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