I believe the area they are getting into with this announcement is huge...
/matt
====================================================== Monday December 7, 3:37 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Progress Software Introduces Progress IPQoS First Tool In IPPatrol Suite of Application and Network Management Products
Progress IPQoS measures and monitors availability and performance of specific network resources, providing effortless fault-isolation for applications
BEDFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 7, 1998-- Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ:PRGS - news), a leading supplier of application development, deployment and management solutions, today introduced its Progress® IPQoS(tm) product, Progress Software's first quality of service (QoS) product used to measure and monitor the overall availability and performance of applications, file systems and services over distributed networks. Progress IPQoS is the first of several products to be introduced in the Progress IPPatrol Suite(tm) family of products--a set of solutions dedicated to managing and monitoring applications and networks throughout an enterprise.
While Networked Systems Management (NSM) platforms only monitor edge and core devices on a network, Progress Software's IPQoS product provides additional granularity of information by determining the overall availability and performance of devices and applications as they relate to Service Level Agreements (SLAs). Progress IPQoS collects statistics on well-known TCP/IP ports such as simple mail transport protocol (SMTP) for sending e-mail and POP3 services for receiving e-mail, as well as on application servers for groupware, e-commerce and the Web. Progress IPQoS is also the only QoS solution that monitors and collects statistics on Windows NT, NetWare file systems and NetWare Services. Progress IPQoS then aggregates statistics from either a single or multiple perspective(s) on an enterprise network and encapsulates this information into reports targeted at the decision-makers within IT organizations.
''Our IPQoS product is unique in its comprehensive features that answer the needs of IT professionals who face the challenges of combining real-world legacy systems with existing client/server systems and Internet-based technologies,'' said Stephen R. Casella, Progress Software's vice president and general manager, Internet Software Quality Product Unit. ''The software's architecture allows systems managers to launch IPQoS 'agents' over a network, measure their status from different perspectives and run Web-based reports that provide greater fault-isolation for determining the origins of problems.''
''As enterprise networks support more real-time business applications such as ERP systems and e-commerce, IS managers need tools that move beyond basic configuration and fault management for systems and network equipment. They need to know how well applications are performing across the network at a moment's notice,'' said Richard Villars, director of Network Software Research at International Data Corp. ''Products such as Progress Software's IPQoS' notification services let IS managers monitor network applications performance and availability at all times and lets them respond quickly to trouble without disrupting other important activities.''
''On its first day of deployment, IPQoS illuminated a subtle but persistent problem with our corporate e-mail server,'' said Ted Watson, director of strategic initiatives at Cabletron Systems. ''Our internal customers had been reporting sluggish performance with our e-mail server from certain locations. IPQoS illustrated an unacceptable level of performance from two locations throughout our world headquarters. We were able to immediately fix the problem.''
''One of the challenges we face in managing tradeshow networks is slow response time, particularly as tradeshow traffic grows,'' said Dean Fuller, president of ShowNets, a professional services organization that specializes in the design, installation, implementation and management of high speed Internet access for trade shows. ''IPQoS gives us a powerful tool, not just to correct trouble spots that cause time lags, but to analyze specific network points to determine the effects of increases in traffic on overall response time.''
IPQoS Availability and Pricing
Progress IPQoS is available immediately through Progress Software and select network integrators and resellers. U.S. list pricing starts at $995 for a ten-device license. Volume discounted licensing is also available.
Progress Software's Internet Services Quality Product Unit
In May of 1997, Progress Software created the Internet Software Quality (ISQ) Product Unit to focus on enhancing developer productivity and ensuring the quality of distributed components and applications within the company's Universal Application Architecture (UAA). UAA is a model that enables business applications to efficiently interoperate within a standards-based architecture. The ISQ Product Unit continues to deliver enterprise-level software products and support that helps information managers handle the growing complexity of today's application and network management.
About Progress Software
Professional developers use Progress® solutions, including the Apptivity(tm), WebSpeed®, ProtoSpeed(tm) and Progress products, to build, deploy and manage applications across Internet, client/server and host/terminal computing environments. Progress Software is a worldwide supplier with 1,200 employees and operations in more than 75 countries across North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and Latin America. Progress Software's products are used primarily by independent software vendors (ISVs), who in turn generate more than $1.5 billion in Progress-based applications sales annually. For more information, visit progress.com or in the U.S. call 1-800-477-6473.
Progress and WebSpeed are registered trademarks of Progress Software Corporation. Progress IPQoS, Progress IPPatrol Suite, Apptivity and ProtoSpeed are trademarks of Progress Software Corporation. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
Contact:
Progress Software Corporation Glen Zimmerman 781.280.4609 gzimmerm@bedford.progress.com or Schwartz Communications, Inc. Ed Harrison/Kristy Ragones 781.684.0770 edh@schwartz-pr.com |