As CEO of Opalis Software Inc., a Mississauga, Ont.-based provider of IT process automation software, Todd DeLaughter views systems management provider BMC Software Inc.’s recent announcement that it plans to acquire BladeLogic Inc. as a very healthy sign rather than a threat. “This is really the continuation of a trend,” DeLaughter said. “The market realizes the value of IT process automation.”

An independent vendor, Opalis has partnered with BladeLogic, a provider of server and application provisioning software, in the past; Opalis’ run book automation technology is incorporated into BladeLogic’s Orchestration Manager tool, a product that automates the design and workflow of IT operations processes. “What will happen going forward for us is more partnering,” DeLaughter said. Whether that partnering includes BMC – given that BMC has its own run book automation technology – is yet to be determined.

When asked about the possibility that Opalis could be acquired itself, or worse – overshadowed by the big systems management vendors bent on snapping up smaller, more innovative players – CEO DeLaughter was upbeat, as one would expect.

“The big management vendors are acquiring technology to glue together their own portfolios of applications so they can work together,” DeLaughter said. “We’re trying to solve the end-to- end issue of automation across a heterogeneous environment.”

The overall IT process automation market is a big one, DeLaughter contends, and he sees plenty of opportunity for an independent company like Opalis, especially among those customers who adamantly want to avoid vendor lock-in and thereby eschew a single vendor for all their systems management tools.

“We don’t want to be the glueware in someone’s portfolio of products,” DeLaughter said.