In today’s age of technology innovation, employees rely heavily on their PCs to effectively perform their day-to-day tasks. If their computers, and the software applications that run on them, don’t function properly, critical activities will come to a halt while the problems are corrected. This not only hinders productivity, it places a tremendous burden on IT team members, distracting them from other important technology projects.

While many companies are working towards developing formal PC management strategies, leading industry analyst firm Gartner sites that they are focused mostly on inventory and upgrades – not on performance. This makes these initiatives incomplete, and therefore only partially effective. That’s why organizations need PC lifecycle configuration management.

What is PC Lifecycle Configuration Management?
A PC lifecycle configuration management solution is a powerful software system that enables the comprehensive automation of the management of end user desktop and laptop computers from end to end. With PC lifecycle configuration management, organizations can rapidly deploy new PCs, and ensure that all components installed on them, including operating systems, software packages, and files, are functioning at optimum levels at all times. Additionally, PC lifecycle configuration management enables IT departments to better understand the PC environment, including what assets are owned and who is using them.

PC lifecycle configuration management supports all phases of PC acquisition, ownership and maintenance, including: evaluation, purchase, deployment and provisioning, upgrades, software removal, and replacement.

Key Benefits for Your Company
Businesses can achieve dramatic benefits through the purchase and implementation of a PC lifecycle configuration management solution. Some of the most common advantages include:

• Increased efficiency of IT staff through fully automated and simplified support and administration.
• Reduced costs associated with PC implementation, set-up, and ongoing maintenance
• Accelerated roll out of new solutions.
• More timely enhancements (i.e. upgrades, bug fixes) to existing technology assets.
• Enhanced employee productivity through the improved performance and availability of mission-critical software applications.
• Improved accuracy of PC and software inventory.
• More effective enforcement of PC-related policies, such as change management, software utilization, customization, etc.
• Increased compliance with licensing agreements and other regulations and guidelines, through improved visibility into assets and their usage.

Does My Company Need PC Lifecycle Configuration Management?
As employee reliance on technology continues to increase, IT organizations are under growing pressure to ensure maximum uptime of the applications and systems that are critical to smooth, continuous business operations.

Without a PC lifecycle configuration management solution in place, technology professionals will spend a significant amount of time setting up new PCs, installing new software applications or patches and upgrades to existing ones, managing end user profiles and security, tracking inventory, and other cumbersome tasks. This approach is not only inefficient, but its manual nature is highly error-prone, resulting in mistakes and oversights that can affect the performance of vital technology assets.

Conversely, a PC lifecycle configuration management system streamlines the management of desktop and laptop computers from the time they are acquired, until they are replaced. As a result, related processes are faster and more precise than ever before.

Key Features of PC Lifecycle Configuration Management Software
Today’s PC lifecycle configuration management software packages are powerful technology solutions that offer a broad range of features to support the deployment and ongoing maintenance of desktop and laptop computers. Key functionality includes:

• Centralized management of all PCs, including their user profiles, operating systems, applications, and files.
• Automatic distribution, installation, and setup of new software, patches, and updates to computers across an enterprise.
• Impact analysis, so IT staff members can understand – in advance – how changes to the environment will affect the infrastructure.
• Software usage monitoring and licensing allocation tracking.
• Comprehensive security management, including centralized user administration, and rapid deployment of antivirus and other protective software packages.
• Remote support, so PCs utilized by mobile or branch workers can be evaluated, diagnosed, and repaired from any location.

What to Look for When Choosing a PC Lifecycle Configuration Management Solution
Broad Device Support
While most of the PC lifecycle configuration management solutions on the market today can support any type of desktop or laptop computer, only some of them can facilitate the automated management of handheld devices and other appliances. This capability is particularly important for companies that have large sales or field service organizations, or other types of remote or mobile workers.

End User Self-Service
Some of the more advanced PC lifecycle configuration management packages on the market can further increase IT efficiency by providing self-service-capabilities to end users. This feature allows them to download and install new software applications, as well as patches and upgrades, or retrieve manuals and documentation at their own convenience – without the assistance of a technology professional.

Automatic Audits
A few PC lifecycle configuration management vendors offer fully automated audits of all company PCs and their components. Additionally, they allow for “rules” to be set, predefining the corrective action that will be taken when an issue is discovered (i.e. automatically removing any unlicensed software applications that are identified).