Configuration Manager Tackles Applications, Security, Mobile

A major update to System Center Configuration Manager (CM) targets the delivery of applications and includes other changes to improve administration and extend capabilities to managing security and mobile devices. CM 2012, now available as a release candidate, allows organizations to manage computers, mobile devices, and malware protection from a single infrastructure. A changed architecture for the CM management server hierarchy means that organizations may be able to eliminate some site servers. However, companies with existing CM 2007 installations cannot upgrade in-place to CM 2012 but must instead migrate data and settings, and may have to add SQL Servers.

The Need for Configuration Manager

Although small organizations can set up and track software configurations by physically visiting each computer and manually performing these tasks when necessary, this approach does not scale beyond a dozen or so computers so that even simple, repetitive tasks consume an inordinate amount of IT resources. Regular patching of Windows systems has become mandated due to a steady onslaught of viruses and worms. Detecting and managing the rapidly rising number of mobile devices further complicates the challenge. These tasks can become overwhelming for organizations with multiple geographic locations, many of which may have no on-site IT personnel. Without software tools to help automate these tasks, organizations cannot effectively manage changes to their computers, which ultimately affects business operations.