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In our DLP operations, we use the tool to address stability issues and implement fixes suggested by it. This helps manage risk levels and decide whether to fix issues or implement workarounds.

I like that we have many scanners and channels that don't overload. It helps us scan and track easily. Also, the tagging system is good for tagging. We can still use QualysAgent task ID tools even if tags aren't made.

The asset inventory management feature has improved our security posture, which is good. It was introduced recently, and we've just started using it. In terms of management, I believe it's better than what we were using before.

Qualys VMDR is good at handling vulnerability management trends, especially with its policy module. Qualys VMDR offers customizable labels that fit the organization's needs, unlike other tools. This is important for enhancing security and meeting compliance requirements.

There's a need to upgrade or fix the potential vulnerability rate. Around 20,000 potential vulnerabilities were showing in Qualys VMDR, but none of the other tools showed them. When we checked, it wasn't the case. Support explained that even small issues were being counted as vulnerabilities, causing issues in our audit. So, the security features could be improved to identify vulnerabilities accurately.

I have been working with the product for two years. 

The stability is generally good, but we did face issues during the pandemic due to connectivity problems with Qualys VMDR servers. There were syncing issues, and agents weren't getting updated. However, we later realized it was our issue because our software needed updating. We had to manually update the proxy settings, which Qualys VMDR should have done. We managed to tackle the challenge with the help of another team.

Support should be faster and more customer-friendly. We often have to review a lot of documentation for issues we're already aware of and follow basic steps repeatedly. Additionally, we must wait for Qualys VMDR personnel to move scans into debug mode, which can be time-consuming. Getting notifications or updates on these processes more quickly would be helpful.

Setting up the tool doesn't take long and doesn't require many people.

We have an annual contract for Qualys VMDR. I believe it's for either two years or five years.

I haven't personally done any integration, so I can't comment on it. However, I believe some integration was happening between Qualys VMDR and ServiceNow. Our asset management tool was also trying to integrate with Qualys VMDR, but I'm unsure about the details or how it works. I rate the overall product an eight out of ten. 

Discovery module is the foundation for the Helix platform. Because when you sell ITSM, the first step in the project is to install Discovery. When you install the storage, you discover all the infrastructure, assets, components, and service dependencies. With that, you start to populate the configuration management database, the CMDB. 

When you populate the CMDB with the information you get from Discovery, you have very intelligent and updated information in your CMDB. After that, you proceed to the service catalog, and then you start setting up your workflows and automating the workflows that manage the IT services. 

BMC is a great company because it has transformed the ITSM concept into the ESM concept, enterprise service management. The primary goal is to manage all lines of business. You don't just use ITSM to manage IT services; you also use HR, legal, sales, or any line of business. You can create workflows on the BMC Helix platform to manage any service. 

Discovery module gives the foundation of all this and provides a lot of information. It maintains that information because Helix periodically rediscovers the environment and updates the CMDB and everything integrated with the BMC Helix platform.

I like the artificial intelligence and machine learning that it uses in the solution. Because once the solution discovers all the assets, all the infrastructure, and all the dependencies between services, it learns how it works. So, it learns to predict when a problem is going to happen. It becomes predictive in an autonomous way. 

You don't need a human to do that, and it helps the IT team go to the root cause of the problem. That reduces noise about the exam. Like, when a portal or a system goes down, you have a storm of incidents. 

Everybody opens an incident because they can't access the portal. It's not working, or they access it, and they can't input data into the portal or something like that. So when you have the AIOps — the artificial intelligence and machine learning — you aggregate all these incidents and use information from other solutions like a CMDB, Helix, nonuse, Dynatrace, or Apache Log. It makes the relationship between all this data and helps you go to the root cause of the problem really fast. 

So, AIOps is the most important feature of the BMC Helix platform because it helps a lot. It combines IT operations with business operations. Today, in most enterprises, we have siloed areas.

Business is siloed, and what they're doing in IT is isolated here. But when you deliver the BMC Helix platform to an enterprise, you help them break these silos and integrate all areas. The visibility that the platform gives is for all areas, not just for IT. So, in the portal, you have a collaboration, like social media collaboration, and you have a chatbot, an automated chatbot, and an intelligent chatbot, which helps you understand the problems you encounter. 

And the communication between the areas becomes better. And this is all possible because of the AIOps in the solution.

An area that can be improved is the IoT.  I have a customer here in Brazil interested in using it to discover assets that are not technology assets, like in a factory where you have machines that you need to monitor. 

All these machines already have software that monitors them, but they don't have the artificial intelligence and machine learning that BMC has. So, it's like a marketing issue. It's like a segment of the market that can be more explored. 

We get some opportunities in that market here in Brazil, so I think it could improve. But they already have a module called Edge, Discovery Edge, which works with the IoT, but I think it can improve that.

I have been familiar with this product for five months now. It's a very good product. It's the best in its class because I don't know any other vendor that offers both a Discovery and a monitoring module like BMC. It's a big differential for BMC.

The initial setup is very simple. This one is different than Varonis because we're talking about a SaaS solution. And what we need is an outpost. We call it outpost, which will be a server on the customer infrastructure. Install Discovery, the module on this server. And then it's good to go and easy to install. 

And it starts to collect. It needs agentless software and doesn't need to install an agent on the other servers. 

It goes on and discovers all of your infrastructure. We have more than 40,000 signatures for software and 66,000 network devices that are already cataloged inside the solution. So it's, like, 20 years of discovery, that of knowledge that we have inside the BMC Helix Discovery. 

So it's really hard not to discover something when you use the module. The setup is really easy. It's not a difficult procedure to do.

It has a study (Forester study) that shows a 314% ROI. You get a lot of benefits: operational efficiency and reducing costs. And you have to invest a bunch of money to get the BMC Discovery. 

If you know how to work with it, if you get a consultant that really knows and has experience, you'd probably reduce a bunch of costs that you incur today because you can use the Discovery module we have that's called continuous optimization, which shows you where you're spending more money. It shows you a lot like you're using too much memory for that infrastructure. You don't need that amount of memory. You don't need that amount of disk space; you don't need that advanced processor. 

So, by the end of the day, you're going to reduce something. I don't believe that reduction will be real fast. But the documents say that there is ROI. 

It's not a cheap product. When you get the ITSM, you get a specific bundle of licensing: Discovery, optimization, AI, and everything. Moreover, the benefit it delivers is that it's a fair price. Most of the enterprises here in Brazil, in the public sector and the private sector, will say it's an expensive product. 

And since I've been an IT manager for about 25 years, I would die to have BMC Helix Discovery in my infrastructure if I were an IT manager today because it's something that gives you all the visibility you need to make decisions to reduce costs. 

And it has a feature in Discovery where you can press a button and say, "I'm gonna make this change in the infrastructure."

"So, oh, you want it simulated?"

"Yeah. I will simulate it. You press that button, and it will show what will happen when you make the change to the infrastructure. 

And it shows, 'oh, you're gonna have an impact here, you're gonna have a problem there.' So it's a very intelligent solution."

So, that intelligence can't be cheap. That'll be expensive, but I don't think it's expensive. Therefore, the pricing is fair.

Let's take another instance. For example, you need to migrate this to the cloud. Do you want to migrate something to some cloud? You have an on-premise infrastructure and want to migrate to the cloud. You have a button on the solution that will tell you how much it costs to migrate to Azure, AWS, or Google. 

Of course, you're going to have to include the contract values. It's not that intelligent, but you can input your contract values if you have those values on hand. You already have a contract with AWS and you want to migrate some of your infrastructure there, and it'll show you how much it will cost, just with the press of a button. 

It's a fair price for me, but the projects are big. The budget for the project has to be adequate. You have to have a budget allocated to do it. If you don't, you won't be able to deliver that solution or you won't be able to buy it, you won't be able to deliver the specialists today that here in Brazil, we don't have too many specialists on BMC. That's a difficulty we have here today. 

Finding workers that have knowledge of the solution is not easy. You have to have many professionals here to get that knowledge. So we're getting stable, we're growing, and I hope Cloud One IT gets a foothold in the market.

There's nothing like it in the market. Not that I know. I have about 25 years of experience managing IT. I've never seen anything like it.

Overall, I would rate the solution a nine out of ten.