Comparing Suites from Dell, LANDesk, Microsoft and Symantec. An Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) White Paper.

IT system lifecycle management includes a broad array of essential and complex processes for ensuring optimal reliability and performance of technology investments. Critical to enabling these management disciplines are automated solutions that simplify and standardize administrative and reporting tasks. However, choosing a lifecycle management suite that cost-effectively meets enterprise requirements can often be a confusing process.

To assist in the evaluation of automated lifecycle management platforms, ENTERPRISE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATES (EMA) analysts have conducted a side-by-side functional and financial comparison of solution suites from four of the leading vendors in this market space: Dell, LANDesk, Microsoft, and Symantec. Key best practices in lifecycle management are explained and used as a framework for highlighting critical points of comparison, and a detailed financial evaluation goes beyond license costs to help determine total cost of ownership of each platform.

This EMA analysis includes a comparison of over 45 features across seven key areas – Discovery, Inventory, and Asset Management; Bare Metal Provisioning; Software Distribution; Security and Patch Management; Configuration Compliance and Remediation; Process Automation and Service Desk; and
Interfaces and Reporting.

The results of the review show that Dell KACE Appliances equal or exceed the functionality of their competitors across most disciplines. Yet, when factoring in total infrastructure
expenses, the Dell KACE Appliances cost significantly less than their primary competitors. With such a strong value proposition, EMA recommends businesses of any size considering solutions for lifecycle management should include the Dell KACE Appliances in their product evaluations.