GridApp Systems, a leading provider of out-of-the-box database automation software and solutions, has announced the release of GridApp Clarity 5.1, the next-generation version of its database automation software. The two primary new features in Clarity 5.1 are support for databases deployed on cloud computing infrastructures, and management of database license compliance.
Cloud computing, or IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service), has been touted as a powerful and flexible way to deploy and scale databases and applications. However, as a "capacity-on-demand" model, the true challenge of enabling the cloud is rapid deployment of resources and proper configuration of those resources. "It's pretty simple to spin-up a virtual machine with a plain database image running on it. It is much more challenging to make that database instance usable as a company standard with all of the required configuration updates, patches, data migrations, security, and high availability," Robert Gardos, CEO of GridApp Systems, tells 5 Minute Briefing. GridApp Clarity 5.1 eliminates these issues by automating the rapid deployment of standards-based databases as well as migrating data from in-premises databases to the cloud.
GridApp Clarity 5.1 also includes support for database license compliance. Organizations often have little visibility into which pay-for options are used throughout the enterprise. Clarity automatically provides a comprehensive departmental view into license quotas and actual usage. This eliminates exposure to unforeseen audits and enables real-time license compliance. "Other license compliance tools require lots of manual data entry, however Clarity 5.1 is automated and database-aware," says Gardos. "It automatically detects all database options that have been installed and aggregates this information. We called all of the major database vendors and got their specifications on how they run license audits and placed all this intelligence in a centralized repository."
Information about migrated data environments, configurations, database content, patch compliance, and license compliance is displayed in enhanced centralized dashboards for maximum IT administration efficiency. All of these capabilities have turned the management of database resources on the cloud into something practical for end users, and have freed companies from the fear that database software is being used outside of the terms of their licenses. For more information about GridApp Systems and Clarity 5.1, go here.