BigFix
Encyclopedia
BigFix, Inc., is an American company focusing on reducing the cost and complexity of managing networked desktop, mobile, and server computer
s. From its origins as a PC self-help application, the company’s products have expanded to enable delivery of a wide variety of on-demand endpoint
management services that include asset inventory/discovery, security
vulnerability detection and remediation, software distribution, IT
compliance reporting, patch
management, software license
management, security policy enforcement, and endpoint device power consumption management
. Founded in 1997, BigFix is headquartered in Emeryville
, California
.
In July, 2010, IBM announced a deal to acquire BigFix for an undisclosed amount. According to Bloomberg, IBM paid approximately $400 million in the deal, which closed on July 20, 2010.
In 2002, the company developed BigFix software into a vehicle for enterprise-scale networked desktop, mobile, and server computer management . This decisively shifted the focus of the company from consumer to enterprise markets. Initial uses of what became the BigFix platform centered on security patch management, which was identified as a significant pain point at that time for enterprise IT departments.
In 2007, BigFix expanded its scope to address specific IT infrastructure management solution areas: security threat suppression (BigFix Endpoint Protection), enterprise security configuration management (BigFix Security Configuration and Vulnerability Management) and enterprise systems management (BigFix Systems Lifecycle Management).
The company has more than 900 customers, and BigFix products have been licensed to manage more than 9 million computing devices. Key markets for BigFix include: banking, financial services, manufacturing, government, education, and healthcare. Representative customers include: Entergy
, Pitney Bowes
, Stanford University
, SunTrust Banks, Miami-Dade County Schools, and the US Department of Energy
, among others.
On July 20th, 2011 IBM
acquired BigFix, Inc. for an undisclosed sum and integrated the BigFix product into its Tivoli
Software portfolio under the new moniker IBM Tivoli Endpoint Manager.
Recent product reviews include:
The BigFix Agent resides on managed devices and acts as a universal policy engine capable of delivering multiple management services. A single BigFix Agent can execute a diverse and extensible array of management services that range from real-time client status reporting, to patch and software distribution, to security policy enforcement.
The BigFix Agent also automatically notifies the BigFix Server and Console of changes in managed device configuration, providing a real-time view of device status. In addition to a standard array of management services available from BigFix, Inc., customers and developers can create custom policies and services using a published BigFix authoring language. The BigFix Agent runs on all versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system since Windows 95, Unix, Linux and Mac OS client systems. This enables administrators to consolidate management of heterogeneous infrastructures from the BigFix Console.
The BigFix Server is a software-based package that provides a control center and repository for managed system configuration data, software updates and patches, and other management information. The BigFix Console, which runs from the BigFix Server, provides an operations control center for BigFix administrators that includes graphical displays of device, group, and enterprise-wide device status and dashboards for executing management actions through the BigFix infrastructure. The console also includes reporting functions and templates that enable graphical and tabular views on infrastructure status.
BigFix Fixlet messages are instructions to the BigFix Agent to perform a management or reporting action. Fixlet messages can be programmed to target specific groups of devices to perform management actions. As noted above, users have the option of writing custom Fixlet messages in addition to those supplied by BigFix as standard product offerings.
BigFix Relays act as concentration points for Fixlet messages on network infrastructures. Relays are a software module that execute as a shared service on non-dedicated hardware. Relays help reduce network bandwidth requirements for distribution of BigFix Fixlets and content such as software, patches, updates, and other information. Relays also offer a fail-over mechanism to keep BigFix-managed clients in touch with the BigFix console should “normal” communications channels go dark or become overloaded with other traffic.
The largest BigFix production installation consists of 550,000+ endpoints, and the product has been successfully deployed in environments ranging from 100s to 100,000s of managed devices. BigFix solutions also require very little in the way of dedicated management infrastructure, with one physical server required to manage up to 100,000+ endpoints.
BigFix Solution Packs target specific solution areas — security threat suppression (BigFix Endpoint Protection), security configuration management (BigFix Security Configuration and Vulnerability Management) and systems management (BigFix Systems Lifecycle Management).
BigFix Policy Modules and Extensions enable specific security and system management services for delivery via the BigFix Platform. Solution Packs integrate collections of thematically-linked Policy Content modules, but customers can also license individual modules to add capabilities to a BigFix Solution Pack, or create completely customer-specific solutions.
BigFix services include training with courses on BigFix operations and the BigFix custom Fixlet authoring language. The company also offers installation, implementation, custom Fixlet message content authoring services as well as ongoing user support.
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
s. From its origins as a PC self-help application, the company’s products have expanded to enable delivery of a wide variety of on-demand endpoint
Endpoint interface
An endpoint interface, also known as a service endpoint interface , is a term used in Java Platform, Enterprise Edition when exposing Enterprise JavaBeans as a Web service . It is annotated with @WebService and is a component interface, which declares all the abstract methods that are exposed to...
management services that include asset inventory/discovery, security
Security
Security is the degree of protection against danger, damage, loss, and crime. Security as a form of protection are structures and processes that provide or improve security as a condition. The Institute for Security and Open Methodologies in the OSSTMM 3 defines security as "a form of protection...
vulnerability detection and remediation, software distribution, IT
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
compliance reporting, patch
Patch (computing)
A patch is a piece of software designed to fix problems with, or update a computer program or its supporting data. This includes fixing security vulnerabilities and other bugs, and improving the usability or performance...
management, software license
Software license agreement
A software license agreement is a contract between the "licensor" and purchaser of the right to use software. The license may define ways under which the copy can be used, in addition to the automatic rights of the buyer including the first sale doctrine and .Many form contracts are only contained...
management, security policy enforcement, and endpoint device power consumption management
Power management
Power management is a feature of some electrical appliances, especially copiers, computers and computer peripherals such as monitors and printers, that turns off the power or switches the system to a low-power state when inactive. In computing this is known as PC power management and is built...
. Founded in 1997, BigFix is headquartered in Emeryville
Emeryville, California
Emeryville is a small city located in Alameda County, California, in the United States. It is located in a corridor between the cities of Berkeley and Oakland, extending to the shore of San Francisco Bay. Its proximity to San Francisco, the Bay Bridge, the University of California, Berkeley, and...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
In July, 2010, IBM announced a deal to acquire BigFix for an undisclosed amount. According to Bloomberg, IBM paid approximately $400 million in the deal, which closed on July 20, 2010.
Corporate history
BigFix, Inc., was founded in 1997 in Emeryville, California. The company’s initial product was a user self-service system management application that was marketed to OEM PC manufacturers.In 2002, the company developed BigFix software into a vehicle for enterprise-scale networked desktop, mobile, and server computer management . This decisively shifted the focus of the company from consumer to enterprise markets. Initial uses of what became the BigFix platform centered on security patch management, which was identified as a significant pain point at that time for enterprise IT departments.
In 2007, BigFix expanded its scope to address specific IT infrastructure management solution areas: security threat suppression (BigFix Endpoint Protection), enterprise security configuration management (BigFix Security Configuration and Vulnerability Management) and enterprise systems management (BigFix Systems Lifecycle Management).
The company has more than 900 customers, and BigFix products have been licensed to manage more than 9 million computing devices. Key markets for BigFix include: banking, financial services, manufacturing, government, education, and healthcare. Representative customers include: Entergy
Entergy
Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. It is headquartered in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana.-History:...
, Pitney Bowes
Pitney Bowes
Pitney Bowes Inc. is a Stamford, Connecticut-based manufacturer of software and hardware and a provider of services related to documents, packaging, mailing, and shipping, collectively referred to as mailstream. The company has approximately 36,000 employees worldwide. It is one of 87 existing...
, Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, SunTrust Banks, Miami-Dade County Schools, and the US Department of Energy
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
, among others.
On July 20th, 2011 IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
acquired BigFix, Inc. for an undisclosed sum and integrated the BigFix product into its Tivoli
Tivoli
The name Tivoli originally indicates the town of Tivoli in the Lazio region of central Italy, founded a few centuries before Rome. Because of the fame of the gardens of the Villa d'Este there , the name has also been applied to other entities:-Gardens, theatres and venues:* Jardin de Tivoli,...
Software portfolio under the new moniker IBM Tivoli Endpoint Manager.
BigFix Awards and Reviews
Recent industry awards include:- Deloitte’s Silicon Valley Technology Fast 50 in 2007 and 2008
- CIO 100 2008 award on behalf of Miami-Dade County Public Schools
- InfoWorld 100 2008 on behalf of Miami-Dade County Public Schools
- Computerworld Green IT Best Practices 2008 Award on behalf of Miami-Dade County Public Schools; ROI category
Recent product reviews include:
- “Best Buy” in SC Magazine’s NAC Group Test
- “Best Buy” in SC Magazine’s Endpoint Security Group Test
- “Recommended” in SC Magazine’s Policy Management Group Test
- Network Computing Patch Management Rolling Review
BigFix technology architecture
Key components of the BigFix service delivery platform include the BigFix Agent, BigFix Server and Console, BigFix Fixlet messages, and BigFix Relays. The BigFix Platform creates a lightweight communications and management infrastructure for delivery of security and system management services to networked desktop, laptop/notebook and server computers. By assigning responsibility for reporting and management actions on endpoints themselves, the BigFix Platform enables visibility and management of IT infrastructures ranging from hundreds to hundreds of thousands of desktop, mobile and server computers.The BigFix Agent resides on managed devices and acts as a universal policy engine capable of delivering multiple management services. A single BigFix Agent can execute a diverse and extensible array of management services that range from real-time client status reporting, to patch and software distribution, to security policy enforcement.
The BigFix Agent also automatically notifies the BigFix Server and Console of changes in managed device configuration, providing a real-time view of device status. In addition to a standard array of management services available from BigFix, Inc., customers and developers can create custom policies and services using a published BigFix authoring language. The BigFix Agent runs on all versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system since Windows 95, Unix, Linux and Mac OS client systems. This enables administrators to consolidate management of heterogeneous infrastructures from the BigFix Console.
The BigFix Server is a software-based package that provides a control center and repository for managed system configuration data, software updates and patches, and other management information. The BigFix Console, which runs from the BigFix Server, provides an operations control center for BigFix administrators that includes graphical displays of device, group, and enterprise-wide device status and dashboards for executing management actions through the BigFix infrastructure. The console also includes reporting functions and templates that enable graphical and tabular views on infrastructure status.
BigFix Fixlet messages are instructions to the BigFix Agent to perform a management or reporting action. Fixlet messages can be programmed to target specific groups of devices to perform management actions. As noted above, users have the option of writing custom Fixlet messages in addition to those supplied by BigFix as standard product offerings.
BigFix Relays act as concentration points for Fixlet messages on network infrastructures. Relays are a software module that execute as a shared service on non-dedicated hardware. Relays help reduce network bandwidth requirements for distribution of BigFix Fixlets and content such as software, patches, updates, and other information. Relays also offer a fail-over mechanism to keep BigFix-managed clients in touch with the BigFix console should “normal” communications channels go dark or become overloaded with other traffic.
The largest BigFix production installation consists of 550,000+ endpoints, and the product has been successfully deployed in environments ranging from 100s to 100,000s of managed devices. BigFix solutions also require very little in the way of dedicated management infrastructure, with one physical server required to manage up to 100,000+ endpoints.
BigFix products and services
BigFix products consist of the BigFix service delivery platform and various bundled combinations of on-demand BigFix Policy Modules and Extensions delivered as BigFix Solution Packs.BigFix Solution Packs target specific solution areas — security threat suppression (BigFix Endpoint Protection), security configuration management (BigFix Security Configuration and Vulnerability Management) and systems management (BigFix Systems Lifecycle Management).
BigFix Policy Modules and Extensions enable specific security and system management services for delivery via the BigFix Platform. Solution Packs integrate collections of thematically-linked Policy Content modules, but customers can also license individual modules to add capabilities to a BigFix Solution Pack, or create completely customer-specific solutions.
BigFix services include training with courses on BigFix operations and the BigFix custom Fixlet authoring language. The company also offers installation, implementation, custom Fixlet message content authoring services as well as ongoing user support.
See also
- Systems managementSystems managementSystems management refers to enterprise-wide administration of distributed systems including computer systems. Systems management is strongly influenced by network management initiatives in telecommunications....
- System administration
- Configuration managementConfiguration managementConfiguration management is a field of management that focuses on establishing and maintaining consistency of a system or product's performance and its functional and physical attributes with its requirements, design, and operational information throughout its life.For information assurance, CM...
- Information security managementInformation Security ManagementInformation security describes activities that relate to the protection of information and information infrastructure assets against the risks of loss, misuse, disclosure or damage...
- Software license agreementSoftware license agreementA software license agreement is a contract between the "licensor" and purchaser of the right to use software. The license may define ways under which the copy can be used, in addition to the automatic rights of the buyer including the first sale doctrine and .Many form contracts are only contained...
- Power managementPower managementPower management is a feature of some electrical appliances, especially copiers, computers and computer peripherals such as monitors and printers, that turns off the power or switches the system to a low-power state when inactive. In computing this is known as PC power management and is built...
- List of systems management systems