Microsoft announces MOM 2004

At the second annual Microsoft Management Summit in Las Vegas this week, Microsoft announced Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) 2004, the next version of the company's event and performance management server. MOM 2004 contains improvements in key areas such as deployment and configuration, making this solution easier to roll out and operate. The product works with Windows Server 2003, Windows 2000 Server, Active Directory, the .NET Framework, and Microsoft's full range of server products, including BizTalk Server, Exchange Server, and SQL Server. The company positions MOM as a complementary tool to other Windows management products, such as Application Center and Systems Management Server (SMS).

"MOM 2004 is a direct result of our customers' feedback," said Kirill Tatarinov, the corporate vice president of the Enterprise Management Division at Microsoft. "We have heard that customers need a solution that will provide a fast return on investment by delivering stellar operations management easily and quickly. Microsoft Operations Manager 2004 will build on the success of MOM 2000, providing a solution that delivers on Microsoft's knowledge of Windows-based applications thus providing administrators with direct, proactive management for enterprises of all sizes."

MOM 2004 includes a new number of new features, such as a new reporting engine, new operator console alert views, a number of configuration and automation options that will reduce deployment and configuration time from days to hours, and a new suite of management packs for such tasks as instance-aware monitoring, cluster support, and state-based monitoring.

Additionally, MOM 2004 will be marketed as just part of Microsoft's new Microsoft System Center, a suite of management solutions that will also include SMS 2003. "Microsoft System Center will enable new and valuable management scenarios for customers who need effective management of everything from the device to the datacenter," Tatarinov said. "Our goal is to deliver a comprehensive management solution to our enterprise customers, reducing the costs of operating the Windows environment." Microsoft System Center will evolve over time to provide complete and unified management solutions for change and configuration management, asset management, end-to-end application management, IT process orchestration, performance trending, reporting, and capacity planning, the company says.