"Better tools for managing multiple operating systems and virtual machines in a server were also pivotal," Hovsepian said.
"In trying to meet that customer need, Novell has released new versions of data centre management tools."
The offerings are designed to tackle heterogeneous virtual and physical server settings.
Data centre management systems from Novell focus on a cross-platform set of services based on Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) that co-ordinate IT management and business processes.
ITIL is a framework that outlines best-practice technology service management procedures.
Hovsepian said a major enhancement involved providing companies with more flexibility in deployment by separating the previously bundled ZENworks Orchestrator, which allocates data centre resources from management packs such as ZENworks Virtual Machine Management.
For example, this release increases the flexibility of the ZENworks management system using a modular approach that allows the high-level orchestration engine to be installed and run separately from more specialised management components, including virtual machine management.
This version streamlines projects and provides companies with the flexibility to choose which management tools to use in the data centre.
In a Forrester report, Natalie Lambert writes that Novell's ZENworks Suite has the broadest operating system support.
"Its management server runs on all flavours of servers, and its desktop client runs on a variety of Windows and Linux platforms, with some capabilities also available to Mac and Unix," she says.
"This self-remediating system allows IT administrators to set policy once and forget about it."
Hovsepian said the new virtual machine manager raised the bar and dealt with the whole lifecycle management of starting, stopping and migrating virtual machines.
Novell would intertwine Xen virtualisation and ZENworks management tools, he said.
Full lifecycle management for SUSE Linux Enterprise from Novell running Xen virtualisation, which provides the ability to use virtualisation in the data centre while helping to cut costs and reduce complexity, is also available with this version.
Hovsepian, who announced a series of initiatives at LinuxWorld, said Linux needed to take advantage of the virtualisation support that chipmakers AMD and Intel were embedding in their products, "as these chip technologies are going to be critical in the market and they're going to push the use of virtualisation".
Gartner analyst Ronni Colville says enterprises are looking at virtual machines as a way of consolidating servers, saving power and space and increasing the efficiency of their IT investments.
"However, while virtualisation can reduce the physical requirements of the data centre, it can also compound the level of management complexity," he says. "To maximise their computing potential in the data centre, companies need cross-platform systems management systems for virtual machines and physical machines."
A few days after LinuxWorld, Novell released ZENworks Configuration Management, the latest version of its ZENworks systems management suite, which natively supports both Microsoft Active Directory and Novell's eDirectory.
It also introduces support for the endpoint security management technology Novell acquired with Senforce Technologies earlier this week.
The tools protect endpoint devices from malware, data theft and unauthorised wireless access.
The new management system, which runs on Microsoft Windows, Linux and Novell Open Enterprise Server for Linux, automates software setup, updates, healing and migration for various Windows operating systems including Windows Vista.
Novell says the ZENworks Control Centre, an integrated console, allows administrators to tackle configuration, reporting, patch and asset management from a single location.
Enderle Group analyst Rob Enderle says this is more IBM and Hewlett-Packard turf, but Novell may have the best enterprise system for Linux and this should help it with data centre enterprise management.-Novel
