Cape Fear Valley Medical Center Capital One Auto Finance Cardinal Logistics Caremark Cementos Bio Cendant Mobility Centimfe Central Equity Central Highlands Water Ceridian Channel 4 Television Channel One Charity Commission Charles River Consultants Charles River Labs Charles Schwab Children's Hospital of Eastem Ontario Christchurch City Council Church & Dwight Circle.com Citadel Communications City of Holdfasl Bay City of Port Philip City of Thornton City of West Des Moines City of Westminster City of Whitehorse City of Wodonga ClearChannel Communications Cleary Gottlieb Steen and Hamilton Clough Engineering ClubLink Coffeyville Group Gaffs Harbour City Council Collins & Aikman Columbia Service Partners Communications Services for the Deaf Community Care Organization Comtrak Logistics Conestoga -Rovers & Assoc Hyundai Motor Manufacturing IAC Group IBM Illinois State Board of Education Imperial irrigation District Imperial Sugar Independence Investments industry Canada Ingram Book Group Institute of Chartered Accountants Institute of Child Health Intelink Intelsat International Power International SOS !mesa Bank Intrado Invesco Mutual Funds Investors Bank and Trust IPSCO Ipswich City Council IT Matters Jacksonville Jaguars Janssen-Cilag JDS Uniphase Jefferies Group Jefferson Pilot Financial Jenkens and Gilchrist Jevic Transportation John Deere Johnson Controls Johnson Health Network Journal Sentinel Julian LeCraw Kaiser Foundation Health Plans Kansas City Chiefs Kansas City Life Kennebunk Savings Bank Key Trust Kissimmee Utility Authority Klipsch Audio Technologies Knoxville Utilities Board Kohl's Corporation Kutak Rock Kyphon LA County Sheriffs Department Lawtech Services Lee County Clerk of Courts Legal Aid NSW Lending Tree LEO Pharma Leonard, Street and Deinard Liberty Bank Liberty Fund Lifeway Christian Resources Littler Mendelson Liverpool Hope University Livingstone Shire Council Lloyds Local Initiatives Support Corporation Lockton Companies Lower Murray Water LPL Financial Services Lucent Technologies Maclaren Energy Major League Baseball Manchester Unity Australia Manildra Group Manor Maple Leaf Sports Maricopa County Safety Insurance Saint Peter's University Hospital Salem Health Solutions San Jose Sharks Sanoma Schnader Harrison Segal and Lewis Schneider Foods Schwabe Williamson and Wyalt SCM Microsystems SCR - Slbeico NV Sear Brown Group Security Finance Semex Alliance Servicio de Impuestas Intemos de Chile Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton Sherman & Howard Silicon Valley Sports and Entertainment Silver Chain SIRTI SL Horsford Smart Start Smith & Wesson Smurfit Kappa Paper Services Snell & Wilmer Social Security Administration Sonic Drive -Ins South Waikato District Council South Westchester BOCES Southampton Solent University Spectra Credit Union Speedway Super America Spirian SQM Mines St Jude Medical Standard Parking Stanford University State of CA Dept of insurance State of IN Dept of Administration Stale of Oregon Dept of Transportation State of PA Board of Probation & Parole Stale of WI Dept of Workforce Development State of WI, Dept of Corrections Steamship Authority Stephan Oringher Richman Theodora & Miller Steptoe and Johnson Steven & Bolton Stryker Sughrue Mion Sullivan and Cromwell SunGam Sunwest Management SUNY Buffalo Surgis Suzuki Australia Sycamore Cogeneration Sygen international Symtech Netricom Tasmanian Dept of Education TecTonics Group Tellabs Ten Cate Enbi international Tenaska Tequila Japan Texas Capital Bancshares Texas Independent Bank Tirnam District Council Tomago Aluminium Toowoomba City Council Torys Townsville City Council Tradall SA http://www.argent.com/company/customers.php 12/3/2014 Argent :: Partial Customers List Page 3 of 3 Conservation International Consorclo Naclonal Context Web Cooper Wallnski Cornell Companies Cox, Castle and Nicholson Cox Group CPA Australia Creata Promotions Creighton University Criminal Justice Institute Cummings & Lockwood Curriculum & Assessment Authority Cyclone Commerce Cywest Communications Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal DARPA Datec PNG Davey Tree Expert Company Davis County Department of Education & Training NSW Dept of Building & Housing Descartes Systems Group Detroit Edison Devonport City Council Direct Supply DISA Dr Foster Dreyers Ice Cream DRI-WEFA Dudley Metropolitan Borough East Caribbean Financial Holding East Lindsey District Council Eastern Institute of Technology Eastman Kodak Egerton Capital EIG-Ansvar Emerson Process Management Empower Encore Capital Endurance International Group Enom eRealty.com Ericsson Nikola Testa Ervin, Cohen & Jessup ESRI E-Trade ETSA Utilities Everest Reinsurance Evertrust Financial Exelixis Express Applications FtoronMobil Fats Direct Marketing Farm Credit Administration Farm Family Insurance Fastenal FedEx Trade Networks Fennemore Craig Fiji Development Bank Matamata District Council Mazda MBM Food Service McGraw Hill McKenna Long & Aldridge MCS IT Solutions Mcube Investment Technologies Medarex Medihelp Melbourne Airport MemberHealth Mercury Insurance Mesirow Financial Metalworking Products Metro St. Louis MI Dept of Mental Health Midlothian Council Miller & Martin Ministerio de Hacienda de Chile Minolta Misys Healthcare Systems Mitchell, Silberberg & Knupp MonierLifetlle Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office Monsoon Accessorize Montreal Airport Moonee Valley City Council Marco Plains Shire Council Morrison & Foerster Motorola Multicare Health Systems Murray -Darling Basin Commission Mylan Labs NACCO Materials Handling Group National Envelope National Futures Association National Penn Bank National Science Foundation Nationwide Insurance Naval War College Nektar Therapeutics Nelson Mullins Riley and Scarborough Nestle Purina Net2Phone New Brunswick Power NewBreed Nexus Niagara Mohawk Paper NOAA Nokia Mobile Phones Noranda Falconbridge North East Water Authority Northdm Bank Northwest Airlines Federal Credit Union NorthwesTel Norwich Union N-Tech Nunavut Arctic College Performance assured by Argent Defender OD Arctra.511Ig..C'1s11. I bdtlArmgok:g2m Transit NZ Travis County, Texas Treasury NZ Trimble Mobile Solutions Troutman Sanders Troyer Foundation Tullett Liberty Tumer Construction Tyco International UCLA UCSF Medical Center UK Ministry of Defence Ultimate Software UNICEF UNITAB Limited United Group United States Capital Police United Title Company Universal College of Learning Universal Studios University Medical Center University of Botswana University of Denver University of Houston University of Missouri at St. Louis University of TN Medical Center University of TX at San Antonio Virgin Money Virtual Care Provider Vistawall Architectural Vistorm WA Electoral Commission Wabash Alloys Wabash Technologies Wainwright Bank & Trust Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis Wannon Water Authority Watson Farley Williams Watson Pharmeceuticals Wayne Farms WebMD Weight Watchers Wellcare Wells Fargo WesTrac Equipment Wings Financial Wisconsin Education Association Council Wright Patterson Air Force Base Writers Guild of America Pension Plan Wyong Shire Council Yale University Zonelever Network Solutions ZymoGenetics Zywave http://www.argent.com/company/eustomers.php 12/3/2014 ARGENT Comparison Paper Argent vs. BMC Patrol ARGENT Contents Overview 3 Critical Differences 4 Investment Differences 6 Critical Architectural Differences 7 n-Tier Architecture 8 Critical Support Differences 9 Installation and Implementation Differences 9 Critical Features 10 Alert Escalation 11 Customers Who Looked at Both Argent and BMC 11 Appendix A: Critical Questions to Ask 12 Comparison Paper AIr ont vs. BI C Parrel it i t ., I "mite( l' LflaI'ion ARGENT Overview This document compares and contrasts the monitoring and alerting capabilities in the Argent monitoring products with BMC Patrol. There are many important differences between the products, as well as differences in the two companies' pricing philoso- phies; there are also fundamental differences between the two companies' policies for handling technical support and enhancement requests. From a design viewpoint, the Argent monitoring products are composed of a number of closely integrated solutions, all written by the same development teams. BMC's philosophy seems to be to grow the monitoring product line by acquiring other companies, and then trying to integrate their solutions into Patrol. Argent provides a comprehensive and complete set of instrumentation for Windows 200x, Linux, UNIX, iSeries either with or without installing any monitoring agents. (Argent's patented approach provides the ability to install agents on all, some, or none of the monitored machines.) And you can mix and match the servers monitored locally or remotely — there is no difference in cost. Argent is designed from the ground up to scale from the smallest to the largest of networks, as Argent uses a pat- ented, n-tier architecture. As a review in Windows & .NET Magazine stated: "For once, the marketing rhetoric is true - the Argent Guardian scales to handle both the smallest and largest of networks?' A key difference between Patrol and Argnt Is Argent ports both remote and local monitoring some.se be monitored with local agents, while other servers are monitored remotely. In this second case, np software needs be installed on the server being monitored.. To get cr mplete monitoring, Patrol requires local agents, r'equirinj customers to install agents can every monitored this is a chore if you're monitoring 2,500 ser worldwide. Argent gives customers a choice, rather than being forced to always use an agent -based approach with Patrol, And you can mix and match the servers mio locally or remotely - there is no difference in cost, and only Argent. provides the same level of monitoring with or without local agents, Comparison Paper Argent vs. BMC Patrol secr.,11 or AJOSeI 1Fefler.-i aJ Propel IN Ho Y ' iITf it Ratio ARGENT Critical Differences Argent not only provides a greater depth of monitoring, but also provides a far easier to use and more consistent interface that has no learning curve and does not require complex scripts. Argent installs in about ten minutes, and is all fully operational "out of the box." Do not conclude that a simple installation equates to a lightweight product. To the contrary, Argent has far more functionality than all other products - it's a bit like calling a Porsche 911 "a little car...", The following information has been collected from Argent customers who evaluated both products and selected Argent as their standard monitoring solution. The analysis also contains information from trade reviews, press releases, and web site analysis. Please contactyour sales rep to SPEAK to a customer who selected Argent over Patrol. Argent is point and click, and only Argent comes with over 2,500 predefined Rules out -of -the -box —Argent does not use a proprietary scripting language that requires weeks of expensive consultants to code and debug, and debug and debug and debug, all at $100 per hour. The following table contains 35 critical production -monitoring requirements. The Argent monitoring products support all these critical requirements. • Feature Server/Application Supported Argent Patrol. Windows Operating: Systems Comparison Paper rgent vs. PAC Patrol • Arg F'toy. ''j€tit,l( im'r,''i Pup i :ary Info!maiion �4 ARGENT Feature Ca pac IV Planning and Trend Analysis Server/Application Supported Argent Patrol inux support. SuperConsole rgiorArphitertorp - EssOnt!atgsabillty. Jeclinicat SuPport: SNMP Support Yes Yes Coniiparifmi Paper Amerrt BM( Patio' ArriSoti I, ;_illor,,,tual iiilitr.111 Prop j(11:31 111[011101:10. 15 ARGENT Investment Differences Both Patrol and Argent are fine products written by strong development teams. As two of the leading products in the monitoring and alerting arena, either product is an excellent choice to make production servers more reliable. However, the cost of the investment is often radically different. The following table illustrates the different investments. Feature Argent Patrol ited Number 0 Mena cdement:Consoles 2 Interface: To QpenView ..interface: To: Tivoli.. 4; interface To Unicenter t3.Inte ace TO ins igilt Manager 14 interface To 0penMana e 15. Automatic Repo rf f istribution 6. Universal Browser 1pterface 17. Service Level Agreement uerMaps. 9. kgent BoardRoom Incltitled Included (i chided,:.: Incltitled.., . itit lulled. (ncttrdeti lncludett : -1uded cttidt d Included ticll tded. nclutled . .. ncluded nctuded.: ncluded fteluded Comparison Paper Argont vs, r.3MC Patrol 'G i:6,- Ses.re? 9; ,`\r( So W011061(01 Pro; Ty HUidir,rJ;; I irri t; ! Prof-f i :i%+n/ In'un 1W:oil ARGENT Critical Architectural Differences The following table illustrates the critical differences between Argent and Patrol. Note how Patrol requires a customer to adopt its implementation regimen, while Argent gives users the flexibility to select the monitoring architecture (or architectures) that are most suitable and most appropriate for the customer's needs. Area Tice Argent Monitoring Products Patrol Remote Moortortng Agents* SuperConsole Scalable Ves Yes 'NEMOTINVMV.Miwia' motthowo- * "One of Argent's unique advantages is that the monitoring architecture doesn't require you to install agent services on monitored workstations. The primary advantage of this type of system is that you can monitor your secure client systems without introducing foreign software into the environment." Windows & .NET Magazine ** "For once the marketing rhetoric is true Argent scales to handle both the smallest and largest of networks." Windows & .NET Magazine ** "Argent's design and scalability features are impressive whether you have a small three -system workgroup, a large multisystem domain, or a huge WAN spanning three sites and two coasts. The product uses one architecture, so it will grow with your network." Windows & .NET Magazine Comparison Paper Argent va. BMC Patrol Sec'rE:t 91' ArgSOtt int elleduai Prooerty Holdings rjrnitA Proprietary Info, motim 17 ARGENT n-Tier Architecture With Argent's n-tier architecture, customers can have all monitored servers in a single monitoring region, or optionally, custom- ers can divide monitored servers into different regions by geography, function, etc. Typically for small environments (under 50 monitored servers), a single monitoring region will be appropriate. However, take the case of a large Southwest utility that uses Argent to monitor over 1,200 production servers. Argent engineers worked with this company's technical staff to design a monitoring topology whereby monitoring was done by server function; each of the following has its own monitoring region: « All the SQL Server production servers in a one monitoring region «All the SQL Server test servers in a different monitoring region • All the Exchange 2007 servers in a different monitoring region « All the IIS servers in a different monitoring region « All the Power Gen production servers in a different monitoring region Best of all, all outstanding alerts from all these monitoring regions are displayed on one screen - the Argent SuperConsole. Other customers create independent monitoring regions based on geographic region, such as East, Central, West, South, Canada, etc. Only Argent has an n-tier architecture and the SuperConsole. Cornl:,atori Papor vs. WMC Patrol Trade Se get „ !* ! liar ;!al -mist ty rlr it4! y, f !!r,ited r it3Aioiary rn,or 1ation ARGENT Critical Support Differences Argent knows that technical support must be available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year worldwide. Argent knows that most upgrades are performed on holidays and on weekends, and this is why Argent's support engineers are always available. In contrast, BMC technical support is not around the clock worldwide. This is specified on the BMC web site at: http://www.bmc.com/support Installation and Implementation Differences Argent installs in 10 minutes, whereas Patrol's typical installation takes weeks, after you have read all the installation guides. Why is this? One of the reasons is that Patrol must be installed on every monitored server, whereas Argent does not. "One of the Argent's unique advantages is that the monitoring architecture doesn't require you to install agent ser- vices on monitored workstations." Windows & .NET Magazine Of course, a customer can install agents on all monitored servers with Argent — it's what is best for the customers: all local monitoring, a mixture of local and remote, or all remote monitoring —Argent supports all three and there is no difference in cost and no loss of power. For more information, please see: http://help.argent.com/index.php?t=0025 Argent is point and click, and only Argent comes with over 2,500 predefined Rules out -of -the -box —Argent does not use a pro- prietary scripting language that requires weeks of expensive consultants to code and debug, and debug and debug and debug, all at $100 per hour. comparison Paper Argent vs. l MC, Patrol Trade ((S c.; _ I PI:'•'ttt,', Holt9LItj; Limited d Proprietary s ietary infor€1 atial ARGENT Critical Features Argent provides a number of essential features that are not provided by Patrol, Here are just a few: RunBooks For each rule, there is an optional ASCII file called a RunBook, The RunBook allows the creator of the rule to provide instructions of what to do if the rule is broken, Thus, if the Administrator who is viewing the Argent Master Console sees that a rule has been broken, the Administrator can open the RunBook and read the instructions of what to do next. RunBooks remove all guessing from the day -to -clay operations of a monitoring and alerting control center. Patrol does not have RunBooks. Alert Memos For each alert on the Argent Master Console, there is an associated optional memo. This memo is a powerful groupware func- tion, the purpose of which is to enable technicians to record the progress towards resolution of the issue that caused the alert to be generated. For example, consider the situation where, at 5 p.m., a technician who had been working on resolving an outstanding alert goes home, and a second technician takes over. Rather than frantically scribbling a note, the first technician needs to do nothing, as all the work notes have been recorded in the Alert's Memo, with optional timestamps and user ids. Thus the second technician has a complete set of notes on one screen. The second technician just needs to right -click on the Alert to view, edit, or print the Alert Memo. Patrol does not have Alert Memos. In the real world, a single, critical alert is sometimes missed, or the technician is unable to respond to the alert because they are stuck in traffic, etc. Con parison Papor Argent vs. BMC Palm) Trade, S `t of Ar9Soft.iL a;ilE_. (Ids PM oiclinorLirr'ltpriFrC,pCWay li'l('f)['11'1cliiol` 110 ARGENT Alert Escalation It is essential that any production monitoring and alerting product have the ability to escalate alerts. In other words, if one alert is not responded to within a specified period of time, another alert is fired, and alerts continue to be fired to different technicians until the original alert is answered, Argent provides the option to have any number of alert escalations at any frequency. Patrol does not have Alert Escalation. Multiple Alerts in a Single Relator It is essential that a single Relator be able to execute more than just one alert at a time. Only Argent has Relators that support an unlimited number of alerts in a single Relator. Patrol does not provide Multiple Alerts in a Single Relator. Console Comments Associated with each rule is a critical Console Comment. The Console Comment is a note that summarizes the alert displayed in a column of the Argent Master Console. This usability feature enables Administrators to quickly see and address critical alerts. Patrol does not provide Console Comments. Custorrers Who Looked at Both Argent and BMC When you are evaluating monitoring solutions, one important criterion should be references. You should ask each vendor for clients who have evaluated multiple monitoring solutions and find out why these clients selected one product over the oth- ers. Comparison Paper Argent vs. 13v1C Patrol Trade i .fiF, :t To o t intrailerrtuel Property Holdings Limited ProprietorJ } irormatioln I l 1 ARGENT Appendix A: Critical Questions to Ask The following are specific examples of monitoring and alerting functions and concomitant features that Patrol either does not offer, or does so only in a fragmentary way. If you would like to learn more about how Argent provides features that Patrol does not, please contact Argent at Support@Argent.com. Administration • Technical support commitment 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, weekends, holidays, around the clock, « Ability to run on any form of Windows 200x — from Windows 2000 to Windows 2008, • Automatic Report Distribution so managers can get reports at predefined times • Service inventory that provides a list of services across multiple machines Alerting • Alert Escalation - so that an important alert is never lost or never goes unanswered • Runbooks - so that pre -coded instructions can be made available to the busy support analyst trying to resolve an alert • Memo feature - so that a number of support analysts and Administrators can work together • Alert Calendars - so that the same alert can be used for different pagers - Bill for Week 1, Joe for Week 2, Sue for Week 3, and Tom for Week 4. • Integrated alphanumeric paging, not a third party product • SNMP Alerts so that, for example, a fan can be set to high on a hot server • Ability to temporarily disable all email alerts to a person on vacation or otherwise absent • Ability to execute SQL commands as alerts • Ability to create a macro of alerts so that just the macro name rather than all the individual alerts can be specified • Powerful SNMP trap monitors as part of the base product. • Multiple Alerts can be executed when a rule is broken • Alerts can be auto -correcting « Ability to check databases on a Novell server ....».,...,........,..,,....,,...,,,...H.., Comparison aiurArgent vs. 3MC Patrol Trade secret ). itr.,.,r ...,._r, I ict,6.....3d Property ...I..k... Id ..,r .,.y. .... Limited P...ro...p....rie...ta...ry In.,.fo...rm......a...tio...Wn ...,.12 ARGENT Monitoring • Permit monitoring either with local agents installed, and/or remote monitoring in the same domain • Provide an n-tier architecture so that smaller, easier to manage monitoring regions can be defined • Provide a SuperConsole that permits ALL alerts from ALL monitoring regions to be displayed on a single screen • Provide complete firewall support, so that servers behind the firewall can be monitored without having to install any monitoring software * Ability to set Relators at different monitoring rates • Ability to have Relators executed only on certain days of the week or using an advanced calendar • Ability to create and execute synthetic transactions to accurately test response time for email delivery • Ability to execute SQL transactions as a rule Rules • Powerful rule architecture that saves the need to learn yet another scripting language • Full SNMP Rule Set delivered with the product Capacity Planning • Integrated capacity planning and trend analysis facility • Capacity planning and trend analysis data can be stored in an ODBC database -- SQL Server, or Oracle, or MySQL, or Sybase, etc. • Automatic Report Distribution feature so that managers can get reports at predefined times GUI • GUI is easy to navigate, with drag and drop for Relators, etc. • GUI is available on multiple client workstation or servers • Self-contained reporting that describes all of the objects Comparison Paper Argent vs i3MC Patrol Tr S'r €_i tyk Be.!9',;;0 iarvInforinatio 113 ARGENT Internet and Intranet Support • Ability to alert when any Internet or Intranet page changes • Ability to alert when Internet or Intranet suffers poor performance • Ability to alert when Internet or intranet is not available, that is, Service Level Agreement for any Internet or Intranet site • Ability to test if an FP site is down Note - enl _.1l: r�;-@`s, Itu - ';l ; r tr rl Ink Con wri8Paw- fur inioi-marionalJ S t- only Arr,Grnt ,?0 ;rr (?, Inc.Eri iketc no 6 3rta Mies, express or i11301 Ei Ili 111€.I N;lilit fix, iNriug courdiim.1 (f . 1 ,, document albjecr Ie change without notice Argent SO iw;lre, Ii!L, S[0.11 ritof ne liable for anY t :(fly k; j, d` .. 'efrr, s, orll for o r:(. t tin' b 111 , i!; docuiffint, no for iuiidoo it ti- br rr t c 1 o11SeCI ir: 1tial dru li gos resulting {rOiii the rurliiShirlij. per`orr `ni:: or usl:! of tr`C tri,Afei tvilainori .ii fills doer _rn'rot< ] the dociti no.. Comparison r'apor Argent vs, BR; Patrol .wi€ Se 't 01 ArffiOrI Inreil0I tI 1 t ' tirirj, I Irriito d r ro;71 i. tar 1 i formali ri 114 ARGENT Comparison Paper Argent vs. IBM Tivoli/ Netcool Conte S ARGENT Overview 3 Critical Differences 5 Investment Differences 7 Critical Architectural Differences 8 n-Tier Architecture 9 Critical Support Differences 10 Installation and Implementation Differences 10 Service Management Software: Functional Categories 11 ' y 1 i irr i s: Prop i L y I i(T; malion �.i011'Ilaitil`i�)CI 'illh::Y!Ifp�?�ItU,""; IBM 11+�i)II/�V(iCl';UOI is€a' se,..:rot. of tEfj�S()F�. `:'ll++:a���� :.,?, E , i-Et��i�i + � � � ARGENT Overview There are many important differences between the products — architectural differences, installation and implementation differ- ences, as well as differences in the two companies' pricing policies; one can also find differences in the way technical support is handled by the two companies. The major differences between these two products in a num- ber of critical areas are highlighted in the following sections. First, however, are the following short descriptions for these products: IBM Netcool/Impact IBM, with the acquisition of Micromuse Inc., is now able to offer a service management software portfolio that combines the capabilities of IBM Tivoli and Netcool products, IBM Tivoli Netcool is fully integrated services management software. The IBM Tivoli Netcool/Impact is a software tool that provides Business Application Management solutions. Netcool/Impact helps in better management of enterprise data across the organization. The IBM Tivoli Netcool/Impact offers a common platform for all the information needs of an enterprise, cir- cumventing the various functional/departmental perimeters. Netcool/Impact also provides an improved policy -engine allowing the system administrators to define specific actions and their time of execution. IBM Netcool/OMNIbus The IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus offers server, network, and device management solutions to the user. Netcool/OMNI- bus offers a centralized, real time monitoring of complex data networks operating on various platforms. It is a highly scalable product that can easily track millions of transac- tions/events per day. In this way, Netcool/OMNIbus helps in improving the process efficiency parameters by allowing the administrators a bird's eye view of the critical processes across the entire enterprise. Comparison Paw Artrr,r3r vs. IBM ivoli/NO:cool True s,;(:ro,C: ArgSofl tv !dings tin € e r rod rial.3ry il)Cc naiion