The SCO Group announced the availability of a new release of its HipCheck solution, version 1.1. HipCheck sets triggers for real-time event alerts and the ability to respond to alerts by viewing critical parameters and executing system commands from the convenience of a mobile phone. These new enhancements provide system administrators with monitoring and intervention features, and provides support on a wider variety of smart phones, including BlackBerry, Nokia, and Samsung models. HipCheck is a mobile administration solution that combines system monitoring and alerts with secure mobile intervention. HipCheck allows IT managers to use Windows Mobile or Java-capable mobile phones to monitor Windows or UNIX systems or other UNIX variants.

With this latest release, HipCheck version 1.1 now supports a growing list of Java-capable mobile phones from BlackBerry, Nokia, and Samsung. HipCheck 1.1 adds a new Audit Trail feature that allows an account administrator to view recent HipCheck events, alerts, and action activities selectable by past number of days and the ability to sort by user name, monitored system name, or type of activity. Every alert or response action is recorded for later viewing using this audit feature. HipCheck 1.1 also adds support for Windows Mobile 6 and a new Windows Mobile and Windows native client user interface for streamlined usability as well. Graphical icons and buttons enhance the user experience. The new version of HipCheck includes support for agents of additional UNIX variants and an enhanced command execution feature that allows any command to be entered and executed from a mobile client. This allows an IT manager to reboot a system, add network access for clients, or execute many other commands via a mobile phone instead of being tethered to a desk. Executed commands can be viewed in the new Task Results view of all commands executed in the previous 24 hours. A new view of all software components that have been installed on monitored systems is also included.

HipCheck 1.1 now includes language support for Japanese. Additional language support is certain to be added in the future.

"System administrator efficiency has increased where customers have adopted HipCheck," said Andy Nagle, senior director of product development at SCO. "IT tasks that traditionally required personnel to be sitting at a system console can now be executed from a mobile handset. This is particularly useful when IT support personnel are on-call nights and weekends," said Nagle. "Resellers and system integrators who provide on-call IT management for small businesses have found HipCheck to be a cost-effective solution for customers, enabling them to reduce expensive on-site visits while maintaining system uptime," said Nagle.

The instant a condition reaches a user-specified threshold, HipCheck sends an SMS or email message to the authorized technician's mobile phone. "Early Warning" alerts may be set to specified parameters so that the technician can take preventative or corrective action from the phone, often before system users even recognize that a problem has occurred.

"The real-time and mobile nature of HipCheck enables system administrators to monitor and proactively manage critical environments anytime, anywhere," said Jeff Hunsaker, president and chief operating officer for SCO Operations. "HipCheck version 1.1 provides a broader support of mobile devices, which expands the market for this innovative mobile product," said Hunsaker.

HipCheck is a mobile application built on the high-performance, scalable and secure mobile server technology from SCO, which changes the way companies do business. HipCheck is the perfect solution for customers and solution providers who must manage distributed server systems where there is limited local system administrator staff available.