If you want to execute and control distributed systems, there is a demand to use what is also known as system management software. Assuming an enterprise is big enough and has operations spread out considerably enough to warrant a distributed system, the benefits are really obvious. For a growing enterprise, there is also a cutoff point at which it becomes unrealistic to do individual installations on each station, and go through the paper and electronic trail left by every user in an attempt to centralize the complete 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.

The systems management software takes into consideration the human's aversion to change but still takes control of the system through a configuration manager that manages the database within the training and testing setting, not to mention the real-time setting as well.

Cost Reduction: First of all, no company, big or small, needs to worry about not benefiting from system management. The only debatable point is the ROI related to the cost of the software and paying a system administrator. Regardless, once implemented, it cuts down the need for IT staffing and other related expenses on a long-term basis. 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 has a huge impact on IT security. The same security settings are implemented on all stations, and any new policies are remotely implemented instantaneously on all the stations. Users can access any station and get the same settings and data, made possible by settings that apply to specific usernames and job or department levels. This makes the network more capable of withstanding external attacks. Security patches and critical updates can be done instantaneously on all stations without any extra effort or manpower, which reduces the window that attackers can use to take advantage of bugs. The network gets centralized enterprise anti virus and malware protection. Even the data is more secure as regards hardware failure or data corruption, since everything is stored on servers with a backup system.

The service providers are countless and they always give one a guarantee of accurate and consistent work in dealing with different systems programs. Some of them even provide systems administrators and domain experts to handle all the networking and systems issues.


To summarize, the immediate advantages of using system management are very much real and the possibilities even bigger. End of the day, each company has to make an informed decision about this based on its own size and growth curve. A cost benefit analysis to figure out the ROI of system management software would be a good place to begin.