In order to implement and manage distributed systems, there is a need to use what is known as system management software. Assuming a company is big enough and has operations spread out far enough to warrant a distributed system, the advantages are fairly obvious. For a growing company, there is a cutoff point at which it becomes unrealistic to do individual installations on each station, and sort through the paper and electronic trail left by each user in order to centralize the entire setup.
Once system management is implemented, the process becomes more streamlined. The automation starts offering immediate benefits. It enables reduction in IT staff levels and improves security and information sharing among employees and departments, and with the data already centralized, the reporting and monitoring process becomes a lot easier.
Installation & Management: The biggest help, obviously, comes in the easy and automated installations and updates. A small company with one office and a few computers may find it easy to do installations one by one. But for a large and diversified company with hundreds or even thousands of computers, that's not a choice. Servers and system management makes automation possible and new installations are a painless process, needing no extra time or manpower.
Cost Reduction: There are no ifs and buts as to the cost reduction capabilities, regardless of the size of the company. Even for small companies, the only caveat is whether or not the company is capable of buying system management software and hiring a sys admin. Once these expenses are taken care of, the benefits in the form of lower IT costs are immediate and long lasting.
The real savings come from the capability to install new systems and software faster and at a lower cost. Companies start using client-server architecture, ERP and other kinds of enterprise level software and systems. It helps them expand, and open branches where otherwise it may not have been possible. End of the day, it leads to a massive makeover for the entire company, with large-scale improvements in distribution, productivity, work flow and reporting capabilities.
Security: System management software helps enhance security in a number of ways. For starters, the security settings on all the computers are the same and can be managed remotely by the admin. Users can be given access to the exact same settings on all computers, based on usernames and their duties. This means the computers are more immune to hacking and other external attempts to infiltrate the network.
Critical updates such as security patches for browsers and other software are automatically and simultaneously updated on all stations. This removes the threat of individual users ignoring update warnings for their own station. The same applies to updates for enterprise level anti-malware and anti-virus software. Hardware failure or data corruption on individual stations won't cause data loss because the data is being stored on servers with backup systems in place.
Monitoring: A huge improvement in monitoring capability is one of the biggest advantages here, other than cost effectiveness and automation. Since the data on the network can be monitored, it is possible to make adjustments to more effectively manage peak periods and down time. Employee monitoring helps management keep an eye on employees and detect work patterns.
In summary, system management software is everything it is hyped up to be, and then some. While it has spectacular benefits and can accelerate the company's growth, the decision has to be made on a case-to-case basis. Each company has to do a cost benefit analysis and decide if the ROI is sufficient to warrant the change.
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