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OpenText Dimensions CM vs. Symantec Ghost Solution Suite

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    OpenText Dimensions CM

    Score8 out of 10
    N/ADimensions CM is Software Change and Configuration Management for Agile development, developed by Serena Software and now sold by OpenText.N/A

    Symantec Ghost Solution Suite

    Score8 out of 10
    N/ASymantec's Ghost Solution Suite is an imaging and deployment solution.N/A
    Pricing
    OpenText Dimensions CMSymantec Ghost Solution Suite
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
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    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    OpenText Dimensions CMSymantec Ghost Solution Suite
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Best Alternatives
    OpenText Dimensions CMSymantec Ghost Solution Suite
    Small Businesses
    GitHub
    Score9.2 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    Git
    Score10 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Enterprises
    Perforce P4
    Score7.5 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    OpenText Dimensions CMSymantec Ghost Solution Suite
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    6.4
    (3 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    OpenText Dimensions CMSymantec Ghost Solution Suite
    Likelihood to Recommend
    OpenText
    Serena CM is well suited to highly controlled, audited, and process driven environments. It will allow strict segregation of duties, and change traceability. If implemented correctly it will help you quickly build trusts with your auditors. It is also well suited to environments that require constant branching and merging. Due to the complexity of the product and learning curve for your development and operations team it may be overkill in a small shop with loose rules
    Incentivized
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    Broadcom
    It helps to manage the mass of computers we use. We use GSS to see where and who deployed software to what computers. This can particularly be helpful when dealing with license usage, and tracking how many licenses we have left, and where those licenses have been used. We are able to use it to manage clients.
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    OpenText
    • Code Promotion: Dimensions CM allows supervisors to control changes to code, in that they delegate requests to developers, and act as a gatekeeper prior to promoting to the next environment. This functionality is configurable so you can set up a workflow that best fits the structure and requirements of your own company.
    • Code Repository for changes and versioning: Code can be checked out by item or by synchronizing folders. Code revisions can be compared against other revisions or work files. Item histories show which developers made which modifications, and which supervisor and operations personnel were involved in assigning the request and promoting the code to each environment. Additionally a pedigree will show a stream diagram which graphically displays branches and merges.
    • Deployment: Serena Change Management offers help automating deployment including integrations with SVN and Jenkins. Its newer versions also have a powerful graphical deployment automation tool (Serena Deployment Automation- SDA). It comes with a certain amount of licenses built-in. If you have a many nodes to deploy to there will be separate licensing costs for that.
    Incentivized
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    Broadcom
    • Simple and easy to use interface
    • Easily image multiple computers at the same time
    • Deploys software
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    OpenText
    • The only major negative that I have encountered with Serena CM product is that the very power and flexibility of the tool means there is a risk that you will make a mess of things. In other words it gives you plenty of rope to tangle yourself with. I recommend careful, well thought out deployments implementing the built in roles and workflows that can be turned on and configured, using a consistent methodology.
    • My experience with the Serena help desk support has not been impressive. Though reasonably polite and diligent, the technicians were well trained, and often gave bad advise and terrible scripts. On several occasions I had to rewrite scripts they have me; if I had run them as provided they would have caused even more difficulties than the problem I was trying to solve. I speak of the support in the past tense because I conditioned myself not to call them, it was usually just easier to solve nay problems my self. They do have a good account management team though, and for any major issues you can go thru them.
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    Broadcom
    • Setting up PXE has a learning curve.
    • Still trying to figure out if we can create one golden (master) image for all hardware types.
    • Would love a way to be able to refresh PCs with effecting user and program data.
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    Alternatives Considered
    OpenText
    Serena CM is superior to Microsoft Team Foundation Server (TFS) in overall functionality, but does not have very good native integration with Microsoft. Therefore in a Microsoft centric shop with no audit needs ,TFS would be better. Otherwise I would choose Serena CM
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    Broadcom
    Once the research had been done, it seemed that Symantec Ghost Solution Suite was the best suited for our environment. The initial cost was fair and the return on investment was well worth what we had to pay up front. I would recommend Ghost Solution Suite to any larger company.
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    OpenText
    • Serena has facilitated our annual completion of various audit and technology control certifications. These certifications make a huge difference to our company's reputation and bottom line.
    • There has been no negative impact on our company.
    Incentivized
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    Broadcom
    • Helps to manage remote computers
    • Helps to manage software licenses
    • Helps to track and manage usage
    Incentivized
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