The WUG Bulletin

What Wall Street Does Not See

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 21:01:27 +0000

By Ennio Carboni

It is likely my own employees will approach me with confused expressions and ask why I would take time to defend Solarwinds’ earning announcement yesterday. My product management and development teams can point to the deliberate design differences WhatsUp Gold is built with that make it more usable than Orion and my sales staff will argue that the WhatsUp Gold pricing model with unlimited monitors per device is a higher value and better integrity solution than the exploitive SolarWinds model of charging per instance of a monitor per interface. I enthusiastically agree with my product and sales teams! We are a better choice but that war is won in the field, within the network environments of all size companies. Today, what is more important to me is addressing the macro issue of transformation the network management and performance market is undergoing. It is a revolutionary change and companies like Ipswitch WhatsUp Gold and SolarWinds are leading and the market will not be the same again.

Wall Street Process Has No Regard for the Road Less Traveled
Wall Street reacted negatively to SolarWinds’ earnings for Q2 and forecast for Q3 and 2010. That’s what Wall Street does – mathematicians and bean counters dedicated to predicting the economic fate of companies like SolarWinds. The decision to go public is filled with sexy connotations of wealth and power and for some those dreams are realized. For others however, the aspirations of money and parallel the 2 wheel car driving the mountain road designed for four wheel drive trucks. You set out and quickly discover the ride is going to be hellish and there is 90% chance you will break down before your reach the destination. SolarWinds lowered its earnings outlook but I think they still represent a model business in terms of growth and profit. Public markets are demanding and when you show up to the game having the reputation of hitting home runs every time you’re at bat; solid singles and triples get you boo from the street. Solarwinds will be fine. They will acquire accretive businesses to boost growth numbers while sacrificing margin and the Wall Street critics will continue their predictable judgments. In all this drama, the fact that the marketplace has and is undergoing a huge shift in the way it buys and uses software will be lost to the financial noise of Wall Street.

“No One Gets Fired Anymore for Not Buying HP Openview”
Up until the genesis of the recent recession, the famous line thrown around by some buyers was “no one gets fired for buying HP”. I am sure it’s still true that the IT management teams of the upper echelon of F250 companies still feel this way and who can blame them – heck, with all the golf outings and high priced dinners they receive from the HP, CA and IBM guys, it’s real hard to say no.

However, this recession and the ongoing humility brought by global markets have changed the IT landscape forever. Budgets are slashed and we (Ipswitch) predict based on our prospective interviews with thousands of IT buyers that budgets are permanently reduced but most importantly; for the first time in many of their careers, IT staff is expected to look at non-Big 4 solutions specific to network and performance management. The strong, double digit growth both Ipswitch WhatsUp Gold and Solarwinds are experiencing is proof positive that IT buyers are not only looking outside the big 4, they are buying outside the big 4. Ipswitch WhatsUp Gold and SolarWinds have had their best financial years in recessionary years.

“Solutions are Replacing Platforms”
There is no magic nor any tricks. We are selling more because we have designed solutions that are replacing existing platforms – Yes it is that exciting and that powerful. The notion that large firms have more complexity is true. The notion that the complexity can be managed with more complexity is not true. Solutions can now replace platforms. And…a side but important benefit has also been realized. Because buyers can buy best in class solutions from different vendors, the onus in now on every vendor including Ipswitch to build the best in class solution in every area we compete on or our buyers will go to a different a vendor. That is a world of difference away from yesteryear when you bought the HP platform and then were forced to buy ONLY HP plug-ins at a high cost and low usability standard.

Wall Street will continue its ferocious review of SolarWinds and others and the consequences will be seen in attractive headlines on yahoo finance and the WSJ. Take a step back and look beyond the boundaries of Wall Street’s cares. The network management and performance space is officially changed and Ipswitch WhatsUp Gold and SolarWinds will be leading that change by bringing the simplicity that enables management over complexity.

And…don’t fall victim to the idiotic and verbose statements made by the on sleuth of new entrants looking to cash in to the opportunity in this new market. Hardware solutions are the wrong alternative. The MSP space is alive simply because usability by vendors including us was too lax for a little while but we are back with better than ever usability that enables every company of every size the opportunity to manage and drive the sacred network assets.

Truth Behind Software Licensing

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:23:29 +0000

Entry by Erin Hayes

Blog Post

You wouldn't pay for $3oo bucks for a new iPod and then fork over a fee to Apple every time you played a song, would you?

Didn't think so.

But that's what Solarwinds asks its customers to do every time they purchase Orion, their network management software.

See, Orion defines an element as the smallest managed component of a device, for example, one router interface.

That can get pricey quick.

When you purchase WhatsUp Gold you pay per device once. That's unlimited use, no counting required.

You own your network device, why would it makes sense to ask you to pay for it over and over again for each and every interface?

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WhatsUp Gold World Cup Network Traffic Calculator Reveals Worldwide Surge in Bandwidth Usage

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 17:33:46 +0000

Entry by Sean Barry

The World Cup has been over for more than a week, but the effects of it are still being felt around the business world. Productivity undoubtedly decreased for many businesses, as a recent Ipswitch survey collected by WhatsUp Gold’s World Cup Network Traffic Calculator revealed an average increase of 81% in bandwidth usage during the tournament with over 1,200 responses.

Many European nations saw increases in bandwidth in excess of 90%, including Spain with 95%, the Netherlands with 97%, and the UK with 95%. At the same time, South Africa had to cope with network bandwidth maxing out at 100%. These results greatly exceeded many network managers’ predictions. Even the US experienced bandwidth use up to 77% of capacity during important matches.

Unfortunately, what cannot be quantified is the lost business experienced by many due to compromised operations because of the increase in network traffic. The repercussions of such surges almost resulted in the collapse the UK web-based streaming provider ITV. Because all games were streaming online, numerous businesses encountered network disruption and issues with connectivity as employees around the world followed the World Cup games from their desktop. These issues included constrained WAN connectivity and heightened security risks like viruses, Spyware and other Malware attacks, as more and more people were visiting untrusted sites rather than official broadcasts.

While this kind of network disruption is never ideal, it is fortunate that the World Cup took place during the non-peak business months of the summer. However, the unexpected increase in bandwidth across-the-board exposes the vulnerability that exists year-round for many networks.

A tool like the WhatsUp Gold Flow Monitor can insulate your network from vulnerability, by tracking and alerting you to any unexpected spikes in bandwidth use by users, hosts, and applications and allowing you to resolve congestion to ensure critical business applications get the bandwidth they need.

Learn more about WhatsUp Gold Flow Monitor or try it free for 30 days

WhatsUp Gold Launches New Partner Program

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 16:33:17 +0000

Entry by Sean Barry

The Ipswitch Network Management Division launched their new WhatsUp Golds partner program in North America yesterday, July 20. The new program offers greater value and revenue opportunities for Ipswitch’s highly-valued partners focused on effectively positioning and selling WhatsUp Gold products and solutions.

The program offers 3 different partnership levels Authorized, Silver, and Gold. The new program is designed to provide partners with tools and resources that will enable them to identify new sales opportunities, accelerate time to market and drive long term customer engagements. Some of the new benefits available to partners include:

Tiered discount Levels
Deal registration and exclusive lead-generation
Specialized product promotions
Customizable, turnkey marketing tools
Online technical and sales certification programs
Dedicated account management

For more information on becoming a WhatsUp Gold partner, please visit:

http://www.whatsupgold.com/partners/partner-programs.aspx

To view the press release, visit:

http://www.whatsupgold.com/resources/pressDetail.aspx?id=102

If you are an existing WhatsUp Gold partner, visit the partner portal for more information on the features and benefits of the program. To learn more about how the new program directly benefits you and your business, register for our Partner Webinar Session “Introducing the New WhatsUp Gold Partner Program”:

August 17, 2010 1:00pm

September 14, 2010 1:00pm

Best Practices: Security Log Management and Compliancy

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 16:21:18 +0000

Entry by WhatsUp Guru

Ready to learn how to secure and protect your infrastructure, reduce cyber threats, and comply with corporate and regulatory policy? Then don’t miss this hands-on session on the Do’s and Don’ts of Log Management!

You understand the importance of log files. You know they contain critical information that could reduce your organization’s exposure to intruders, malware, damage, loss and legal liabilities.

You realize you should be doing more with your log data.

After all, these log files come from many different sources, in different formats and in massive volumes! But what is the best way to go about collecting, storing, analyzing and monitoring log data to meet and report on regulatory compliance standards like Sarbanes Oxley, HIPAA, GLB, FISMA or PCI?

Join us on Wednesday, July 28 at 10am ET to hear from experts, Andy Milford, Lead Engineer, Event Log Management Suite, and Rich Makris, WhatsUp Event Log Sales Engineer, as they discuss log management best practices.

Learn Best Practices to:

Automatically collect, store and archive your event logs
Monitor, and keep an audit trail on file access, unauthorized activity by users, or policy changes
Configure real-time notification of specific events
Define which reports to generate when striving to meet compliance regulations, such as SOX, FISMA, PCI or GLB

CiscoLive 2010 is over, but the fun doesn’t have to end…

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 15:53:50 +0000

Entry by Sean Barry

Blog Post

It ‘s now back to work as usual for many of us here at Ipswitch’s Network Management Division after an exciting trip to Vegas. CiscoLive proved to be a great launching platform for the WhatsUp Gold Engineer’s Toolkit; interest in this free, limited-time offer was widespread during and after the show.

For those of you unaware of the toolkit release, the WhatsUp Gold Engineer’s toolkit, valued at $995, is now available for free. You can now simplify many common network management tasks like configuration, credentials, design, diagnostics, discovery, and verification of Cisco devices. If you weren’t lucky enough to make it to Vegas for the show, the toolkit is still available for download on our website.

To see pictures of the show, visit our facebook page.

In other news, WhatsUp Gold v14.3 is now available! Check it out now with a free 30 day evaluation.

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WhatsUp Gold 14.3 and WhatsVirtual 2.0: It's Heeere!

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 20:11:06 +0000

Entry by Erin Hayes

Blog Post

Introducing More Tools and Improved Usability

The WhatsUp Gold v14.3 and the fully integrated WhatsVirtual 2.0 plugin are officially available for download folks! With this latest release the Ipswitch WhatsUp Gold team is proud to arm the Network Admins and IT Managers of the world with the fastest, most intuitive, and most scalable version of our award-winning Network Management software. Looking for improved pagination capabilities on reports so you're armed with information concerning your network faster? WUG 14.3 has it. Did you ask for new pre-configured views for enhanced out-of-the-box operation and rapid time to value? We heard you. WUG 14.3 has it. WUG 14.3 also boasts:

The ability to easily copy and replicate existing monitoring settings to new devices; and consolidated report views on all monitors for a device, or, for all devices per monitor.
More Scalability allowing multiple changes to database storage, optimization techniques and querying leading to marked performance improvements; also added support for standard SQL clustering

WhatsVirtual 2.0 - which, when purchase, is fully integrated into WhatsUp Gold's Alert Center, has seen a fair share of improved capabilities as well, including:

vCenter, which discovers, monitors and controls all virtual resources through vCenter to offer complete accuracy and reliability.
vMotion, which monitors live migrations as VMs move across physical servers to ensure a complete, accurate mapping of physical server relations at all times, including historical information and reports combined with powerful alerting capabilities.
High Availability which gives complete access to historical information and reports, combined with powerful alerting capabilities to track VMs as they are automatically restarted or moved to other physical servers due to hardware or operating system failures.

Check out what John Shiells, the senior network analyst of Nucleus Information Service, Inc. had to say about WhatsVitural's improvements: “We are very impressed with the outstanding monitoring and reporting capabilities of WhatsVirtual 2.0, as well as the detailed overview of each host server, which allows us to quickly analyze performance and resource issues,” said Shiells. “We also find that viewing and reporting on historical log information for vMotion and High Availability in the same console is a huge time saver. The only time we use vCenter now is to fix a problem; everything else we can see and control with WhatsUp Gold,” Shiells said. To find out more about WhatsUp Gold 14.3 and WhatsVirual's enhanced capabilities - as well as improvements made to the WhatsUp Gold Flow Monitor visit our website!

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WUG Leads the Way in Innovation (2 Comments)

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 15:49:32 +0000

Entry by Sean Barry

In keeping up with our spirit of innovation and consistent development, WhatsUp Gold has announced the arrival of its latest version, 14.3, and an updated plug-in, WhatsVirtual 2.0. This represents WhatsUp Gold’s most recent effort to gather and respond to user feedback in order to bring you WUG ninjas a more comprehensive and intuitive product.

You’ve probably recognized that the VMware virtual environment bus is underway and don’t want to be left in the dust. So you’ve migrated some or all of your network to a virtual environment. If this is the case, WhatsVirtual 2.0 is a good step towards starting to manage this environment.

WUG 14.3 offers similar innovation that improves performance and the evaluation process, streamlines the configuration process with preconfigured workspace views, offers the ability to clone devices, and shows consolidated monitors and devices in one report.

Together v14.3 and WhatsVirtual 2.0 house a number of industry firsts:

Integration with vCenter to deliver updated and accurate information on real time inventory, status and performance of hosts and virtual machines (VMs)
Tracking of all vMotion driven VM movements from one physical server to another
Alerting on all VM restarts and movements driven by VMware High Availability (HA) rules
Discovery, mapping and monitoring that gives you complete access to configuring and managing VMware clusters right from your WhatsUp Gold console

These features, paired with WUG’s existing usability and cost efficiency, demonstrate the next generation in network management software; something hard to live without as your network demands shift and grow.

WhatsUp Gold Engineer’s Toolkit is Live at CiscoLive!

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 21:21:12 +0000

Entry by Sean Barry

The WhatsUp Gold Engineer’s Toolkit is now available for download! So if you happen to be at the CiscoLive show in Vegas stop by booth #1751 and pick up a copy.

The Engineer’s Toolkit, normally a $995 value, is being offered free! It offers everything a network engineer needs to complete his or her daily tasks and helps to simplify common network management jobs like discovery, configuration, credentials, design, diagnostics, and verification of Cisco devices.

Check it out now!

WhatsUp Gold Engineer’s Toolkit Release Fast Approaching – Will you be Ready?

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 13:51:53 +0000

Entry by Sean Barry

You’ve probably heard about the upcoming release of our brand new WhatsUp Gold Engineer’s Toolkit – but are you familiar with its Diagnostics and DNS Verification categories? What’s more is that it can remotely manage your devices, as well as configurations and credentials of Cisco devices in one application.

This all-encompassing application can support a number of remote network tasks including:

Initiate a remote boot up - Boot any remote network device, PC, or server, no physical access required. Remote boot up works on devices powered on or off.
Check remote TCP connectivity – Checks all active TCP sessions, remote or local, and lets you reset the TCP session on any device.
Manage Cisco device credentials – Keeps track of all your Cisco type-7 encrypted passwords and even decrypts them if needed, providing you with a plain text version.
Take charge of Cisco NetFlow configuration – From one central management point, you can easily configure and manage NetFlow on your Cisco devices.

Just like your household handyman’s toolkit, WhatsUp Gold Engineer’s Toolkit keeps the most essential tools in one place.

While we are putting the finishing touches on it you can stay up-to-date with release information through our advance notification sign-up. Plus, you will also be entered to win an iPad!

Want to learn more about the features of the WhatsUp Gold Engineer Toolkit? View our presentations: