CA announces comprehensive enterprise management support for Microsoft Windows CE powered pocket PC

Extended Unicenter TNG Support for Windows CE Platform Allows Clients to Fully Manage, Secure and Maintain Mobile eBusiness Resources Computer Associates International, Inc. (CA) today reaffirmed its commitment to meet the increasingly complex IT management needs of its eBusiness clients by announcing comprehensive enterprise management support for Pocket PC devices and embedded systems for Microsoft`s newest version of Windows CE.

By offering extended support for Windows CE, CA`s Unicenter TNG delivers advanced health monitoring and asset management for an entirely new family of advanced mobile eBusiness devices. CA technology will also provide virus protection, automated software distribution and advanced data retrieval capabilities for eBusiness clients deploying Windows CE-based resources across the enterprise. Windows CE is being embedded into products from industry leaders such as Symbol Technologies, Hewlett-Packard, Compaq and Casio. CA`s support of Windows CE extends its long-standing strategic relationship with Microsoft and significantly expands the company`s focus of optimising the value that clients realize from their wireless computing investments.

The new Unicenter TNG offering makes it possible for clients to automatically identify, monitor, track and manage their Pocket PC devices and other Windows CE appliances throughout the enterprise, and allow IT departments to completely support Windows CE implementations using existing and proven management tools.

"Just like any other operating environment, Windows CE must be effectively managed, secured and maintained if it is to achieve rapid adoption as a mission-critical eBusiness tool," said Nigel Turner, CA senior vice president, business management. "Because it integrates management of Windows CE-based devices such as the Pocket PC with management of all enterprise resources, Unicenter TNG will be instrumental in ensuring that use of such devices conforms to the highest levels of enterprise security and management."

Unicenter TNG supports Windows CE as both a manageable resource and a management station. This two-fold integration grants IT professionals the ability to support Windows CE implementations throughout the enterprise and to use Windows CE-based devices to perform critical enterprise monitoring and management tasks - whether they are at work, at home or on the road.

Unicenter TNG incorporates a wide range of features to automate the management of Pocket PC devices and embedded systems powered by Windows CE:

• Health Monitoring/Event Management

  - The status and health of Windows CE devices is monitored by Unicenter TNG`s native event management system. The software delivers alerts and relevant management data to network managers and systems administrators.

• Asset Management

  - The Unicenter TNG Asset Management feature provides fully automated hardware and software inventory capabilities, as well as advanced configuration management. Users can easily identify, monitor and track Windows CE-based assets across the entire IT environment, and quickly rebuild devices if they are lost, stolen or broken.

• Virus Protection

  - CA`s anti-virus solutions proactively ensure that Pocket PCs and other handheld devices running on the Windows CE platform are protected from viruses and other forms of malicious code.

• Software Delivery

  - Unicenter TNG`s flexible software distribution solution allows Windows CE organizations to distribute, configure, install, verify, update and de-install Windows CE applications in complex heterogeneous environments. It also enforces predefined policies that specify which applications are to be utilized by users, and helps ensure that workgroups have the most appropriate and up-to-date versions of software.

• Storage Management

  - The storage management feature of Unicenter TNG safeguards data on Pocket PCs, or any other enterprise resource, by providing a single point of control for storing data across all major operating environments, network protocols and storage technologies.

"We`re excited about our new family of Pocket PC devices and partnering with CA to deliver comprehensive mobile computing solutions throughout the enterprise," said Vincent Luciano, vice president, mobile computing, Symbol Technologies. "It is important to our clients that CA solutions such as Unicenter TNG, NetworkIT and InoculateIT, are available to manage and protect their eBusiness environment."

The extended Unicenter TNG support for Windows CE is the latest in a series of undertakings associated with CA`s ROAM (Remote Operations, Administration and Management) initiative, which is focused on optimising the value clients realize from their wireless computing investments. ROAM is an outgrowth of MERIT (Maximizing the Efficiency of Resources in IT), a globally-supported initiative that brings together clients, business partners and value-added resellers to promote increased IT reliability, availability, service levels and return-on-investment.