Item: Microsoft System Center
Rating: 8
Author: Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Microsoft System Center

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We currently use Microsoft System Center to manage and image all staff and student machines in the organization. We utilize Microsoft System Center to push applications and programs to machines and keep them up to date. We also use the Windows Update Server side of System Center to keep machines up to date and compliant. We use System Center's monitoring and query ability to track machines and assets in the district as well. This allows us to identify machines as they fall out of compliance. We utilize the Remote Control aspect of Microsoft System Center to remotely assist staff and work on issues. We also use Right Click Tools to expand the functionality of Microsoft System Center to give us greater control over machines.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Imaging
Remote Control Assistance
Deploying Software and Programs
Driver Management
Inventory Management
Windows Updates

Cons

User Interface
Windows Update Configuration and Setup
Distribution Point Setup

Most Important Features

Imaging
Remote Control
Application Management and Deployment

Return on Investment

Increased efficiency from IT
Faster turn around on replacing machines
Better asset control and inventory

Alternatives Considered

We previously used a mix of FOG and Clonezilla to image machines. The biggest issues with these products is that changing one piece of the image required you to rebuild the entire image itself. These pieces of software also did not allow you to manage applications and Windows Updates, causing IT to have to constantly touch machines after they were imaged and update or manage them with a much more hands on approach.

Key Insights

Do you think Microsoft System Center delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Microsoft System Center's feature set?

Yes

Did Microsoft System Center live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Microsoft System Center go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Microsoft System Center again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Securly Filter, Securly Classroom, Dell EMC Managed Services, Google Classroom

Likelihood to Recommend

Microsoft System Center excels when it comes to mass imaging of machines in an organization. We recently had to replace a large quantity of machines in our organization, roughly 1000, and utilized Microsoft System Center to provide a consistent image to each machine. It made the process extremely simple. We setup our task sequences to drop machines into their respective OU's, so once the imaging process is done, the machine has all the software it needs, is completely up to date, is in the correct OU, and has the group policies that it should. This requires little interaction on IT's side to get a machine ready to go. We used to use FOG to image machines, which required a lot more work and interaction than what System Center does.

Comments

Please log in to join the conversation

System Center: Great for imaging and application deployment

Software Version