A matrix42 publication featuring research from Gartner Contents Gartner Interview........2 Software Distribution......4 Case Study.............7 About matrix42..........8 Total Configuration Management for Networked Devices
Interview with Gartner Analyst Ronni Colville Q1. How do you define software and PC client management, and does it facilitate administration? A. At Gartner, we call this PC configuration management, or PC software lifecycle management. It is all those words put together that imply managing the lifecycle of a user s PC, from the time that you initiate the use of that machine to its disposal. It includes everything from imaging the new machine, and migrating a user s personal information to it, to constantly monitoring what is on the machine, making sure it is intact and its configurations maintained. Then, of course, client management also involves delivering updates to machines whether these are patches or updates to software applications. In addition, any organisation will also need to include packaging of application packaging which include packaging and testing. How these functions are dealt with depends on the size of the company or institution. Some larger organisations segment those roles and tasks, assigning them to a number of small teams. In midsize enterprises, by contrast, you often find just one or two people doing most of the things that I have described. In large companies, packaging and testing of applications is usually handled by someone outside the client administration group. In small and midsize enterprises, however, the person responsible for packaging and testing is frequently part of the system administration team that handles the entire software configuration management. Q2. What are the advantages of role-based software management, as opposed to imaging? A. For many years organisations implemented what we call monolithic imaging on users PCs. These were huge images, reflecting the full range of software running on a typical machine in that organisation. It was an efficient way to set up a user system because it allowed you to put everything you wanted in this one enormous image. But as enterprises grew in complexity and diversity, in the number of systems they operated, and the multiple versions of applications they needed to maintain, made it impossible to maintain those images, because instead of having 20 or 30 applications or elements in the image, you had 200 or 300 images all with varying software and configuration differences. The minute a new software patch came out, or a new release, you had to recast the entire image and if it was an application that was on several images they all had to be redone. It became difficult for companies to able to make the changes and quickly deploy them across what could be 10 s or 100 s of images. In addition, it was far too time-consuming to re-rollout an image if you had one small component that needed to change. In the last three years, we have encountered a number of organisations in which Microsoft migrations became so frequent that re-imaging did not make sense. Many companies have thinned out their initial image, and now put only the core elements for example, the operating system, the e-mail application and browser application and other corporate applications in the image. Then they layer on additional applications based on the individual users roles, or some other criteria that will determine which applications they should get. This is a much more efficient way to make changes, and makes application deployment much more efficient as well. Q3. How can organisations manage patch compliance and configuration consistently? A. Patches are not a new problem, but because of all the attention devoted to vulnerabilities in enterprise software during the last couple of years, they have become an issue in their own right. As a result, we now expect desktop configuration tools to do more than they used to do which was simply to discover and identify everything on a user s PC, and then deliver a single patch. As systems become more sophisticated, you really need to look for just the elements that relate to a patch, in order to determine who needs to be patched and to monitor who has a patch installed for compliance. In this context, performing an inventory in its more generic sense is not appropriate. Instead you need an inventory of patches, or an inventory of related prerequisites and co-requisites for patches. Delivering a patch to PCs should be dependent on those prerequisites and corequisites, not on the desktop inventory as a whole. Generally speaking, organisations should begin by trying to eliminate or reduce application diversity, so Two
Ronni Colville is a member of the IT Operations Management group in Gartner Research. Ms. Colville's area of research is software configuration, which includes traditional desktop management as well as solutions and technologies for laptops, personal devices and servers. Her latest area of research includes the Configuration Management Database (CMDB). For 10 years prior to joining Gartner, Ms. Colville was a senior networking specialist at IBM, where she assisted Fortune 100 clients and midsize enterprises with development and deployment of their networking architecture. Ms. Colville earned a bachelor of science degree in mathematics and computer science from Pace University. that they can limit the number of iterations needed to update software or install a patch throughout the system. Until you have a more manageable environment, including fewer iterations or variations, complete compliance in patch management will be difficult to attain. You need to manage the diversity and reduce complexity. You need a tool that enables you to get a better view of what it is, on any machine, that relates to patches. And your administration team should be able to deploy just the patch, without having to update the entire system. It is the combination of policy with automation that will allow organisations to deal with patches much more effectively than they have in the past. Q4. Suppliers of software and PC client management applications have undergone several evolutionary phases. What should the ideal technology provider of the future have in its portfolio, to address small and midsize businesses on the one hand, and large accounts on the other? A. Companies of different sizes seem to have different requirements. Certainly they buy differently. Partly in response to this, vendors in this market have now begun to divide their suites into modules. Four or five years ago, clients had to buy a complete suite. They would pay up front for things they were not ready to implement, and they would have to implement different elements at different times. Today, we find that both large and midsize enterprises just want to buy the piece that solves their current problem. As I mentioned, the vendors have made their technology more modular. De-bundling or re-bundling is the smart, more digestible solution. At the same time, midsize buyers want one-stop shopping for everything. The more you can include in your solution, the better whether it is imaging, migration support, inventory, usage, patching, packaging, or software deployment. The list goes on and on. Small and midsize enterprises want to have all of these options available in single-vendor solutions. Their buying pattern says: I want to go to one vendor, and I want to find it all. And of course I want to get the best price. For vendors, the modular approach is key though midsize enterprises also want to see sufficient breadth in your suite. Larger organisations often look for a suite, but typically they already have some of the key elements. While they want to deal with one vendor, they also need to be able to integrate new modules with their existing tools. The other, more critical requirement for larger enterprises is scaleable functionality, and in some cases a multi-platform solution. Midsize organisations sometimes look for what we would call good enough technology. They say, in effect: I need to be able to perform this task. But do I need the most far-reaching, sophisticated capability? Probably not. I would settle for something less than the most robust solution. Larger enterprises, by contrast, are looking at each individual component of the software and machine lifecycle in much more detail, and expect a vendor s solution to deal with that complexity. Q5. Where is the software and client management market heading in the future? A. The market for managing PC client software has grown in leaps and bounds during the last couple of years. The primary change has been an increasing focus on lifecycle needs that is, getting a single solution to take the system PC through its entire lifecycle, from initial installation to disposal. Over the next couple of years, there will be more enhancements in the area of security not just managing patches, but probably assessing vulnerability, and providing security templates. The security area will certainly be one to watch. Similarly, when we look at software and application inventory now, the emphasis is more on the depth of usage for example, understanding which software licenses are being used, and re-harvesting them. This emphasis will continue to broaden. In the midsize market, we expect greater depth in the area of asset management. We will want knowledge that goes beyond a list of what is on the machine. We will want to know when the machine was bought, what the warranty terms are, and how long that warranty runs. We will need to track functions and aspects of client machines more broadly, in greater detail, to deliver better administration of client configurations. Source: Gartner Three
Software Distribution An incremental part of reducing IT fixed costs and increasing service levels. The Three-Year Cost of Manual Software Distribution (2,500-PC Environment) Hours (Least) Hours (Most) Distribution planning 141 452 Bldg. access plan 50 100 User notification 4 12 Contingency plan 12 65 Distribution plan 50 150 Training in methodology 25 125 Manual Distribution 14,542 51,948 Travel time 425 917 Back up config. files 1,042 2,917 OS testing 0 417 OS installation 0 12,813 Application installation 7,328 15,375 Application testing 1,042 2,500 End-user disruption 4,706 17,010 Cost (Least) Cost (Most) Total 3-year manual software $736,285 $2,626,754 distribution cost Total annual cost per PC 98 350 Source: Gartner The Three-Year Cost of Operating System and Application Distribution (2,500-PC Environment) Hours (Least) Hours (Most) Distribution planning 29 102 User notification 4 12 Contingency plan 12 65 Distribution plan 13 25 ESD 766 22,668 Travel time 21 183 Back up config. files 52 583 OS testing 0 417 OS installation 0 12,813 Application installation 366 3,075 Application testing 52 500 End-user disruption 118 4,347 Nightly end-user disruption 156 750 Cost (Least) Cost (Most) Total 3-year ESD cost $40,149 $1,139,994 Total 3-year cost of ESD tool 51,825 96,111 Total 3-year manual software 736,285 2,626,754 distribution cost Annual LCO of ESD Per PC 86 185 Source: Gartner The meaning of software distribution within your company In a recent poll 1000 IT-Managers and CIOs were asked to measure their priorities of recent IT Projects in their companies. The two first goals described in these answers were Optimizing the organizations efficiency and Improve IT-Service. Other studies added that companies with comparatively low IT fixed costs and high service orientation are standing out because the processes within the IT support are tool-based and automated. Software distribution was the tool that contributed the most to optimizing support-costs. The tables on the left show that software distribution is playing a substantial role in minimizing IT fixed costs and support already implementing a software distribution tool like Empirum PRO in midsized companies. In most cases new hardware within companies already has a preloaded Operation System on the hard disk. Nearly 80 percent of these companies have to modify this software massively to the demands of the corporation. Cloning software only plays a small role in minimizing the investments, since not all PCs or Notebooks are the same and also when using this way of distributing software you have manual interferences. In addition the staff has to ensure that the starting basis is always up to date. By minimizing the administration time the IT-Staff has more resource for strategic actions which previously would have had to been delayed due to lack of capacity. In addition to this the Users downtime decreases, due to the professional tool included within a Client- and Software Management tool like Empirum PRO which enables the installation of operating systems or restoring complete personal settings. The potential of software distribution becomes even more obvious when looking at migration projects like an adoption of a new client operating system. With software distribution one of the biggest oil and gas service companies was able to complete a migration project as planned and on-time. Four
Application of Software Distribution A professional software distribution needs to be capable of efficiently managing configurations in a corporate environment. It begins with the installation and configuration of operating systems Windows or Linux, continues with the configuration and installation of user specific software and goes on with an up-to-date adoption of parameters and configuration settings. A professional software distribution ensures the administration of networked devices throughout the total lifecycle. Hence software distribution is more than just distribution. Software distribution evolves to Client and Software Management. Empirum PRO was evaluated by and is now used by hundreds of customers that wanted more than just software distribution. Empirum PRO is one of the leading solutions to cover the total lifecycle management of networked devices. It is an all-purpose solution independent of a company s industry or size of IT-infrastructure. For example T-Systems is using Empirum PRO to manage 150,000 devices with approximately 10 million new installations, updates and upgrades per year. Business Benefits The main advantages of Empirum are: Process Optimization Cross-functional business processes, such as order management, can be completely automated with Empirum PRO. A customer can order an application or a completely configured workstation by means of workflow-based order management. Empirum PRO takes care of the correct installation automatically and configures the system according to the individual customer s requirements. Thanks to its open structure and the great variety of automation options in Empirum PRO: Shorter, automated process chains help you to save time and money and prevent improper configurations. Mass Handling Empirum allows you to administrate and manage all of your PC data and configurations. With the rolebased administration model, even large enterprises with numerous remote locations can be managed efficiently and fast. The easy access to all PCs via the central management console allows for the fast and effective deployment: Actions are created once and can then be executed simultaneously on many PCs with minimal effort. Protect the Users Productivity with Scheduling Minimize productivity losses by shifting time-intense configuration work on the PCs into times where nobody is working on these PCs (e.g., during the night). Both operating system installations and application updates can be automated and scheduled via WOL (Wake On LAN) and PXE (Preboot Execution Environment). Install PCs with a Few Mouse-Clicks Install PCs, including operating system, all applications and user-specific configurations, from a central console and fully automated. Thus, this task is reduced to a few mouse-clicks and only requires a minimum of preparation (assignment of roles). The same is true for application updates during their operations. New applications, updates, operating systems and service packs are prepared once centrally for distribution and can then be automatically distributed and installed, based on roles. Restore the User s Environment at the Push of a Button It only requires a few mouse-clicks to reinstall a personal PC environment, including the operating system, all applications and user-specific settings. Thus, the full productivity of a user is restored in no time. With defined roles, in combination with an easy recovery of regularly backed-up configurations, administrative efforts are minimized. Results of these unique features is an optimization of resources within IT-organisations. Five
Software Distribution (continued) Minimize User Interruptions Perform Operating System Migrations Migrate PCs, including new operating system, new applications and personal user-specific settings. By assigning a new operating system within the role, a reinstallation turns into a complete migration. Reduce user interruptions in case of updates or system failures. Automated installation processes and fast support via remote configuration minimize productivity losses. Reduce Repair Efforts on the User Side Reduce support efforts caused by users attempts to help each other. With consistent and enforceable standards, you can reduce interaction between untested software combinations and avoid unauthorized application installations. Provide Better Information for the Support Team Reduce support efforts related to information needed for the respective system. Optimum information on the PCs in usage and simple remote maintenance possibilities enable you to reduce support efforts significantly. Implement "Plug & Play" Purchasing Processes Shorter purchasing processes can be achieved by integrating the PC vendor into the overall concept. New PXE-enabled computers can be supplied directly to the end user, where they are just connected to the network. Subsequent installation and configuration is done automatically. Empirum consists of the following products: Empirum Software-Management Enterprise-wide software distribution and standardization are essential to minimize costs related to the administration of clients and servers. Empirum Inventory Hardware and software inventory, inventory history, change alerting, licence management, reporting and application usage tracking. Empirum OS Installer Automatic Operating System installation and migration, dynamic hardware detection. Empirum Personal Backup Disaster recovery and migration. Empirum Remote Control Remote management of clients and servers. Source: matrix42 Six
Case Study: T-Systems Taking 150,000 on a leash Managing a large environment with Empirum T-Systems opted for Empirum to be used internally and when fulfilling customer orders concerning software and client management. During the first stage the matrix42-software, Empirum, will be used for managing 150,000 of the 1.2 million workstations administered by T-Systems. An all-embracing solution was found with Empirum. One of the challenges, before choosing Empirum, was finding software that is able to manage up to 10 million software packages per year. Empirum had to undergo extensive product tests. In a hard competition to gain the deal, matrix42 succeeded in standing up to well-known competitors. Eventually the deciding factor was cost effectiveness. Using Empirum, all software rollouts, PC installations and migrations in the future will be carried out automatically and thus reorganised. Also T-Systems will rely on the Empirum software and hardware inventory in order to collect exact data about any system environment at any time. Another deciding feature: Empirum Personal Backup allows anytime saving and restoring of the user s personal system settings. We are proud of having outpaced the other big competitors, says Holger Maul. With Empirum we developed an excellent product, which does not only ease a company s software- and clientmanagement, but also allows for tremendous savings potential. Entreprises such as Fresenius and Fraport came to the same conclusion, and became matrix42- customers last year. Source: matrix42 Seven
About matrix42 Since 1992 matrix42 has been supporting medium-sized and major companies in the administration and operation of their information technology. The ever-increasing complexity of the management of this vital modern-day resource requires to an equally ever-increasing degree products and services for the automation, administration, and control of this technology. The focal point of our activities is the ongoing development and marketing of our own Empirum software, a technologically cutting-edge solution in the area of extended software distribution management. Empirum is suited for deployment both in corporate networks as well as in the Internet. With its specific capabilities it addresses not only all "classic" companies, but also and especially both application-service providers and portal operators in the B2B, B2C, and B2E (business-to-employee) sectors. On top of this, matrix42 in its role as a solution provider in a highly specialized market segment offers professional services starting with consulting, implementation, customizing, support, and on-the-spot training and going all the way to service level management in short, a complete portfolio for the optimization of IT processes. With this Professional Services business segment, matrix42 competently covers the helpdesk, networking, application, and desktop management areas. With the its headquarter located in Neu-Isenburg near Frankfurt matrix42 has the strategic position to serve markets worldwide. Total Configuration Management for Networked Devices is published by matrix42. Editorial supplied by matrix42 is independent of Gartner analysis. All Gartner research is 2005 by Gartner, Inc. and/or its Affiliates. All rights reserved. All Gartner materials are used with Gartner s permission and in no way does the use or publication of Gartner research indicate Gartner s endorsement of matrix42 s products and/or strategies. Reproduction of this publication in any form without prior written permission is forbidden. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. Gartner disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of such information. Gartner shall have no liability for errors, omissions or inadequacies in the information contained herein or for interpretations thereof. The reader assumes sole responsibility for the selection of these materials to achieve its intended results. The opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice.