CA's integration of management functions is what makes the new release important, said Andi Mann, an analyst at Enterprise Management Associates in Boulder, Colo. He said CA is keeping up with rivals such as IBM Tivoli, Hewlett Packard Co.'s OpenView and BMC Corp. "It's a big market, and there are a range of solutions out there," Mann said.

Security compliance and patch management are growing in importance, which increases the need for management tools. "If you have to handle Super Tuesday patch releases from Microsoft on 500 servers and 1,500 desktops, this product would make it a lot easier to handle," he said. New versions of applications and operating systems from Microsoft and other companies will eventually be released on a continual basis, making automatic functions of management tools invaluable, he said.