A. Introduction

HP's OpenView Desktop and Software Management Strategy
by Godfrey Jordan, HP

Desktop and software management is one of the three core businesses of the HP OpenView Software Division. Desktop and software management is designed to enable information- technology (IT) departments to help end users work more efficiently by managing client/server software and desktop environments cost- effectively.

The result is an IT department that can help end users provide more value to their organizations. The bottom-line goal is to provide an end-to-end IT service-management solution for desktop and software management that transforms information technology into a strategic, competitive advantage.

Many organizations look at total cost of ownership (TCO) as a way to reduce the costs of desktop computing. HP's strategy to reduce TCO is to focus on the entire life cycle of an organization's IT environment, including networked personal computers. This comprehensive TCO approach, which goes beyond simple cost cutting, helps companies save by reducing the cost of owning a desktop computer, but also helps IT departments look for ways to improve desktop computer users' value to the organization.

Just as the total cost of ownership continues to increase - Gartner Group now estimates that yearly support and maintenance costs are approximately $10,000 per year for a networked Microsoft Windows 95 PC - so does the pressure to make users more productive. Users are often frustrated because their desktop computers, when improperly managed, can actually hinder their ability to achieve their business goals.

A "cost reduction only" approach results from the all-too-common classification of desktop computing technology as a corporate expense. Very few organizations implement a desktop and software management solution that addresses the question "How can I maximize this resource to gain more value from my workers?"

The key to effective desktop and software management lies in having proper tools and procedures that not only reduce costs, but also manage desktops as a company asset. Unfortunately, many of the current desktop- management tools are inadequate for this task. According to an International Data Corporation study, only 27 percent of IT managers were satisfied with the tools available to them today.

Conventional desktop-management offerings, such as PC LAN managers and generic management frameworks, have limitations that hinder their ability to manage an enterprise system effectively. PC LAN management tools, for example, cannot manage heterogeneous enterprises, are often unable to provide the services that large enterprises need, and have weak feature- integration capabilities.

Generic frameworks, on the other hand, lack functional depth, are expensive to purchase and deploy, and require complex partnerships with multiple vendors to provide complete solutions.