In separate deals, HP and CA buy small companies in management arena

Computerworld - Two major vendors of systems and network management software announced acquisitions today designed to help round out their product lines for large companies.
Hewlett-Packard Co. announced an agreement to acquire Trulogica Inc., a Dallas-based provider of IT user-provisioning software.
Meanwhile, Computer Associates International Inc. announced separately that it has closed on the purchase of Miramar Systems Inc. in Santa Barbara, Calif., acquiring software designed to help large companies with desktop management.
Most of the terms of the two deals weren't disclosed. All of Miramar has become a part of CA, including nearly all of its 35 workers, CA and Miramar officials said.
Miramar's Desktop DNA has already been incorporated into CA's Unicenter product line, said Allan Andersen, director of product management for Unicenter at CA. Its main function is to help transfer applications and user preferences from one machine to another in hours instead of days, said Michael Walker, director of marketing at Miramar.
"Desktop DNA complements and completes our desktop offering," Andersen said in an interview. "This adds a little jewel in the crown, because it is very strong technology already used by millions of PCs."
Miramar makes other products that aren't as strategic to CA but that the company intends to keep alive, including PC MacLAN, a product for connecting PCs to Macintosh desktops, Andersen said.
As for TruLogica, its software is designed to automate the process of managing user privileges across multiple systems and give end users access to system resources, according to a statement. HP will integrate the TruLogica technology into its HP OpenView Select Access software for identity management. The software automates a manual process that takes an average of seven days, reducing the time to only a few hours, HP officials said.
In February, HP announced plans to acquire Novadigm Inc. and Consera Software for their automation capabilities. Last year, HP acquired Persist Technologies, Talking Blocks and Baltimore Technologies' Select Access business unit.
"Acquisition has been critical at the software level at HP," Todd DeLaughter, vice president and general manager of HP's management software organization, said in an interview today.

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