Be Our eyes, ears & voice

Be a VAR Journalist

Print RSS

ADVERTISEMENT

New mobile service turns Windows Mobile hand-helds into powerful “system administrator remote controls” and supports UNIX and Windows server systems, desktop clients and the upcoming release of Windows Vista.

The SCO Group, Inc., a leading provider of UNIX software technology and mobile services, announced the development of HipCheck, a new mobile service designed to help system administrators (sys admins) remotely control and monitor their UNIX and Windows servers as well as desktop clients, including the upcoming release of Windows Vista. HipCheck customers will save time by conducting preventative system maintenance from anywhere, reduce costs of system service and maintenance, and gain greater productivity from higher system availability.

HipCheck allows sys admins to set and track specific system parameters and thresholds for various server and desktop functions. HipCheck provides alerts and allows system administrators to remotely perform tasks to their systems through their Windows Mobile smart phone or Windows PC. Alerts are provided through an SMS message to mobile devices or through an e-mail to desktop systems.

“As part of our overall strategy to maximize availability and profitability, we are currently evaluating SCO’s HipCheck,” said Head of Research and Development, Instrumentation & Controls, Siemens Power Generation in Erlangen, Germany, Detlef Fischer. “Following the first successful tests we see great potential in SCO’s mobile technologies that will enable us to provide the right information, to the right people, anytime, anywhere. In particular delivering key information in real-time to our service staff via mobile devices, will greatly benefit our customer service level.”

“HipCheck empowers sys admins with a rules-based engine to identify and specify the thresholds that are critical to monitoring the health of mission-critical systems,” said CTO and General Manager, Platforms Division, SCO, Sandy Gupta. “The HipCheck service uses a callout architecture that alerts users of triggering events. This is an extensible framework that can be used to manage various business processes, applications and systems health management.”

HipCheck is another powerful mobile application developed by SCO to increase mobile technology and change the way companies do business. HipCheck is the perfect solution for customers and solution providers who have to remotely manage decentralized server systems without any local system administrator staff.

The HipCheck mobile service taps into a powerful backend server technology called the EdgeClick Mobility Server, which acts as the service engine for quickly distributing key information to smart handheld devices. This benefits system administrators with a fast, easy-to-use mobile service from their device while providing a rich user experience through access to backend data.

“HipCheck is currently being deployed to help manage more than a dozen BIS and customer servers,” said Premier Partner of Me Inc. Mobile Services and Vice President of BIS Computer Solutions, Mobile Division, Mobile BIS, Michael Macho. “The capabilities of HipCheck will give BIS greater ability to monitor and control our customers Windows and UNIX systems and provide a greater level of customer service with even faster response to their needs. When a customer needs us to instantly bring up a server, add a user or warn them of the imminent threat of a system failure, HipCheck will be the application that provides that real-time, automated access right from our mobile device.”

An existing partner, Jim Locke of The SMB Technology Network, a nation wide technology network with more than 450 members, has begun exhibiting the HipCheck application to its membership. “This application will allow the SMB Technology Network members and their 4,500 customers to be more productive in the field and provide a higher level of customer service when administering servers and desktops,” said Jim Locke, president of The SMB Technology Network.

Availability and Pricing
HipCheck, which runs on smart phones based on the Windows Mobile operating system, is currently in beta testing and will be available as a subscription service to users in Q4 of 2006. Pricing will be announced upon availability.