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DRIVE-IMAGE copiers make life much easier for system managers by slashing the cost of setting up new machines, as well as shortening trouble resolution time on installed machines. However, their use is limited and usually requires a visit to users, which can be extremely time-consuming.
Change management is also a growing issue. Each system configuration requires another image file, and shops with many different types of PCs have massive amounts of storage space tied up by disk images. Worse, when an application is updated, all the images that have these packages in them need to be re-created.
I recently looked at Symantec's Ghost Enterprise Edition 6.0 and Altiris' eXpress 4.0, but Innovative Software's ImageCast 3 (IC3) was the best product, and at the lowest cost. IC3 and eXpress are worthy contenders, but IC3 has the edge in ease of setup and use. I rate it Very Good. (For our product reviews of Ghost and eXpress, see www .infoworld.com/printlinks.)
IC3 now includes centralized management and control, allowing...