NEW YORK, January 19, 2010 - Knoa, the innovation leader in End-User Experience Management software, today unveiled its strategy for end-user centric IT management. As end-user experience management gains widespread acceptance as part of a robust Application Performance Management (APM) strategy, Knoa expects the entire IT management software market will be transformed, in the next decade, through a focus on business end-users. “Knoa envisions an IT Management software landscape in which the end-user is the starting point for planning and life-cycle management of all IT investments, not just the end point for measuring IT service delivery,” said Knoa CEO Thad Eidman.
End-User Experience Management has been acknowledged as a requirement for Application Performance Management, by the analyst community, for several years. In 2007, Gartner, Inc. cited end-user experience management as part of a four-fold approach to APM1. In that same year, Forrester, Inc. released two Forrester Wave research reports evaluating solutions for end-user experience management2. In 2009, Forrester cited the software category as the fastest growing category in the IT Management software market3.
“Clearly, 2009 was the year that end-user experience monitoring software crossed the chasm,” said Eidman. “Knoa’s year-end results demonstrate that the end-user experience software market has progressed beyond the early adopters and innovators to a more mainstream audience. As we enter 2010, Knoa’s customers, in more than 25 industries, are monitoring tens of thousands of end-users in over 120 countries around the globe.”
In May, Knoa further solidified its leadership in the end-user experience management marketplace with the release of version 5.5 of its flagship product, Knoa Experience and Performance Manager (EPM). Version 5.5 is optimized to drive proactive resolution of application and end-user performance issues with the most advanced analytics in the end-user experience management industry.
In November, Knoa delivered Knoa Virtual/Cloud End-user Monitor (VCEM) , the industry’s first 'off-the-shelf' product that monitors and manages real end-user experience for enterprise applications that are running in virtualized environments, delivered via SaaS, or provisioned via Cloud Computing.
“Although Knoa has emerged as the de facto leader for end-user experience monitoring the company vision goes far beyond the discipline of APM to encompass the entire spectrum of IT Management Software,” said Eidman. “This vision has driven the Knoa product strategy since the 2008 release of Knoa’s universal end-user monitoring architecture designed to enable the collection of end-user metrics for all stakeholders in the organization – and eliminate the need for a plethora of point monitoring solutions.”
Knoa’s vision for end-user centric IT Management includes the use of end-user metrics to enrich disciplines such as Product and Portfolio Management; IT Asset Management; Service Desk and Service Level Management; Software Compliance Management and Governance, Risk and Compliance. In 2009, the company has already taken significant steps toward realizing this strategy.
In August, Knoa delivered the industry’s first packaged solution targeted to the more fulsome discipline of IT Management. Knoa GEM (Global End-user Monitor) provides “out-of-the-box" monitoring of all applications for every end-user, on every end-user desktop. With Knoa GEM, IT can monitor the health of all productivity and business applications without any pre-definition. Global metrics on the desktop environment coupled with quality and response time metrics accelerate detection, isolation and resolution of IT issues that affect business performance. Global metrics on active utilization of desktop and web-based applications feed next generation IT chargeback and asset management systems. Benefits to IT organizations include reducing support costs, reducing software asset and maintenance costs, improving end-user experience, ensuring compliant use of software tools, and providing transparency into how IT assets are being deployed to support business operations.
Knoa’s technology and solutions received the following accolades in 2009 for product and technology excellence. Enterprise Management Associates called Knoa the leader for End-User Performance and Productivity solutions. Frost and Sullivan bestowed its prestigious Customer Value Enhancement Award to Knoa. Information Management gave Knoa its Innovative Solution Award for Performance Management Network Products Guide presented Knoa with its Innovation Award, for the second consecutive year. TMC's Customer Interaction Solutions cited Knoa’s products for its CRM Excellence Awards. ContactCenterWorld.com acknowledged Knoa as the Best Technology Innovation Vendor Solution.
Knoa will make additional investments in technology and customer advocacy as well as strategic alliances to support its vision in 2010 including further engagement with the IT service management community and expansion of the recently announced Knoa Academy of End-User Management. Details on these specific initiatives will be announced in the coming months.
“Knoa has been leading the innovation in the end-user experience software market since 2003, and we have, unarguably, reached new heights in 2009. As we enter a new decade, Knoa is excited to continue on our path of leadership as we enter a new territory where we can demonstrate our value and technical superiority,” concluded Eidman.
About Knoa
Knoa® Software is leading the performance management industry
with end-user experience management solutions that reach beyond infrastructure and application performance to monitor,
measure and manage how end-users are utilizing corporate software applications to optimize business process execution.
Knoa customers not only know if core enterprise
applications are delivering an acceptable user experience, but also, if application users are executing key processes effectively
and efficiently – the key to achieving business value and ROI. Knoa was recently selected as a Gartner “Cool Vendor,”
for its capabilities in end-user experience and performance management and was listed as a Leader in the “Forrester Wave: Passive Agent End-user Experience Monitoring.”
Knoa is headquartered in New York, NY. For more information about Knoa, please visit
www.knoa.com.
1 Gartner, Inc., The Four Dimensions of Application Performance Monitoring, 11-30-2007
2 Forrester, Inc, The Forrester Wave™: Passive Agent End User Experience Monitoring, Q3 2007, September 27, 2007
3 Forrester, Inc, Market Overview: The IT Management Software Market In 2009, March 13, 2009
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Editorial Contacts:
Mike Sullivan
PAN Communications
978.474.1900
knoa@pancomm.com
Note: Knoa is a registered trademark. All other company and product names contained herein are the marks of their respective holders.
