Configuration Management Becomes Asset Management

Merant Inc. says it's not just managing software anymore. The supplier of configuration-management systems this week is launching Professional 8 as a change-control system to succeed its Polytron Version Control System (PVCS), a product that has gone through ownership at Polytron, Sage Software, Intersolv, and Microfocus, before becoming the core product of Merant, a Microfocus spin-off.

There are 400,000 copies of PVCS still under maintenance contract and probably many more still running without maintenance, says Stephen King, Merant's senior VP and general manager.

Market-research firm IDC says Merant is No. 2 behind Rational Software Inc. in the $850 million configuration-management market. "The renewed focus by the new management team on its core software-configuration-management business appears to be succeeding," says IDC analyst Richard Heiman in his 2002 competitive analysis of Worldwide Software Configuration Management Tools.

And while Merant remains focused on software-configuration management, King says, "we don't see software in isolation any more. Companies need to manage documents and Web content. We are focused on managing change across the enterprise."

Professional 8 includes an improved software-configuration system in Merant Build, where a lead developer triggers the assembly of different modules of code. Build works with different languages and the leading integrated development environments that are producing the modules, King says. Professional 8 also includes Merant Tracker for automated tracking of defects, bug reports, and other reported software-project issues.

"Software builds that used to take four to five hours are now finished in 30 minutes," says Mitch Gottlieb, build manager at 360Commerce Inc., a supplier of retail application software and an early user of Professional 8.

The Professional 8 system also includes additional security features. It supports single-sign-on and Lightweight Directory Access Protocol, so user authentication and access can be managed easily, product marketing manager Patrick Merritt says.

A file manager in Merant Version Manager, part of Professional 8, provides a secure repository that enforces permissions across a software team. Some team members may submit modules for reviews; team leaders or other designated parties may add such code to a build version.

Development teams today may include members in India, Eastern Europe, and North America; a configuration-management system is needed to coordinate their efforts and keep projects organized around dependable builds, or early versions of the target application, Merritt says. And what works for software development can also be used for storing Web-site content and controlling who has access to it or permission to make changes, he adds.

Professional 8 is scheduled to be available in November; Merant hasn't disclosed pricing.