ClearPointe Taps HP Enterprise Tools for Remote Managed Services, Delivers "Big Company IT" for Small Businesses.LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- ClearPointe, a national provider of remote management services for value-added resellers A value-added reseller (VAR) is a company that adds some feature(s) to an existing product(s), then resells it (usually to end-users) as an integrated product or complete "turn-key" solution. and mid-market companies, is the first such provider to adapt Hewlett-Packard enterprise-level remote management tools--HP ProLiant servers, iLO and SIM--to effectively monitor and manage hundreds of servers and systems for hundreds of external customers. The HP software is typically used in-house by large companies. "HP ProLiant servers with iLO and HP SIM are part of the secret sauce that allows us to ensure 99.9 percent reliability and guaranteed uptime while also offering a hands-off service," said Jeff Johnson, president of ClearPointe. "We're able to handle customer server issues, regardless of their status, location or customer involvement." Since 2000, ClearPointe has remotely managed more 25,000 devices, 300 servers and 200 different customer sites in 38 states and in parts of Canada, and retained 100 percent of its clients. Typically, these servers and remote management software--iLO and HP SIM--are used by large Fortune 500 companies to monitor their own internal networks. This is the first time these enterprise-developed tech tools--ProLiant servers, iLO and SIM--have been adapted by one company to monitor and manage hundreds of servers and systems of hundreds of their external customers. "It's really compelling to see how ClearPointe took what HP developed as an enterprise set of tools and stretched its functionality and reliability to be at the heart of their CMS (1) See content management system and color management system. (2) (Conversational Monitor System) Software that provides interactive communications for IBM's VM operating system. service delivery model for VARs and small businesses," said Johnson. "We've found a unique way to leverage the technology for their expertise in remote management for small- and mid-sized firms." For ClearPointe, HP has furthered its objective: to deliver remote management services and meet stringent service-level agreements for demanding customers-value added resellers--while reducing operational costs. "Not only do our customers benefit from our fixed-price, guaranteed remote network management services, CMS, but we've been able to standardize stan·dard·ize v. 1. To cause to conform to a standard. 2. To evaluate by comparing with a standard. our technologies, reduce our operational costs and feel good about vendor reliability, serviceability (system) serviceability - The ease with which corrective maintenance or preventative maintenance can be performed on a system (e.g. by a hardware service technician). Higher serviceability improves availability and reduces service cost. Serviceability is one component of RAS. and scalability," Johnson said. CMS, or ClearPointe Managed Services An umbrella term for third-party monitoring and maintaining of computers, networks and software. The actual equipment may be inhouse or at the third-party's facilities, but the "managed" implies an ongoing effort; for example, making sure the equipment is running at a certain quality [TM] (CMS), is a comprehensive set of Web-enabled technologies and services that allows VARs to quickly set up and provide their own remote services. In January 2006, ClearPointe expanded its services delivery model to IT service providers (VARs) and their customers, leveraging more than 15 years in remote management, network operations center See NOC. Network Operations Center - (NOC) A location from which the operation of a network or internet is monitored. Additionally, this center usually serves as a clearinghouse for connectivity problems and efforts to resolve those problems. development and Microsoft technologies. "We quickly recognized small- and mid-sized businesses have the same critical and time-consuming IT issues as a Fortune 500 company, but they can't afford equal levels of service," said Johnson. "That's when we began exploring ways to provide the same reliable, high-quality IT infrastructure services, and to use channel partners as the delivery model. ClearPointe's CMS includes everything that a Fortune 500 firm would expect from an expertly run IT department, such as 24x7 remote monitoring (protocol) remote monitoring - (RMON) A network management protocol that allows network information to be gathered at a single computer. Whereas SNMP gathers network data from a single type of Management Information Base (MIB), RMON 1 defines nine additional MIBs that provide a of the company's servers from a network operations center, automated software updates and patches, anti-virus and anti-spam for e-mail, data back-up services, preventative maintenance, performance analysis and reporting. Pricing varies, depending on the size of the network and the devices managed. ClearPointe, headquartered in Little Rock, Ark., serves customers nationwide with advanced technology services that may be accessed remotely. It operates its own "Eyes On"[TM] network operations center in Little Rock, which is available to customers 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Unlike many such NOCs, ClearPointe's "eyes on" NOC (Network Operations Center) A central or regional location for monitoring a large network. Also called a "network management center" (NMC), "service management center" (SMC) or "network control center" (NCC), a NOC may be used to manage a large enterprise network, is fully staffed by technical experts, round the clock. Customers are small- and mid-sized businesses serving the banking, financial services The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. , health care and municipal government industries, among others. The company is a Microsoft Gold-Certified partner in advanced infrastructure and security solutions. ClearPointe is also the 2006 winner of Microsoft's Partner Competency award for technology partners. HP is a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses and institutions globally. The company's offerings span IT infrastructure, global services, business and home computing, and imaging and printing. For the four fiscal quarters ended Oct. 31, 2006, HP revenue totaled $91.7 billion. More information about HP (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange , Nasdaq: HPQ HPQ Hewlett-Packard Corporation (NYSE) HPQ High Priority Queue ) is available at http://www.hp.com. HP's remote service delivery software includes HP Integrated Lights-Out Integrated Lights-Out, or iLo, is an embedded server management technology exclusive to Hewlett-Packard but similar in functionality to the Lights out management (LOM) technology of other vendors. Management (iLO) and HP Systems Insight Manager (HP SIM). For ClearPointe media inquiries, contact Roy Miller at (972) 717-3500 x235, or at rmiller@transsynergy.com. |
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