The new version, Storage Essentials 5.0, has been integrated with Systems Insight Manager (SIM), HP's server management software. The software had been called Storage Authority by AppIQ , whose acquisition by HP officially closed late last month.

The Storage Authority-SIM integration will allow users to view both applications on a single screen. The Storage Essentials software can automatically discover and register all physical and logical storage assets as well as the applications associated with those assets, HP said.

Jeff Hill, a systems and storage administrator at Exempla Healthcare, which manages three hospitals in the Denver area, said that he started beta-testing the new version five weeks ago. He uses it to manage his HP ProLiant servers and storage infrastructure with a single monitor.

He said the reporting tools allow his managers to use Storage Essentials for chargeback purposes.

"The AppIQ tool is a little more intuitive" than the HP OpenView software it is replacing, he said.