The Open Collaborative Architecture is a "work in progress" that includes bringing together Symantec's endpoint suite and backup and recovery products with asset management offerings obtained via the late last year, says Kevin Murray, senior director of product marketing.

The first phase of the plan has already been put in motion, with the Symantec Client Management Suite, the Server Management Suite, and the IT Service and Asset Management Suite supported under the Altiris framework, Murray says.

The next version of the Symantec data-leak prevention client is expected to have the Altiris management client embedded by .

Future efforts include bringing , BackUp Exec System and Veritas Configuration Manager under the Open Collaborative Architecture framework. The "center of gravity" in this technical effort lies in server-based integration technology called Notification Server that will be built into future product offerings, Murray says.

The other purpose of the initiative is to provide an open set of APIs and a development toolkit that companies can use to provide functional support for their own products under the Symantec management umbrella.