Tinton Falls, New Jersey-based Brightwork Development Inc, which announced in January that it was to be acquired by McAfee Associates Inc, has pulled together its NetWare-based modules for asset inventory and software management and distribution into a new unified package called Fusion. In the process the company has also bundled in a new reporting module. While the asset inventory and software metering modules are still to be sold separately, the company says it has experienced strong demand for a unified system for managing software across the network, hence the new product. On the software distribution front, the company says Fusion can provide administrators with information on files at each node (such as the CONFIG.SYS, AUTOEXEC.BAT and .INI files) and enables these to be updated or edited remotely. Similarly, it is said to enable software to be distributed only to those nodes that fulfill certain criteria, such as the processor, or the amount of free hard disk space. The Asset Management module is said to track and collect inventory information on resources installed on the network, and alert administrators to any changes through a choice of electronic mail, screen flags and pager notification, or via a report produced through an externally supplied program. The company claims that the module’s in-built library recognises more than 2,000 titles, while new applications have to be identified just once, after which they are recognised across the local network. In addition, a software metering feature is intended to enable administrators to control software purchases, and ensure that they have not broken software licence agreements. A stand-alone report writer is also bundled with the product, and data from this is said to be exportable to native Lotus Development Corp 1-2-3, Microsoft Corp Excel, and Borland International Inc Paradox. Fusion is currently available for NetWare 2.X and 3.X, and Brightwork is developing a version for NetWare 4.X. The package is to cost $1,500 for 100 users, or $3,000 for 250 users.
