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SAS Institute Expands Enterprise IT Service Management Offering IT Service Vision software, Version 2, Now available for Windows NT SAS Institute has launched IT Service Vision software, Version 2, the latest version of the company's data warehouse for enterprise-wide IT infrastructure planning and maintenance. A complete systems management and evaluation package in one, IT Service Vision software is the first packaged tool which enables users to supervise an organisation's entire technological infrastructure. Version 2 extends the software's reach to Windows NT performance data and adds a Windows-like GUI for PCs and UNIX workstations. In addition, a remote access facility has also been incorporated, ensuring that IT managers can access performance data with ease, wherever they may be. IT Service Vision software, Version 2, accesses performance data from computers, networks, phone systems and Web servers, warehouses the information and then generates reports for engineers, performance analysts, business managers and others. Importantly, the product lets users integrate data from both the IT and management side of the business, enabling the impact of the IT infrastructure on business productivity to be measured easily and effectively.20 "The essence is to approach the IT environment as an integral part of the overall business strategy, incorporating both IT and business objectives," comments Mike Moroz, product manager at SAS Institute. "Organisations need the ability to make informed, fast decisions about all aspects of their business in order to facilitate future growth, and technology plays an important role within this." "If the technology works well and provides real support for the business, business will be good. By adding NT data into the mix at exactly the time most organisations' systems are becoming overloaded with Web, telecoms, and systems expansion, we're ensuring that the product will continue to meet our customers' needs." IT Service Vision software, Version 2 incorporates the most advanced elements of SASAE software's data warehouse functionality, enabling users to 'scrub', organise and selectively reduce data, facilitating information gathering and then delivering information in the most appropriate format to the end user. The product is designed to automate the process of information dissemination throughout an organisation, presenting fast, efficient reports on system status as appropriate to all levels of an organisation. This includes information on how well customer needs are being met for the customer service manager; predictions of future resource requirements and analysis of existing resource deployment for the performance analyst; and baseline or exception analysis for the network or systems engineer. Importantly, due to the products' client/server implementation structure, reports can also be conducted during the day, while operational applications continue uninterrupted. Hoechst Marion Roussel, a leader in pharmaceutical-based health care, encountered difficulties collecting and integrating system data across the entire enterprise. "IT Service Vision software overcomes the problems of integrating data from multiple platforms and multiple data structures, because it is built on top of SAS software," said Cindy McCormick, senior advisor on Hoechst Marion Roussel's Enterprise Systems Management Technologies team. "We are taking advantage of this flexibility and are expanding our view to systems information for UNIX and NT servers as well as SAP R/3 and Microsoft Exchange applications." "IT Service Vision software completely changed the way we look at router and network traffic," said Cindy McCormick, senior advisor on Hoechst Marion Roussel's Enterprise Systems Management Technologies team. "Before we acquired IT Service Vision software in 1996, we had to manually print router information, which was very time consuming, inefficient and difficult to review. Our network technicians needed proactive information for capacity planning, and IT Service Vision software now provides immediate information through reports, graphics, and analysis, via any Web browser. In the near future we will be able to see where to focus our time and reduce costs, because IT Service Vision software will give us a single view of all enterprise components."