Computer Associates devising subscription-based platform Computer Associates is developing subscription-based system management services that would be delivered via Web services, company officials said this week.Through CA’s plan, users in a network could receive software upgrades and patches distributed via Web services. System administrators would set parameters via a portal interface, according to Dmitri Tcherevik, vice president and director of Web services at Computer Associates.“It’s management delivered as a Web service,” Tcherevik said. The technology, to be based on CA’s UniCenter code base, currently is in the labs at CA. It also will incorporate the proposed WS-Manageability specification submitted to OASIS. The company does not have an anticipated availability date for the service.An analyst said CA was on the right track with its technology, provided that it interoperates with other vendors’ technology and backs open standards such as WS-Manageability.“I would definitely say that this is the future of systems management,” said the analyst, Jason Bloomberg, of ZapThink. CA’s plan after developing the technology is to have it be hosted by partners such as an Internet service provider or an outsourcing company, Tcherevik said.Currently, the company’s ServiceDesk workflow-enabled help desk application can be invoked as a collection of Web services from within other applications. Software Development