Desktop Management: Getting It Right

Desktop Management:
Getting It Right
January 2008Table of Contents
Introduction..........................................................................................................................................................................................1
Importance of Desktop Management.............................................................................................................................................1
Effective Desktop Management........................................................................................................................................................2
Alternatives for Acquiring Good Tools: Build, Software as a Service, Outsource..................................................................3
Building an Internal PC Management Infrastructure..............................................................................................................3
Software as a Service......................................................................................................................................................................4
Outsourced Desktop Management.............................................................................................................................................5
EMA's Perspective................................................................................................................................................................................5Desktop Management: Getting It Right
Introduction remote offices. The scale has become quite large, even Personal computers have delivered on the promise of in a small to medium sized business. Now add in the productivity for knowledge workers. As a result, desktop constant stream of Microsoft patch updates (security, and laptop computers have proliferated to almost every operating system and application software updates), knowledge worker in a company. Advances in network periodic operating system upgrades, user initiated soft-bandwidth and the availability of wireless connectivity ware installations and configuration changes, anti-virus options have radically increased the number of remote updates, and IT configuration changes. The rate and workers, whether working from home or while travel- volume of change is significant, if not overwhelming. ing. However, the increased use of personal computers Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) has seen an and remote access has added significant workload and increase of the use of automated management tools for coordination to the already busy IT schedule. For many the desktop. A recent study of 43 professional services companies, desktop management is not a core compe- firms with 100 to 500 employees shows that over 32% tency and there are other IT tasks that are considered of companies were using automated build tools for mission critical or more strategic. Yet for many knowl- desktop and server management.edge workers, the desktop is mission critical. Schedules, correspondence, contact lists, presentations and work in Use of Com puter Build T oolsprogress all live in the desktop for most office workers. Professional Services FirmsTake away the desktop and work stops until the desktop 100 to 500 Employeesis back up and running. Most small and medium businesses do not have the U se Tools IT staff and tools to treat desktop management issues N o Tools 32.50%with the attention they deserve. IT shops in small and 67.50%medium sized companies are generally over-taxed and doing the best they can to keep the IT infrastructure running smoothly. Budgets are much smaller than those of their large enterprise counterparts, staffing is lim-ited, and toolsets are few and far between. Too often Sample Size: 43 manual processes and "just enough to get by" scripting Source: Enterprise Management Associates - 2007 Professional Services Study is the answer to desktop management in the small and medium sized company. Individual users can be left to The risks of doing a poor job of desktop management handle minor issues for themselves, and pseudo power are now quite high given the security risks to every PC users often get themselves into trouble and require IT every day. Left unprotected, PCs are subject to Trojans, staff assistance to resolve problems they have created Key-logg... [download for more]