PlanView Links Up With BMCPlanView Links Up With BMC

PlanView Inc., a maker of IT governance software, is teaming up with BMC Software Inc. to give senior-level executives a window into day-to-day IT operations.

The companies will unveil next month a technology partnership through which PlanView will link its products with BMC's Remedy Action Request System, which automates help-desk and other IT support functions. The partnership will enable IT managers to transfer trouble tickets from the Remedy system into PlanView's products, which handle tasks such as project planning and scheduling, resource profiling and allocation, and time-and-expense capture. The linkage between the systems addresses a need for high-level planning tools such as PlanView's "to drill down into operational data," says PlanView CEO Pat Durbin. BMC and competitors in the service-management sector such as Computer Associates, Hewlett-Packard, and IBM are either partnering with or buying up niche IT governance software companies in order to satisfy a demand for greater visibility into IT spending. In October, IBM bought Systemcorp ALG Ltd. and is integrating its PMOffice software into its Rational line of software development products.