MicroMuse Ltd, the Putney, London-based Sparcsystems builder turned systems integrator, is one of just a couple of UK firms distributing SunConnect’s SunNet Manager to other resellers and system integrators. MicroMuse is using the software – tools, services and agents for network management – as a backbone to push sales of consultancy, support, training, third party software, Sun Microsystems Inc hardware and its own complexity management systems. Managing director Chris Dawes claims that MicroMuse can supply around 70% of the third party software products available on the market that work with SunNet Manager and can integrate all types of kit using its own resources or those of its 15 value-added integrators and six networking partners. Dawes believes that getting users’ networks up and running properly is one of the biggest challanges facing the industry. In two or three years’ time, high-end personal computer-type boxes will look quite alike, he thinks. Users will have Unix or similar multi-tasking operating systems, networking and fairly similar graphical front-ends running on powerful CPUs from a variety of vendors that will need integrating. Suppliers are currently working furiously to bring all manner of object-oriented and distributed computing software services, mechanisms and applications to market – targeted at these types of systems – which won’t work at end user sites unless those users have properly functioning networks of integrated systems on which to run, says Dawes. MicroMuse believes that Sun NetManager is the best tool for the job (although an SQL link for the software is currently available only from a third party). MicroMuse has written its own asynchronous, event-driven distributed transfer protocol (remote procedure call) for the complexity management software it has nearly completed, which again, is targeted at these environments. The 120,000 lines of C code is currenntly on beta release and will be launched at the Unix Expo show in New York this September. Beyond this, Dawes says that MicroMuse will be writing and selling more of its own applications in future. With three years of system building and integration under its belt, the company intends to focus on software distribution and development for the next two or three years. Privately-held MicroMuse recorded revenues of UKP3.2m to September 1992, does 60% of its business on Sun systems, and reports that 40% of its sales are software-related. Former Sun UK staffer Andrew Russell is now marketing director at the company, which has 20 employees.
