Microsoft Corporation has acquired Opalis Software, an IT process vendor. Opalis will be integrated into the Microsoft System Center product line. Opalis' IT process automation tools are designed to enable the streamlining of IT operations by removing of the overhead associated with manual response to IT problems. The acquisition "means that IT process automation will become a mainstream offering throughout all levels of IT shops, large and small," according to Todd DeLaughter, president and CEO of Opalis Software. "No coding or scripting is required to use Opalis so IT experts from operations to development teams can participate in driving IT efficiency."
Opalis' offerings include prepackaged workflows and automation expertise for the common tasks in managing a datacenter. Examples include Run Book Automation, virtual machine lifecycle management, and incident ticket management. Opalis also offers an automation platform that lets customers create and execute workflows across datacenter management tools. The vendor also offers integration capabilities to orchestrate tasks across server infrastructure and systems management products, including those from BMC, CA, IBM, HP, Microsoft, and Symantec.
Microsoft says the Opalis technology will enhance the automation and integration capabilities of its System Center, including extending the range and type of integration outside the Microsoft environment. These capabilities are already integrated with Operations Manager and Virtual Machine Manager today through currently available integration packs. Opalis' addition to System Center will also provide customer solutions that bring together the future System Center Service Manager's workflow and process management capabilities with the ability to automate tasks as part of those processes across the datacenter.
Opalis has more than 300 customers, including IT managed service providers. For more details about Microsoft's plans for the acquisition, go here.