Symantec reworks Altiris client, server suites 10 March, 2009 By Steve Wexler

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The company has targeted both enhancements and usability, said Symantec's Mark Magee, senior director, product management, endpoint management group.

"This is a pretty major update of the most critical products and primary solutions within Altiris." He said both suites offer better visibility into IT assets, simplified day-to-day manageability and improved end-user productivity. Customers are looking for ways to cut expenses and reduce complexity and these products offer centralized automation and integration that can help them reduce the time it takes to manage their assets, improve security and reduce operational costs.

A key focus was to move beyond just moving bits. "We're making huge strides forward around what we're calling intelligent software management," said Magee. "Software management is an area where we think folks can save a significant amount of money if they proactively manage it."

Effective management is incredibly important now, he said, quoting Gartner data that shows the total cost of ownership of a well-managed computer is $3,471, versus the $5,867 of an unmanaged PC. There are three main areas Symantec focuses on with its intelligent software management initiative: audit and categorize (enable quick and easy software audits; more accurately identify software; and understand relationships between software, e.g. suites versus point products); deliver and enforce (ensure distribution of the latest versions and updates; include all pre-requisites; only download what's not already installed; and make sure software stays installed); and optimize licensing (reconcile audit with actual usage; harvest licenses as needed; and renegotiate contracts to save costs)

. From an endpoint management feature perspective, AltirisClient Management Suite 7.0 addresses: discovery and inventory; imaging and deployment; intelligent software and patch management; remote assistance; and as add-ons, packaging (Wise Studio), application streaming, backup and recovery, and handheld management. AltirisServer Management Suite 7.0 features: discovery and inventory; provisioning; software distribution and patch management; monitoring and alerting; and the following add-ons -- backup and recovery, application dependency and mapping, endpoint protection, and audit and compliance.

Another significant upgrade is integrated power management. Users can now reduce power and save energy by putting PCs into sleep or hibernate states using standard power policies, he said.

Both suites Client share the Symantec Management Console which allows administrators to manage operations from a single point. They can integrate the management of additional functions, including security, data loss prevention, and backup and recovery of data and systems. In addition, both suites can be installed and configured in less time while providing better support for Windows, Unix, VMware, Linux and Mac. "Heterogeneity is critical," said Magee.

Symantec has also integrated the security and management of endpoints to better protect across endpoints, networks and on storage devices. These technologies come from some of its key products, including Symantec Endpoint Protection, Backup Exec, Backup Exec System Recovery and Symantec Data Loss Prevention for Endpoint.

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