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BMC Software (NYSE: BMC) has launched Foodstuffs Auckland � the largest cooperative in New Zealand�s biggest grocery distributor � on the first leg of an IT management automation programme to keep customers flowing through its supermarket aisles. The cooperative�s information management solutions division has deployed BMC�s monitoring system, BMC Performance Manager, to automate the performance management of Eftpos systems across 1,000-plus checkout aisles in 137 retail outlets, which include New World, Pack�n�Save and Four Square. The cooperative recently upgraded in-store servers supporting its Eftpos network and wanted to more proactively monitor systems performance to streamline in-store point of sale. Malcolm Paul, general manager of information management solutions for Foodstuffs Auckland, said the organisation is centralising the visibility of its network and systems to better support consistent customer service delivery. �Point of sale � when customers are at the till � is the sharp end of the trading experience and the smooth operation of Eftpos is pivotal. Breakdowns can lead to delays and customer inconvenience,� he said. The organisation previously fixed problems reactively and wanted advanced warning of potential problems before they impacted customer service. �Problem fixes and monitoring were mostly a case of �something has broken, go fix it�,� Paul said. �We knew that smooth point of sale required fault tolerant hardware backed up by automated monitoring that proactively sorted out potential problems.� The company had been using BMC Performance Manager across a handful of internal systems and made the decision to expand the deployment to centralise monitoring for a broader number of devices and applications, including business application servers, databases, mail servers, virtual servers and mainframe systems. Foodstuffs� systems administration team is able to monitor systems and hardware performance, using events reporting to prioritise daily activities and delve deeper to diagnose service desk calls. �We can see at a glance where the problem is,� Paul said. �This is especially powerful if our helpdesk receives multiple calls about the same problem.� Mike Davies, BMC�s managing director for Southeast Asia, said: �Businesses want IT to more actively provision the resources underpinning service delivery moments of truth. Inbuilt management must know exactly how to react when customer demand peaks or when IT components wobble or require adjustment, rather than relying on observation and manual intervention.� Though still in early stages of the expanded project, Paul said new transparency had already directly impacted customer service. �We�ve been able to phone stores and forewarn them of an error in a specific aisle, advising them to check it. So we�ve provided proactive support, which is fantastic � stores love that.� The organisation is automating other workflow, including backups, which alert systems administrators when disk availability exceeds certain usage thresholds. �We�ve got a huge number of systems to manage and we spend most of our time making sure everything functions. It is both business critical and resource intensive,� Paul said. �Securing good IT staff is tough in the current market, so we need to use them to the best of their ability � not have them sifting logs all day. Automating these aspects of our IT management frees up considerable time and positions us to help our stores run their businesses, rather than just react to their problems.� The next phase of Foodstuffs Auckland�s automation programme includes BMC Event Manager, which will detect IT problems and automate corrective action according to business service priorities. Event correlation and root-cause analysis are also under consideration. �Our main driver from here is to make our jobs easier,� Paul said. �There are always things to do, but we plan to reduce manual checks to a bare minimum and then automate them. We want to extend our systems automation from monitoring and alerts to include automated responses as well. It�s an ongoing process.� About BMC Software BMC Software is a leading global provider of enterprise management solutions that empower companies to automate their IT and prove its business value. Delivering Business Service Management and Service Automation, BMC solutions span enterprise systems, applications, databases and service management. For the four fiscal quarters ended June 30, 2008, BMC revenue was approximately $1.78 billion. For more information, visit www.bmc.com. 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