BMC Acquires DGI

Database management software providers continue to expand their product lines. BMC Software Inc. this week acquired DGI (Database Guys Inc.), a privately held supplier of management tools for IBM's DB2 Universal Database. The move comes one week after competitor Quest Software Inc. debuted an upgrade of its Quest Central for Oracle database performance-management software.

BMC spent $3 million to acquire DGI and its products, including its Classic tools for monitoring and enhancing DB2 Universal Database performance and its Flight Deck dashboard, which gives database administrators database performance data. The company plans to add the DGI Classic products to its SmartDBA product line and incorporate Flight Deck's functionality into its DBXray, SQL-Explorer, and Space Expert software.

That integration work will be completed by the end of the year, says Bill Miller, VP and general manager of BMC's enterprise data-management division. BMC will continue to offer the DGI products separately for the foreseeable future. The acquisition also gives BMC development expertise in the DB2 Universal Database space, including Scott Hayes, DGI CEO and a noted DB2 expert.

The new release of the Quest Central for Oracle suite taps into performance data provided by Oracle9i's advisory services, automating the steps database administrators need to take to act on that data. Quest Central for Oracle version 2.7 also offers new memory management capabilities. The software is available now starting at $2,400 for a single component and $11,600 for all four tools in the suite.