Popular Desktop Management Solutions

There are a lot of desktop management solutions on the market today, and they differ from one another in terms of price. However, remember that high price does not necessarily mean high performance.

Desktop management solutions should be chosen according to the solidity of their reporting engine, software distribution features, and administration. Reporting gives you a clear idea on the disk space desktop users use and which desktops need upgrades. It also lets you take a peek at user-installed software. Role-based security is part of the administration feature of a desktop management solution. It lets you choose which users can use or install software depending on their roles in your organization.

Here are the most popular desktop management solutions on the market today:

1. Altiris Client Management Suite. Altiris CMS has a user-friendly interface, powerful desktop back-up capability, and granular access control. Aside from having a remote control feature and audio conferencing, remote monitoring and usage of applications is possible. It has a password reset feature that makes local domain password resetting easy.
2. LANDesk Management Suite. This software paves the way to easy management on Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, and Solaris. It can also detect Windows spyware. The connection control manager feature enables the administrator to disable USB ports, Bluetooth connections, and other removable media on a per-machine basis.
3. Microsoft Systems Management Server. Microsoft SMS has the best role-based administration feature among all desktop management solutions today. It is the least expensive, too. Its inventory change log has a date stamping feature.
4. Novell ZENWorks Desktop Management. ZENWorks lets you target software to specific workstations. For example, if you are a workstation user choosing software in the presented folder, it will automatically run whether it is already installed or not.
5. Tally TS Census and Cynergy Client Management Suite. Tally has the best software detection feature among desktop management solutions today. It has a list of signatures for different programs.
6. iPass Mobile Lifecycle Management Suite. This desktop management solution will be okay for small businesses rather than large corporations. This is due to the fact that it has limited role-based access controls. On the other hand, patch management performance is good.
7. On Demand Software Desktop Availability Suite. Also known as WinInstall, On Demand has the lowest price among the desktop management solutions available today, and that makes it a popular choice. However, it does not offer features like a remote-control option and software metering. Its patch management support is also limited.

Managed desktops are considered better than desktops without desktop management solutions. For one, a managed desktop can receive new updates and functional add-ons in no time. It only takes minutes rather than days to apply patches. More importantly, having desktop management software lets you plan for future upgrades and avoid over purchasing of software licenses. This means lots of savings on your part. Now, imagine being an owner of a business that uses lots of unmanaged desktops. Wouldn't it be better to reduce operational costs by investing in a tried and tested desktop management solution?