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Desktop virtualization, Web apps, software as a service, and an increasingly mobile user base have created new challenges when it comes to endpoint management. Nonetheless, there are still some constants - endpoints need to be deployed, configured, patched, secured and supported.
Check out the results of the test in a scorecard.
With that in mind, we tested six PC asset management packages: Symantec's Altiris Client Management Suite, Novell Zenworks 10, LANDesk Management Suite, ScriptLogic's Desktop Authority, Dell's Kace appliance and Kaseya Small and Medium Enterprise Edition. (Watch a slideshow of these products.)
The tools we tested share many similarities. For the most part, they combine inventory, policy management, remote control, application provisioning and reporting into a single, cohesive management application. All use a client/server model with a software agent installed on the endpoint and a server application installed on a network server or appliance.
However, there are differences that define each product.
* Dell's Kace comes in appliance form, eliminating much of the setup work and minimizing disruption to the network during installation.* ScriptLogic's Desktop Authority relies heavily on script driven policies to execute tasks and manage events.* Symantec's Altiris Client Management Suite strives to be a platform for adding additional capabilities, such as endpoint security, advanced backup and network access control (NAC).* Novell's Zenworks 10 Configuration Management product is part of a new management architecture designed to manage multiple sites and networks using multiple servers and management zones, making the product highly scalable.* LANDesk Management Suite has a new integrated management console in front of the company's suite of products to create a PCCLM tool that appears to be more than the sum of its parts.* Kaseya Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Edition is a product that doesn't have all the features of the other products, but is easy to set up and operate.
All of the products have wizards, help screens, technical support and upgrades to support larger and larger enterprises. Products such as Kaseya SME Edition favor smaller enterprises, while Novell's Zenworks seemed destined for the largest of networks, with the rest of the products falling somewhere in between.
Our Clear Choice Test winner is LANDesk's Management Suite, which proved to be one of the easiest packages to use and provided...