The "Softek Rescue" program is also intended to be a loss leader, of sorts, for sales of additional software and services if customers need them at some point in the future, Shimomura says.
BMC, meanwhile, isn't amused by the Softek stunt. Dan Hoffmann, BMC's director of enterprise storage management, acknowledges that some customers are "still feeling some pain" from the company's decision to pull out of the market. But, he says, "We don't believe that simply swapping out Patrol Storage Manager for anyone's software is good for customers." He notes that BMC has committed to supporting the product through January 2005.
Hoffmann adds that switching SRM packages is potentially disruptive and requires a significant investment of time and resources. We should point out, of course, that it is BMC itself that is forcing customers to consider the question of where they go from here.
One large BMC PSM customer, who did not want to be identified, isn't sure what his company's next step will be, although he wasn't surprised that Softek was trying to capitalize on the situation. But at least one thing's certain: He is not happy about BMC's unexpected move.
"I think everybody was caught off guard," he says.
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