Members of IT who have been working in the enterprise sector are likely familiar with the Micro Focus Project and Portfolio Management (PPM) Suite (Kintana) – you may even be using it now. Kintana is an IT management tool that encompasses a variety of components including version control, issue tracking, process and project management, and migration of changes for software such as Oracle E-Business Suite.
Unfortunately, many Kintana users have been left out in the cold in the last few years. There’s been little communication about Kintana, product development, or continuing support. That puts IT leaders in a tough position. You have to innovate and incorporate new methodologies (including CI/CD) to meet business needs and keep up with the competition, but can Kintana keep up with your needs?
So what do Kintana users do now? What’s happening with Kintana now, and what options do you have if it doesn’t meet your needs?
Kintana’s Current Status
Depending on when users first implemented Kintana, it may have been a standalone product owned by Mercury Interactive or it may have already been acquired by Hewlett Packard. Neither is still true today. Currently, Kintana is owned by Micro Focus and called PPM, although we’ll refer to the tool as Kintana throughout this article.
Flexagon has been watching Kintana closely for years and, as far as we can tell, it is not actively being sold today. If new customers are purchasing and implementing Kintana, we have not seen it used for several common software initiatives, such as Oracle E-Business Suite migration needs.
Based on the publicly available information we’ve reviewed, Kintana appears to be in decline, with few support options. That’s created some unavoidable challenges for businesses that are building their IT toolsets with Kintana still in the mix.
When evolving your toolset, it’s important to choose software with sustained support, development and an active community. The last thing you want is an integral piece of your workflow going out of business or being dropped by vendors. That’s left many Kintana users in a bind.
Common Enterprise Challenges with Kintana Today
Due to its acquisitions and current trajectory, businesses using Kintana today are dealing with:
Expensive Upgrades
Many users are in need of an upgrade because their current solution is out of date and no longer supported. Upgrading to a supported version of Kintana often comes with a hefty price tag.
Lack of Technical Support and Community
With so many different acquisitions, Kintana has fallen behind in terms of support from both Micro Focus and the general IT community. Many users report a lack of documentation and information as pain points.
Poor Innovation
Outdated versions of Kintana are behind the curve when it comes to the innovative IT methodologies that are giving companies a competitive advantage in today’s market. Initiatives such as DevOps, CI/CD, agile, and containers all lack adequate support.
Options for Kintana Users
If you’re using Kintana today, you’ve likely already faced one or more of the challenges above. In general, you have three main options for dealing with the current Kintana predicament:
1. Do Nothing
The Kintana users we’ve spoken with are struggling with a lack of support and innovation to keep up with competitors, but that doesn’t mean every company is in the same position. If Kintana is still delivering the value your business needs and an upgrade or software change isn’t necessary, it may be wise to hold off. Our recommendation, however, is to start researching alternatives now, because it’s unlikely Kintana will continue to meet your needs long-term.
2. Upgrade
Depending on your relationship with Kintana, your business may be able to upgrade to a version that’s still supported. If Kintana is working well for your business now and you have the budget for what could be a significant expense, upgrading may be a good short-term option.
3. Switch to a New Tool
Kintana is by no means the only tool on the market that provides IT management functionality. We’ve seen many companies successfully switch from Kintana to a more modern, fully-supported tool. DevOps software contains all the key functionality in Kintana, such as version control and project management, while also supporting agile, CI/CD, cloud, containers, microservices, and more. Switching tools often helps companies improve functionality while reducing costs.
Interested in switching? See how Kintana compares to FlexDeploy DevOps platform.
By using FlexDeploy, organizations establish an automated and repeatable process for building, packaging, and safely deploying code, APIs, meta-data changes, and data migrations from development through test to production environments.
Evaluate Kintana’s Long-Term Viability
Through its acquisitions, Kintana has become less and less of a focus for enterprise IT teams that are dedicated to driving business value.
For teams currently using Kintana, now is the time to start considering options and plans to either upgrade or switch to a new tool. And, if you do decide to upgrade, consider creating a long-term plan to switch to DevOps software, continuous delivery tools, or another option that’s more likely to support your business initiatives for more than the next few years. The sooner you develop and implement an action plan, the sooner your IT team will be back on track with a fully-supported tool that enables better processes and higher-quality software.
With a side-by-side look at the Kintana and FlexDeploy features you will:
- Gain a comprehensive insight into the variations of Kintana and FlexDeploy
- Better understand the specific support provided by both platforms
- Have an outline of base features to best serve your needs
This comparison chart provides a side-by-side view of Kintana and FlexDeploy to help you determine if moving to FlexDeploy is right for you.
