GijimaAst and BMC Software have partnered to deliver IT service management solutions to the local market.
The partnership combines GijimaAst`s operational delivery with BMC software, enabling organisations to buy IT management as a service using a pay-as-you-go model.
"It`s using technology to optimise an environment and providing that as a service to enable organisations to focus on their core business," explains Dan van der Westhuizen, GijimaAst divisional executive for infrastructure software solutions.
GijimaAst will manage IT environments from a central control facility using BMC`s IT service management products and IT Infrastructure Library (ITlL)-compliant configuration management database.
Towards SAAS
Announcing the partnership and new service offering in Rosebank, Van der Westhuizen said BMC`s modular products would allow organisations to subscribe to only the services they need.
"These services will bring down the cost of implementation, infrastructure and maintenance as well as reduce overall capital expenditure," he said.
The first phase of the offering will provide remote IT management services via the Internet. Once the concept is established in the local market, Van der Westhuizen says the second phase will add application management to embrace the concept of software as a service (SAAS).
Van der Westhuizen said the solution had been developed to manage bandwidth efficiently and would still be cost-effective in the South African context.
Software licensing is becoming obsolete as a business model and the market is beginning to demand business value rather than just features, says Mark Walker, director of business development for the International Data Corporation (IDC) in the Middle East and Africa.
Although cautioning against possible security and customisation issues, Walker says SAAS is a better sales model because it eliminates much of the cost and focuses on business need rather than software package features.
According to a 2005 IDC survey of the largest companies in the US, 79% had already opted for SAAS or were considering doing so. Gartner also predicts SAAS will be the business model of choice by 2008.
Share