For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Market Overview: Client Management Suites

Evolving Computing Market Shifts Focus To Security And Virtualization

by Natalie Lambert, July 29, 2009

Desktop operations managers are watching their computing environment change. There are now more types of devices and more varieties of operating systems entering the enterprise than ever before. This is leading to an architectural shift, one that moves . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

CDN Road Map: New Solutions Storm The Market

Bundled Services Expand The Business Value Of Content Delivery

by Henry Dewing, May 22, 2009

Content delivery network (CDN) leaders like Akamai Technologies, Limelight Networks, and CDNetworks face a perfect storm. Ever more demanding customers, a burgeoning Web, and new content delivery business models threaten to undermine the leading position . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Sun Is The Center Of The New Oracle Universe

How Cisco, HP, And Oracle Are Shaping IT's Future

by Jean-Pierre Garbani, May 21, 2009

There are defining moments in IT where all the stars align to create a big bang. Twenty years ago, IT vendors faced clients wanting application and service value, not technology. The market dominance of IBM mainframes forced these smaller vendors to find . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Client Virtualization Promises To Speed App Delivery: A TÜV NORD Group Case Study

How One Company Uses Local Application Virtualization To Expediently Serve Its Workforce And Reduce Costs For IT

by Natalie Lambert, October 7, 2008

The challenge of creating a consistent user experience for all employees — be they corporate office, mobile, or remote — has long been a problem for enterprises. This was especially true for the TÜV NORD Group due to its large mobile population that demanded . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Virtual Appliances Are Coming

New Standard Should Ease Application Deployments

by James Staten, September 17, 2008

A new virtualization specification, the Open Virtualization Format (OVF), was ratified this month, and lays the foundation for a fundamental change in how enterprises deploy and manage software. It allows ISVs to deliver applications that can be installed . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Tech Horizons: Evaluating StackSafe's Test Center Risk Reduction Solution

Its Virtual Sandbox Aims To Reduce Application Deployment Risks

by Jean-Pierre Garbani, June 6, 2008

The popularity of change and configuration management solutions is a testimony to the vital role that controlling change plays in an IT operation. Deploying a new application — or changes to an existing application — on an existing infrastructure is an . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Topic Overview: IT Management Software

by Natalie Lambert, November 13, 2007

Today's organizations are trying to keep up with the continuous pace of technology change and growing business requirements. The importance of management technologies to monitor and manage the wide array of hardware and software systems deployed in the . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

The Case For Virtual Appliances

How Hypervisors Can Simplify Software Distribution

by James Staten, November 6, 2007

Time-to-deployment means time-to-revenue for most ISVs today, and reducing deployment complexity can be the difference between making your quarterly numbers or not. ISVs can now address time-to-deployment via new options, including hardware appliances . . .

For Application Development & Program Management Professionals

CIOs Should Rethink Selling Internal Applications As Packaged Software

Amateur Vendors Bring High Risk And Uncertain Rewards

by Phil Murphy, November 2, 2006

CIOs who believe that they can repackage internally developed applications as commercial software offerings to recoup their initial development costs should think again. CIOs that are not currently delighting their business peers and exceeding their expectations . . .

Software Distribution And Patch Management Dominate Client Systems Management

by David Friedlander, November 16, 2004

Forrester surveyed 137 IT managers responsible for enterprise PC procurement, management, and support to learn about their client systems management (CSM) implementations. While enterprises have overwhelmingly adopted client management tools and software . . .

Outsourcer Requirements When Performing Application Packaging

by Robert McNeill, David Friedlander, September 22, 2003

Enterprises should not rely exclusively on offshore or off-site outsourcers to manage application packaging. A blend of on-site quality assurance teams and off-site deployment teams, with on-site support staff as needed, will offer the most value.

Market Overview: Client Systems Management

by David Friedlander, June 19, 2003

A significant shift in the client systems management market, which has been dominated for a decade or more by individual tools, is occurring as the market shifts toward bundled toolsets.

Softricity: Value Added to Citrix Enterprise Deployments

by David Friedlander, September 13, 2002

The SoftGrid application streaming and management product, from Boston-based start-up Softricity, can significantly reduce management costs and increase reliability in a Citrix and Terminal Servers environment.

Distributing the Content of Microsoft's Product CDs

by Thomas Mendel, Ph.D., August 26, 2002

Distribution of the CDs containing Microsoft products to a central place in an end-user organization is now commonplace. This raises the issue of how the content of the CDs should be made available to the IT support staff within the IT organization.

Automating Application Deployment

by Jean-Pierre Garbani, July 24, 2002

New products aimed specifically at server application management provide additional capabilities in the initial configuration of servers, the dependencies between software platforms, the control of versions and the updating and patching process.

Streaming the Distribution of Application Software

by Jean-Pierre Garbani, July 26, 2001

AppStream proposes a better mousetrap aimed at addressing both the local area network-based and the mobile client problem.

Windows 2000 DFS as a Software Distribution Mechanism

by Laura DiDio, July 18, 2001

A company¿s success with DFS as a software distribution facility will ultimately depend on the scope of what it wants to accomplish.

A Hybrid Approach to Centralized Electronic Software Distribution

by William Sheehan, June 4, 2001

ESD policies should be standardized across IT. A hybrid model can offset the risks of the centralized approach while lowering the costs associated with a disparate decentralized approach.

Marimba: When the Music Stops...

by Jean-Pierre Garbani, March 30, 2001

Marimba started with a good idea and a lot of noise. The idea was to use the Internet as a basic infrastructure for configuration management and software distribution. However, the results were not as good as expected.