Microsoft Corp. today reached another milestone in its Dynamic Systems Initiative (DSI) with the release to manufacturing of Microsoft® Operations Manager (MOM) 2005 and MOM 2005 Workgroup Edition (previously named MOM 2005 Express). These products further deliver on the DSI vision of simplifying and automating the way enterprise and midmarket businesses design, deploy and operate distributed systems by increasing operational efficiency and helping customers maximize their IT investments.

MOM 2005 and MOM 2005 Workgroup Edition reduce the complexity of application management for IT professionals and deliver faster return on investment through simplified deployment and ease of use and the provision of next-generation application knowledge.

“MOM 2005 and MOM 2005 Workgroup Edition provide our broad set of customers with richer monitoring knowledge and analysis tools to ensure that they’re getting every dollar from their IT investments,” said Bob Muglia, senior vice president at Microsoft. “Before MOM 2005, IT professionals were reactive. Now customers can act ahead of time, improving availability while driving down cost. This improved management is another important step for customers in our DSI road map.”

“Our bank had an immediate need to manage our newly deployed terminal server farm and our growing server base without increasing our staff,” said Shai Ofek, lead systems engineer for the Distributed Systems Group at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. “MOM 2005 offers us an end-to-end solution and is now an integral part of every server deployment. We are now able to manage over 400 servers with only five dedicated people. The new MOM 2005 has proved to be invaluable to our organization.”

MOM 2005 Reduces Complexity, Delivers Next-Generation Knowledge
MOM 2005 provides IT professionals with easier setup and implementation through simple deployment wizards and automated tasks for targeting management packs across the system. MOM 2005 also includes an integrated framework that provides Web-services-based interconnection with other management systems already in place and a new console that provides a view of the systems’ health and access to the integrated reporting server.

MOM 2005 helps IT administrators turn management data into actions with next-generation knowledge provided through new management packs. The management packs allow customers to generate in-depth reports, reduce their resolution time, remotely manage their servers, and take advantage of capabilities to manage Web-services-based applications.

The new version of MOM offers unique built-in security features, such as the capability to mutually authenticate agents and servers, which is designed to help protect organizations from misuse of the management system.

A broad range of vendors are providing customers with hardware solutions and software applications to maximize the benefits of MOM 2005. These include Aprisma, BindView Corp., Dell Inc., eXc Software, HP, JalaSOFT Corp., MetiLinx Inc., Motive Inc., NetIQ Corp., NetPro Computing Inc., Opalis Software Inc., Quest Software Inc., Silect Software Inc., Skywire Software, Tidal Software Inc. and VERITAS Software Corp.

MOM 2005 Workgroup Edition
MOM 2005 Workgroup Edition offers unparalleled price and performance for midmarket (with up to 10 servers) customers. MOM 2005 Workgroup Edition offers midmarket companies a new level of functionality not previously affordable and is fully upgradeable to MOM 2005. Customers can begin receiving value from MOM 2005 Workgroup Edition within hours through a seamless setup experience.

Simplified Pricing and Licensing
Licensing for MOM 2005 has been simplified to be consistent with similar Microsoft products such as Systems Management Server 2003. Customers can purchase a license for their central server and an Operations Management License (OML) for each MOM 2005-managed device. Estimated retail pricing for MOM 2005 and MOM 2005 Workgroup Edition is listed here:

MOM 2005 Server License: $729 (U.S.)

MOM 2005 OML five pack: $2,689 (U.S.)

MOM 2005 Workgroup Edition (manages up to 10 devices): $499 (U.S.)