FirstSense Software Inc has added support for Microsoft Corp’s SQL Server to the latest release of its FirstSense Enterprise applications performance management tool. The addition brings the Burlington, Massachusetts-based company’s products to the mid- range ERP applications market. FirstSense, an 11-month-old start- up, is one of two companies currently fighting it out in a new market providing service level management for applications. The other is Santa Clara, California-based VitalSigns Inc. Both use client-based agents to monitor the performance and availability of distributed applications using TCP/IP from an end-user perspective. FirstSense version 1.1, shipping now for $22,200 per server, runs on Windows NT and Unix servers, supporting third party applications such as Oracle Financials, Peoplesoft and Clarity. FirstSense has now closed a $7m, second round of funding, taking its total funding up to $11.5m, and employs 45 people. Meanwhile, VitalSigns Inc, a similarly sized company that began life as a developer of tools for monitoring web performance, has now broadened its VitalAnalysis and VitalHelp products to support email, groupware, database and ERP applications, and also enables customers to monitor in-house applications through its Appworks integration tool. The full suite of products supporting 100 users cost around $25,000. VitalSigns has so far raised $6.5m funding, and signed some major OEM deals, including Cisco Systems Inc and Nortel’s Bay Networks. Both companies are aiming to go public over the next year or so.
FIRSTSENSE AND VITALSIGNS BATTLE OVER APP PERFORMANCE
