Client management tools: why ConfigMgr?

Une fois n’est pas coutume, je traduis l’article publié récemment sur la gestion des clients à la demande de l’un de mes lecteurs non-francophone et au vu de la traduction automatique produite par différents outils.

Some time ago, I wrote an article on why I like working with OpsMgr for monitoring. Explanations of why I have not done a similar exercise on client management are related to a lack of time. It’s not because I work with less enthusiasm with ConfigMgr.

A few days after French TechDays again, I will give you rapidly some details on the ConfigMgr sessions I have had the pleasure to host. I want to thank my co-hosts, but also to all attendees.

As you may have read, I have now been working for more than 20 years on SMS/ConfigMgr. As for OpsMgr, I’ve been working with other products before joining Microsoft. Some made me spend interesting moments, which I are fixed in my memory.

The integration that Microsoft provides between ConfigMgr and Windows is the best I have seen. I have no doubt that it could enrage some competitors. If beta versions (Technical Preview for Windows 10 for example) are issued by Microsoft, it is also for software publishers to begin to adapt their own products to future developments of Windows. I've worked with some clients at some interesting moments when the release of Windows was not calqued with ConfigMgr’s release, but this only lasted a very short time (usually less than 90 days). Now, Microsoft is committed to ensure that calendars are synchronized.

I remember several projects on which I had the chance to work shortly after the release of some versions of Windows. Microsoft was the only editor which could deploy these versions of Windows, and then manage them or, even, offer a malware protection solution which does not cause more problems than viruses themselves.

The integration Microsoft provides between all System Center software is also an aspect for which I enjoy working with ConfigMgr. I've already seen companies buying some of their competitors and then integrating the purchased product with their former. Some of them announced that, following the takeover, former product would be replaced by the purchased one. I’ve lived OpsMgr integration after the takeover of its technology by Microsoft. In all cases, Microsoft spends a lot of energy to normalize its range of software. The efforts in terms of training are lower when interfaces (graphics and programming) are very close. Now that PowerShell and Orchestrator are the cement between these various components, integration is even simpler in terms of programming or automation.

One of the main complaints around ConfigMgr I’ve heard in the past was that it was only able to manage Windows or Microsoft software. On one hand, this position is less true as Microsoft has shaped more and more capabilities of ConfigMgr to manage other systems. On the other hand, I find that teams are quite often dedicated to each operating system.

The functional coverage of ConfigMgr is such that few clients implement all of the solutions offered. Some do not deploy operating system via ConfigMgr. Others remain firmly attached to their WSUS servers for management patches, and especially, security patches. Others still prefer to add another software for remote control. Too many (for my taste) have not yet measured the benefits of compliance management.

For client management products, scalability is an important factor. I know a lot of competing products whose performance collapsed quickly, because of their design. When Microsoft decide to make chances in ConfigMgr, scalability is never jeopardized. I saw a concrete demonstration at the time of the conception of what is now called notification in ConfigMgr 2012.

If you are to buy or renew your client’s choice of management tool, I can only advise you to avoid making comparison of covered functions, point by point. Indeed, at one time, some products may cover more functions than another. But client management software is not a product that is chosen for a short period. You have to be a long-term partner with both the Publisher which distributes software and a potential subcontractors that could help you. Microsoft partner ecosystem and all your contacts at Microsoft are ready to be at your side. Moreover, this help will go without per diem rates that explode due to highly searched expertise, thanks to ConfigMgr’s market share.

By the way, if you are looking for an external analysis of ConfigMgr on its ability to deliver the services for which it is designed, I invite you to consult the magic quadrant for client management from Gartner Group available at following location:

https://www.gartner.com/technology/reprints.do?id=1-1UWYHPA&ct=140603&st=sb

This study appears once per year. The pointer above is still valid for a few months before the next edition.