CA and Dell have or are expected to announce new and upgraded products that customers say will help them better manage client and server systems, with fewer tools and more automation.

CA is set to announce this week its Desktop and Server Management (DSM) 11 suite, which includes applications that separately performed software delivery, remote control and asset management. The suite integrates those features with common agent and database technology.

The integration should help customers reduce the number of products - and management consoles - needed to perform ongoing support and maintenance for desktops and servers, says Jason Bullock, systems administrator for Colorado Springs School District 11. "We basically get the three products we used before, rolled into one," he explains. "Having them all integrated into one interface gives me less to manage. We also have fewer agents out on machines."

Bullock says he migrated to DSM 11 from Version 4.0 of previous CA Unicenter products. He pushed out one new agent that replaces three, which will reduce the amount of software installed on some 600 Microsoft Windows-based servers and 8,500 desktops. DSM 11 software includes a management console and distributed agents on managed server or client machines. With the upgrade, Bullock says he will be able to support remaining Windows 95 clients that CA's previous products didn't support.

"They took a step back, kind of, but in the best way. This new release provides us with backwards compatibility on our older systems until we can upgrade," Bullock says.

CA also is set to unveil this week the CA Desktop Management Suite for Windows, a scaled-down version of DSM 11 that is suited for smaller customers. It has desktop management and back-up capabilities enabling life-cycle management of PCs. CA says its automated features reduce the time required to distribute and maintain software, maintain software inventories, configure machines, protect local data and manage remote systems.

"There is a significant trend toward consolidating systems management features into fewer tools," says David Friedlander, a senior analyst with Forrester Research. "Customers want to minimize the number of agents that perform overlapping functions."

In addition, CA introduced Unicenter Patch Management, a subscription service that connects customers to a constantly updated patch management site where CA monitors, validates, researches, publishes and distributes all relevant patch information. Unicenter Patch Man_agement works with CA Asset Man_-agement, Unicenter Software Delivery and the CA Desktop Management Suite for Windows.