BMC On Demand―Full Steam Ahead

Abstract

BMC Software (BMC) has announced that it will offer its BMC Remedy product line via a Software-as-a-

Service (SaaS) delivery model—called BMC Remedy ITSM Suite On Demand. In fact, the company is investing

heavily in on demand delivery to address flexible licensing requirements and impending cloud computing needs.

Enterprise IT is increasingly seeking an incremental, service-based licensing scheme where budgetary

allocations can be made on an as needed basis. BMC’s positioning supports this pay-as-you-go approach and

also offers customers a migration path to move to a traditional license-based product offering in part or in

total. General availability is expected to be in Q2, 2010.

In addition, BMC announced a partnership with salesforce.com in

November 2009 to offer BMC Service Desk Express on Force.com.

BMC Service Desk Express is the company’s mid-tier offering. It’s

partnership with Force.com was the company’s first SaaS offering geared

to make the service desk, self-service features and inventory management

available in the cloud at an attractive price-point.

BMC is also making substantial forward progress in enhancing the

functionality and ease-of-use of these product lines. Both offerings are

planned to be generally available during Q2, 2010.

BMC is investing heavily in

on demand delivery to

address flexible licensing

requirements and

impending cloud

computing needs.

ITSM Market

The ITSM market is alive and well in all of its diversity given the need for IT organizations to continue to

find more effective ways of working. Equally so is the service desk market within the broader ITSM domain.

ENTERPRISE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATES® (EMA™) analysts conducted a major research study in

2009 to look at the aging help desk market. The result, interest in the service desk continues to be strong and

apparently gaining momentum. Priorities in this market segment involve consolidation of operations,

extended support for best practices even under a tenuous economic climate and contemplation of migrating

to more holistic ITSM solutions as aging deployments have outlived their investments. Service management

in the Cloud, as seen in the EMA study, The Responsible Cloud1, is yet another critical element pressuring IT to

extend service management capabilities to integrate Cloud services into their hybrid, mission critical

environments. All this and more is driving CIOs to look for creative solutions for acquiring and licensing

sorely needed software products. It seems that BMC’s timing could be impeccable if it can continue on this

aggressive investment track.

BMC’s Strategic Move

BMC has made its move to be a player in the on demand market at a time when enterprise IT is looking for

variability in its software asset acquisition activities. BMC will soon have an offering for companies looking

primarily for a service desk with BMC Service Desk Express on Force.com, and for more mature companies

requiring broader functionality with the newly announced BMC Remedy ITSM Suite On Demand product. In

January 2009, BMC announced controlled availability for BMC Remedy ITSM Suite On Demand, and both

products will be made generally available in Q2. Support for BMC Remedy ITSM Suite On Demand is

provided through a single, follow-the-sun data center based in Phoenix, AZ.

EMA IMPACT BRIEF

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©2010 Enterprise Management Associates

1

The Responsible Cloud, 2010 EMA research: http://www.enterprisemanagement.com/research/asset.php?id=1652