Critical Capabilities for Client Management Tools http://www.gartner.com/technology/reprints.do?id=1-2HO610J&ct=150...

Critical Capabilities for Client Management

Tools
10 June 2015 ID:G00266657

Analyst(s): Kevin Knox, Terrence Cosgrove

VIEW SUMMARY CRITICAL CAPABILITIES METHODOLOGY

This methodology requires analysts to identify the

The growing diversity of client management tool capabilities means that organizations must be careful
to ensure a good fit when procuring these applications. End-user computing managers need to evaluate
the critical capabilities of CMTs in specific use cases to assess the relevant vendor offerings.
Overview
Key Findings
Mobile management tool integration, self-service and application portal capabilities, along with the
assessment and enforcement of security and compliance, are emerging areas of meaningful
differentiation among client management tools.
CMTs sold primarily as supplements to IT service management solutions typically deliver only
incremental value, as a result of inadequate vendor investment.
No CMT currently available effectively addresses all of the broad needs of enterprise and
midmarket organizations.
Recommendations
Identify the use cases and critical capabilities that most closely align with your organizational
requirements as the technical basis for selecting a CMT.
Select CMTs that meet your functional and technical requirements and are aligned with the skill
set, experience and size of your IT staff for administration and use.
Maintain separate evaluation and selection processes for CMTs and enterprise mobility
management tools; however, include vendor plans for convergence as key CMT evaluation and
selection criteria.
Avoid CMTs that require substantial incremental resources or expertise beyond what is available or
will be in place during the next six to 12 months.
critical capabilities for a class of products or services.
Each capability is then weighted in terms of its relative
importance for specific product or service use cases.
Next, products/services are rated in terms of how well
they achieve each of the critical capabilities. A score that
summarizes how well they meet the critical capabilities
for each use case is then calculated for each
product/service.
"Critical capabilities" are attributes that differentiate
products/services in a class in terms of their quality and
performance. Gartner recommends that users consider
the set of critical capabilities as some of the most
important criteria for acquisition decisions.
In defining the product/service category for evaluation,
the analyst first identifies the leading uses for the
products/services in this market. What needs are
end-users looking to fulfill, when considering
products/services in this market? Use cases should
match common client deployment scenarios. These
distinct client scenarios define the Use Cases.
The analyst then identifies the critical capabilities. These
capabilities are generalized groups of features
commonly required by this class of products/services.
Each capability is assigned a level of importance in
fulfilling that particular need; some sets of features are
more important than others, depending on the use case
being evaluated.
Each vendors product or service is evaluated in terms
of how well it delivers each capability, on a five-point
scale. These ratings are displayed side-by-side for all
vendors, allowing easy comparisons between the
different sets of features.
Ratings and summary scores range from 1.0 to 5.0:
1 = Poor: most or all defined requirements not achieved

What You Need to Know 2 = Fair: some requirements not achieved

3 = Good: meets requirements
Despite being a mature technology, there is great variability among client management tool (CMT) 4 = Excellent: meets or exceeds some requirements
capabilities. The core functions of OS deployment, inventory, software distribution and patching
5 = Outstanding: significantly exceeds requirements
continue to improve, while new capabilities such as self-service, enterprise mobility management
To determine an overall score for each product in the
(EMM), and security and compliance management are playing a larger role in differentiating one
use cases, the product ratings are multiplied by the
product from another.
weightings to come up with the product score in use
cases.
CMTs are almost always designed and optimized for either performance and functionality or simplicity
The critical capabilities Gartner has selected do not
and ease of use. Tools geared toward larger enterprises are usually overly complex and expensive, and
represent all capabilities for any product; therefore, may
may require too much administration for smaller organizations to manage. Likewise, tools intended for not represent those most important for a specific use
the midmarket may be unable to scale or may be unable to provide the advanced functionality that situation or business objective. Clients should use a
larger enterprises require. Some tools are beginning to bridge this gap; however, none has yet been critical capabilities analysis as one of several sources of
completely successful. input about a product before making a product/service
decision.
Organizations should select CMTs that best match their specific requirements and capabilities. This
research defines eight critical capabilities and four use cases to help end-user computing and support
managers select the most appropriate tool for their specific needs and capabilities.

Analysis
Critical Capabilities Use-Case Graphics

Figure 1. Vendors' Product Scores for the Total Endpoint Management Use Case

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Source: Gartner (June 2015)

Figure 2. Vendors' Product Scores for the Compliance and Security Use Case

Source: Gartner (June 2015)

Figure 3. Vendors' Product Scores for the Resource- and Expertise-Constrained Use Case

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Source: Gartner (June 2015)

Figure 4. Vendors' Product Scores for the Large Global Enterprise Use Case

Source: Gartner (June 2015)

Vendors
Absolute Manage
Absolute Software has released several updates to its Absolute Manage CMT during the past year, and
it remains on a regular release cadence for introducing new features and capabilities into the product.
The greatest strength of Absolute Manage continues to be its breadth of device coverage, which
includes support of Windows PCs, Mac OS X, iOS, Android and Windows Phone. Ease of use and
implementation and cross-platform support are two critical capabilities in which Absolute Manage
excels, and this positions the vendor well for multiple use cases.

Accelerite Radia Client Automation

Accelerite has not released a new version of Radia Client Automation since the original introduction of
the product in early 2014, although a new version is targeted for release later in 2015, with several
planned enhancements. The capabilities of the product (originally designed by Novadigm and later
taken over by HP) are geared toward large environments that have experienced administrators.
Architectural flexibility and application delivery are strong critical capabilities of Radia Client
Automation, and they position it well for large global enterprise use.

BMC Client Management

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BMC Software released version 12 of BMC Client Management in the second half of 2014 and included
several enhancements, including deeper integration with BMC's Footprints Service Core and
Remedyforce service desk offerings. Given BMCs focus on delivering client management as part of a
larger IT service management (ITSM) offering, this is not surprising. Ease of use and implementation is
a strong critical capability of BMC Client Management and helps make it a good solution for resource-
constrained organizations, especially when other BMC products have already been implemented.

CA Client Automation
CA Technologies has released two updates to Client Automation during the past year. Many of its
updates help Client Automation catch up to competitive products. Its strength in high-availability
support and enhancements to its infrastructure-monitoring capabilities differentiate it from many of the
other CMT offerings. Client Automation has strong capabilities in PC migration and software inventory,
which enables it to perform competitively across multiple use cases.

Dell Kace
Dell introduced v.6.3 of the Kace K1000 management appliance earlier this year, adding several
targeted incremental capabilities (e.g., Chromebook support). The K1000 and companion K2000
deployment appliances remain tightly integrated and are commonly sold together. Neither product
requires advanced client management skills or experience. This makes Kace one of the most highly
ranked products for ease of use and implementation. Kace is a leading solution for the resource- and
experience-constrained use case, for which it is already being used extensively.

Heat Software Desktop & Server Management

Earlier this year, FrontRange merged with Lumension, a patch management and security provider to
create Heat Software. Its CMT, Heat Desktop & Server Management (DSM) version 2014.1, was
updated in mid-2014 and is scheduled to be updated again this year to integrate the capabilities of the
two products. The core strengths of DSM include ease of use and software packaging. DSM is often
bundled with other FrontRange offerings to provide a more complete management experience.

IBM BigFix
IBM has had two IBM Endpoint Manager releases during the past year, which have provided several
enhancements, including improved cross-platform support for Linux, Macs and mobile devices. (Mobile
enhancements include improved integration with MaaS360.) IBM's traditional strengths in patching,
scalability and endpoint security still differentiate it from other offerings. IBM Endpoint Manager, which
is now called BigFix, is a leading product in the total endpoint management, global large-enterprise,
and security and compliance use cases.

Landesk Management Suite

As part of the Landesk Management Suite (LDMS) version 9.6 release in late 2014, Landesk Software
introduced its first redesigned "workspace," a role-specific interface optimized for ease of use and
functionality. Landesk has strong breadth and depth of functionality and excels at several critical
capabilities, including application delivery and reporting and analytics. The existing workspace release
and the expected additional workspaces, which are to be released in 2015, target reductions in the
complexity and resource requirements required to fully utilize the product. Landesk is a strong offering
for all of the use cases covered in this research, other than the resource- and experience-constrained
use case.

ManageEngine Desktop Central

ManageEngine, a division of Zoho, introduced v.9 of Desktop Central in 2014, which added a number of
new, basic management functions. This release further supports the vendor's strategy of providing a
broad set of basic management functions at aggressive price points, targeted specifically at small
businesses. ManageEngine plans to introduce additional point products in 2015 to complement its
current capabilities. Ease of use and implementation is an important critical capability for Desktop
Central, which is especially well-suited for first-time CMT buyers.

Matrix42 Physical
Matrix42 Physical is a mature CMT that is ahead of the market in providing a workspace management
product that manages SaaS applications and virtual desktops. Matrix42's key differentiators are its ease
of implementation, application packaging and self-service capabilities. Matrix42 performs well across
several use cases, particularly among organizations that are resource-constrained and require a product
that can be deployed relatively easily.

Microsoft SCCM
Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) is widely used across midsize to large
organizations. There have been no major updates to SCCM during the past year. Much of Microsoft's
tool focus has been on enhancing Intune, its SaaS-based EMM offering. SCCM is a scalable product with
strong application delivery capabilities that performs particularly well in large global customer
environments. It has also been improved in total endpoint management, with enhancements provided
during the past year.

Symantec Client Management Suite

Client Management Suite (previously known as Altiris) v.7.5 SP1 was released in 2Q15. Client
Management Suite is a highly scalable and flexible product that provides deep functionality across all
major client management functions. Because of its advanced capabilities, it can be difficult to use, and
it requires a strong skill set to fully exploit. Architectural flexibility and security configuration
management are particular strengths of Client Management Suite that make it a good choice for large
global enterprises and those organizations that are focused on compliance and security.

ZENworks Configuration Management

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Novell's ZENworks has longtime strengths in the areas of software distribution and policy management,
which remain its key differentiators. Novell has made minor enhancements to ZENworks during the past
year, including improvements to auditing, scalability, remote control and software inventory. Customers
have pointed out some challenges with the stability of new code releases, but are generally satisfied.
ZENworks is a mature, scalable product that performs well in large global enterprise use cases.

Context
Gartner outlines major use cases, details functional areas and rates each tool's ability to support typical
use scenarios. The vendors covered in this research are the Leaders, Challengers, Visionaries and Niche
Players identified in "Magic Quadrant for Client Management Tools." Even though there are many other
CMT vendors in the market, they were unable to meet the inclusion criteria for the Magic Quadrant and,
therefore, are not covered in this research.

This analysis complements the "Magic Quadrant for Client Management Tools" and focuses on product
capabilities. The Magic Quadrant highlights a broad set of criteria, including corporate viability, vision,
marketing and geographic focus. Gartner strongly recommends that organizations use this research in
conjunction with the Magic Quadrant, inquiries with analysts and other Gartner research to define their
requirements, and to select vendors that match their needs.

For most organizations, CMTs are a primary means for reducing cost of ownership, improving user
productivity, increasing IT efficiency and supporting a secure client-computing environment. End-user
computing and support organizations use CMTs to automate system administration and support
functions that would otherwise be handled manually. CMT use remains focused on four core functions:

Inventory
Software distribution
Patch management
OS deployment

Ancillary functionalities play a bigger role for organizations looking to reduce costs and automate
processes. They also play a larger role in differentiating one tool from another. Examples of ancillary
functionalities include:

Self-service portals, app stores and workflow

Security configuration management
Software use monitoring
Mobile device management and EMM tool integration
Remote control
Comprehensive cross-platform support
Security compliance and vulnerability assessments

More important than specific product features, organizations must assess how well a CMT can support
their specific management requirements and capabilities. This requires a close assessment of the skills
level and number of IT staff needed to use the tool, the environment and diversity of devices that need
to be managed, and the available budget to purchase and operate the tool. Organizations should avoid
CMTs that require substantial incremental resources or expertise beyond what is available or will be in
place during the next six to 12 months.

CMTs are typically designed and optimized for specific target market segments. The enterprise segment
is highly saturated and is dominated by a handful of large vendors. The products are generally highly
scalable, provide a great deal of functionality and are easily customized.

Management expertise and experience are usually prerequisites for effective use. Switching from one
tool to another can be difficult, as tools become entrenched in management processes, which creates a
high degree of stickiness. The midmarket, on the other hand, is more dynamic, with untapped first-time
users, as well as more-frequent switching among tools. The midmarket is the sole focus of many of the
smaller CMT vendors. Midmarket organizations often place higher value on ease of use, breadth of
capabilities and price when selecting a tool. Managed service providers (MSPs) are another emerging
target market segment. No currently available tool effectively addresses the broad needs of both
enterprise and midmarket organizations.

Product/Service Class Definition

CMTs are mature and have been used for many years to help organizations cut costs and improve
efficiency by automating processes.

Many organizations initially plan to use the complete set of capabilities offered in these tools, but then
use only that subset of functionality that offers the greatest benefits. Larger organizations commonly
complement CMTs with other solutions for specific functions (e.g., service desk, remote control and
software asset management). This research examines nine critical capabilities that differentiate
competing client management products in various use cases:

Architectural flexibility
Ease of use and implementation
Security configuration management
Application delivery
Server management

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Lightweight PC management
Software inventory and usage
Cross-platform support
Reporting and analytics

These critical capabilities represent important and differentiated features and functions for CMTs. For
some solutions, strengths in given critical capabilities mean they are superior for a particular use case,
but may not be suitable for another.

The capabilities in each of these areas were weighted for the respective use cases.

Critical Capabilities Definition

Architectural Flexibility
Architectural flexibility allows a CMT to handle diverse environments. Scalability, remote office
management, infrastructure requirements, agent-console communication and delivery models (e.g.,
on-premises, cloud, hybrid and appliance) are key components of architectural flexibility.

Ease of Use and Implementation

This capability involves the number of resources and the skills level needed for a tool's operation and
overall time to value. It includes the ease with which client managers navigate and perform tasks. Ease
of use and implementation is a primary design goal and a key differentiator among CMTs.

Security Configuration Management

Security configuration management is the ability of the CMT to report, modify and enforce various
device security settings. It includes patch management, which remains a primary focus for an
increasing number of organizations.

Patch management covers OS updates, as well as third-party applications. It also includes security
standards compliance and policy enforcement. Security configuration management is increasingly
becoming an area of major differentiation among CMTs.

Application Delivery
Application delivery evaluates the efficiency with which the CMT can create distribution packages and
distribute them to managed devices. It also includes pull-based distribution, which is typically
performed through self-service portals.

Application delivery is important for all use cases. Along with inventory, it is the top reason most
organizations use a CMT.

Server Management
Server management focuses on the ability of the CMT to effectively manage Windows, Linux and Unix
servers. It includes the core server management functions of inventory, provisioning, patch
management and configuration.

Server management evaluates the synergies among client and server management processes and
functions. For some organizations looking to minimize the number of discrete tools in use, server
management is a highly important capability.

Lightweight PC Management
Lightweight PC management assesses the CMT's ability to manage devices with a nonintrusive,
policy-based approach that is similar to EMM. This style of management is becoming critical in bring-
your-own-device projects and in the management of next-generation OSs.

Lightweight PC management is only marginally critical for most of today's organizations. However, it
will become increasingly important as new OSs, such as Windows 10, are introduced to the market.

Software Inventory and Usage

Software inventory and usage includes the identification, management and tracking of applications
running on a device or by a particular user. It is a critical function used by many organizations to
optimize software licenses and track and control usage.

Software inventory is a capability that many other client management functions require to work.

Cross-Platform Support
This capability is important for organizations that manage heterogeneous endpoint environments or are
looking to minimize the number of management tools they use. It also includes the ability to manage
physical and virtual devices, and the availability of bundled or loosely integrated EMM tools.

Cross-platform support does not assess specific mobile management functionality.

Reporting and Analytics

Reporting and analytics capabilities provide organizations the data and intelligence they need to analyze
and take action. They support the ease and sophistication with which reports, dashboards and alerts
are created and acted on. Reporting and analytics is growing in importance for compliance.

Use Cases
There are many unique use cases for CMTs. Gartner has selected the four that are most applicable to

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the largest number of our clients and that are unique to their requirements.

Total Endpoint Management

This use case involves organizations with a single tool or suite of tools from one vendor performing a
broad range of management functions involving several computing devices.

Smaller organizations may have only one management tool in use. Client management is the central
function of the product, but may be extended to include the management of other devices and
platforms, as well as the provision of additional management functionality, such as the service desk.
Organizations that focus on this use case are typically characterized as having a single, centralized
management group; diversity in computing devices and platforms that need to be managed; and a
requirement for a consistent set of management functionality.

Compliance and Security

This use case centers on the security of the end user's computing environment as the primary emphasis
of client management.

Compliance and security focuses heavily on ensuring that devices are running secure and identifiable
applications, user activities are being monitored and managed, applications and OSs are patched and
compliant, and the data is secure and controlled. Security configuration management and reporting and
analytics are particularly important capabilities for this use case. Security and compliance management
is the central goal of management for mobile devices, and is growing in importance for all client
management use cases.

Resource- and Expertise-Constrained

Ease of use, setup and administration are central to this use case, which often involves midsize
organizations that lack strong client management experience and expertise.

Organizations typically have limited dedicated resources available for the administration of the
management tool. They typically focus management on a select set of basic functions, and they value
turnkey solutions that do not require large-scale configuration or customization. Ease of use and
implementation is a highly valued capability for this use case.

Large Global Enterprise

These organizations typically have experienced resources who are dedicated to client management and
prefer tools with advanced functionality that can be customized.

CMTs are typically used in conjunction with a broad set of best-of-breed IT operations management
(ITOM) solutions. Architectural flexibility and application delivery are heavily weighted capabilities for
this use case, because CMTs are required to manage large numbers of distributed devices.

Vendors Added and Dropped

Added
No vendors were added to the Magic Quadrant.

Dropped
Kaseya VSA is a broad ITOM platform targeted primarily at small and midsize MSPs, as well as serving
midsize end-user accounts. Earlier this year, Kaseya dropped support for OS deployment and, as a
result, no longer meets the inclusion criteria for Critical Capabilities for Client Management Tools.

Inclusion Criteria
This research considers the selection of client management products offered by vendors with inclusion
criteria specified for the "Magic Quadrant for Client Management Tools":

$15 million in annual CMT revenue

1,000 active end-user organizations using the CMT
1 million desktops and notebooks actively under management by the CMT
Core CMT functionality for Windows PC systems:
Hardware and software inventory
OS deployment
Patch management
Software distribution

Ten new, named customers that have deployed at least 2,500 CMT licenses in the last year
At least four new, named customers outside the vendor's primary geography, with at least 500
CMT licenses deployed in the past year the Americas, EMEA, the Asia/Pacific (APAC) region
At least four new, named customers in three different vertical markets with at least 1,000 CMT
licenses deployed in the last year

Table 1. Weighting for Critical Capabilities in Use Cases

Critical Capabilities Total Endpoint Compliance and Resource- and Large Global
Management Security Expertise- Enterprise
Constrained

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Critical Capabilities Total Endpoint Compliance and Resource- and Large Global
Management Security Expertise- Enterprise
Constrained

Architectural Flexibility 5% 6% 4% 35%

Ease of Use and 15% 4% 36% 2%

Implementation

Security Configuration 8% 38% 6% 15%

Management

Application Delivery 17% 5% 4% 15%

Server Management 15% 4% 13% 2%

Lightweight PC 11% 14% 2% 4%

Management

Software Inventory 5% 11% 11% 7%

and Usage

Cross-Platform 20% 4% 16% 5%

Support

Reporting and 4% 14% 8% 15%

Analytics

Total 100% 100% 100% 100%

As of June 2015

Source: Gartner (June 2015)

This methodology requires analysts to identify the critical capabilities for a class of products/services.
Each capability is then weighed in terms of its relative importance for specific product/service use
cases.

Critical Capabilities Rating

Each of the products/services has been evaluated on the critical capabilities on a scale of 1 to 5; a score
of 1 = Poor (most or all defined requirements are not achieved), whereas 5 = Outstanding (i.e., it
significantly exceeds requirements).

Table 2. Product/Service Rating on Critical Capabilities

Product or Absolute Accelerite BMC Client CA Client Dell Heat IBM Landesk
Service Manage Radia Management Automation Kace Software BigFix Management
Ratings Client Desktop & Suite
Automation Server
Management

Architectural 2.7 4.2 3.3 3.2 2.6 3.0 4.6

Flexibility

Ease of Use 4.6 3.3 4.3 3.2 4.7 4.0 1.4

and
Implementation

Security 1.9 3.9 3.9 3.2 3.8 2.7 4.2

Configuration
Management

Application 3.5 3.9 3.8 3.5 2.6 3.7 3.7

Delivery

Server 1.9 2.7 2.3 2.9 3.8 3.8 4.6

Management

Lightweight PC 4.5 4.0 3.0 3.2 2.8 3.3 4.1

Management

Software 2.2 3.0 2.7 4.3 3.6 2.0 3.7

Inventory
and Usage

Cross-Platform 4.8 3.2 3.0 3.8 3.6 3.5 3.8

Support

Reporting and 3.0 4.0 3.6 3.0 3.5 2.6 3.9

Analytics

As of June 2015

Source: Gartner (June 2015)

Table 3 shows the product/service scores for each use case. The scores, which are generated by

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multiplying the use-case weightings by the product/service ratings, summarize how well the critical
capabilities are met for each use case.

Table 3. Product/Service Score in Use Cases

Use Cases Absolute Accelerite BMC Client CA Client Dell Heat IBM Landesk
Manage Radia Management Automation Kace Software BigFix Management
Client Desktop & Suite
Automation Server
Management

Total 3.54 3.48 3.32 3.37 3.50 3.43 3.65

Endpoint
Management

Compliance 2.80 3.75 3.48 3.32 3.49 2.89 3.98

and Security

Resource- 3.61 3.34 3.49 3.37 3.93 3.42 3.10

and
Expertise-
Constrained

Large Global 2.91 3.89 3.44 3.32 3.11 3.00 4.11

Enterprise

As of June 2015

Source: Gartner (June 2015)

To determine an overall score for each product/service in the use cases, multiply the ratings in Table 2
by the weightings shown in Table 1.

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