Microsoft, HP unveil business apps

Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard (HP) unveiled a line of IT appliances that combine Microsoft software and HP servers for business intelligence, data warehousing and messaging applications, says CRN.

The appliances, built around Microsoft's SQL Server database and Exchange communications software, are designed to reduce implementation time and simplify the delivery and management of critical business applications, says Doug Small, global alliances marketing director, enterprise servers, storage and networking, HP enterprise business.

"With these appliances, we're going to be addressing a whole range of customer needs," adds Fausto Ibarra, senior director, Microsoft business intelligence.

One of the West Coast's largest utilities is migrating more than a dozen business-critical applications that support billing, energy, retail, and other business operations with the help of IBM and ANTS software, a Big Blue business partner, notes Integration Developer News.

The data migration and data consolidation solution is moving data from Sybase ASE 12.0 to DB2. At the core of the project is DB2 SQL Skin, a product co-developed by IBM and ANTs software for Sybase ASE-compatible applications for quick migration and to reduce the cost of maintaining legacy enterprise systems.

The utility used DB2 SQL Skin to migrate three Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise (ASE) applications to IBM DB2 in less than three weeks, with nearly 100% compatibility. The utility also runs C++, PowerBuilder and Perl-based applications with Sybase ASE.

SolarWinds revealed that it is prepared to address the unmet and growing needs of systems and virtualisation administrators by entering the application performance and virtualisation management markets, states Server Watch.

The company is set to do this through the unveiling of SolarWinds Application Performance Monitor and the acquisition of Hyper9, a privately-held virtualisation management software provider.

This move now means the SolarWinds product family covers the fundamental aspects of business-critical applications and IT infrastructure - network, storage and systems - with integrated visibility into both virtual and physical environments.