IBM unveils risk management products

Big Blue unveiled its new Business of IT Dashboard, a suite of risk management services, as well as its IT Lifecycle Management and Governance Services for Tivoli, which aims to make it easier for companies to generate and monitor compliance reports. IBM also introduced new software, called Tivoli Business Service Manager, to provide real-time feedback on the health and performance of a company's critical business services.

Although these services suites and software products are new, some of their components have been previously offered by IBM or companies it recently acquired. The services and software are currently available, with pricing linked to the range of components customers want to include in their suite.

IBM also unveiled two product upgrades, one of which is slated for release next month and another for later this year.

The IBM Rational Portfolio Manager 7.1, which is scheduled for launch next month, is designed to help companies meet and monitor regulatory compliance, including their compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley. New features include analytical components that enable software-development teams to automate the approval process on projects and generate automatic compliance reports.

IBM Tivoli Security Operations Manager 1.4, which will be released later this year, aims to provide a real-time dashboard to monitor security threats to the network and track administrative tasks. Manager 1.4 also features a simplified, centralized dashboard configuration. Pricing on the IBM Rational Portfolio Manager 7.1 and Tivoli Security Operations Manager 1.4 has not yet been disclosed.