3/30/2015 Magic Quadrant for Client Management Tools

http://www.gartner.com/technology/reprints.do?id=1­1UURNK7&ct=140603&st=sg&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRonu6jAd%252B%252FhmjTEU5z16Osp… 1/12

Magic Quadrant for Client ManagementTools22 May 2014 ID:G00260863

Analyst(s): Kevin Knox, Terrence Cosgrove

VIEW SUMMARY

New client management tool capabilities have emerged to support evolving enterprise initiatives. Thesecapabilities are increasingly important to end­user computing and support managers in their tool selectionprocess.

Market Definition/DescriptionEnd­user computing and support organizations use client management tools to automate systemadministration and support functions that would otherwise be handled manually. Client managementtools image client systems, track inventory, deploy configuration changes (such as software or patches),enforce configuration standards, and assist with troubleshooting. Windows PCs are the primary object ofmanagement, but organizations often extend these tools to manage Macs and even servers. Mobiledevice management (MDM) is still a separate market, but organizations are increasingly looking to use asingle vendor and management platform to support PCs, Macs and mobile devices.

Magic Quadrant

Figure 1. Magic Quadrant for Client Management Tools

Source: Gartner (May 2014)

Vendor Strengths and Cautions

EVALUATION CRITERIA DEFINITIONS

Ability to ExecuteProduct/Service: Core goods and services offered bythe vendor for the defined market. This includescurrent product/service capabilities, quality, featuresets, skills and so on, whether offered natively orthrough OEM agreements/partnerships as defined inthe market definition and detailed in the subcriteria.

Overall Viability: Viability includes an assessment ofthe overall organization's financial health, the financialand practical success of the business unit, and thelikelihood that the individual business unit will continueinvesting in the product, will continue offering theproduct and will advance the state of the art within theorganization's portfolio of products.

Sales Execution/Pricing: The vendor's capabilities inall presales activities and the structure that supportsthem. This includes deal management, pricing andnegotiation, presales support, and the overalleffectiveness of the sales channel.

Market Responsiveness/Record: Ability to respond,change direction, be flexible and achieve competitivesuccess as opportunities develop, competitors act,customer needs evolve and market dynamics change.This criterion also considers the vendor's history ofresponsiveness.

Marketing Execution: The clarity, quality, creativityand efficacy of programs designed to deliver theorganization's message to influence the market,promote the brand and business, increase awarenessof the products, and establish a positive identificationwith the product/brand and organization in the mindsof buyers. This "mind share" can be driven by acombination of publicity, promotional initiatives,thought leadership, word of mouth and sales activities.

Customer Experience: Relationships, products andservices/programs that enable clients to be successfulwith the products evaluated. Specifically, this includesthe ways customers receive technical support oraccount support. This can also include ancillary tools,customer support programs (and the quality thereof),availability of user groups, service­level agreementsand so on.

Operations: The ability of the organization to meetits goals and commitments. Factors include the qualityof the organizational structure, including skills,experiences, programs, systems and other vehiclesthat enable the organization to operate effectively andefficiently on an ongoing basis.

Completeness of VisionMarket Understanding: Ability of the vendor tounderstand buyers' wants and needs and to translatethose into products and services. Vendors that showthe highest degree of vision listen to and understandbuyers' wants and needs, and can shape or enhancethose with their added vision.

Marketing Strategy: A clear, differentiated set ofmessages consistently communicated throughout theorganization and externalized through the website,advertising, customer programs and positioningstatements.

Sales Strategy: The strategy for selling products thatuses the appropriate network of direct and indirectsales, marketing, service, and communicationaffiliates that extend the scope and depth of marketreach, skills, expertise, technologies, services and thecustomer base.

Offering (Product) Strategy: The vendor's approachto product development and delivery that emphasizes

3/30/2015 Magic Quadrant for Client Management Tools

http://www.gartner.com/technology/reprints.do?id=1­1UURNK7&ct=140603&st=sg&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRonu6jAd%252B%252FhmjTEU5z16Osp… 2/12

Absolute SoftwareThe greatest strength of Absolute Software's Absolute Manage continues to be its breadth of devicecoverage, supporting Windows PCs, Mac OS X, iOS, Android and Windows Phones. During the past 12months, Absolute made major enhancements to its mobile management capabilities, including making itsMDM capabilities available via the SaaS delivery model. The vendor continues to work on more tightlyintegrating its mobile and client management capabilities, and enabling a more consistent look and feel toits consoles. It has also entered into strategic licensing agreements with Apptria Technologies andLumension to enhance its software management and patching capabilities in future product releases.Absolute Software's customer base for Absolute Manage is relatively low compared to other vendors'products, but it has begun to establish a following, particularly within the Mac community. AbsoluteManage is a good choice for organizations looking for consistent management capabilities across Windowsand Mac at a low price point.

Strengths

Absolute Manage provides consistent management capabilities and tight functional interoperabilityacross Mac and Windows platforms.

Absolute Manage has the best Mac management capabilities among client management productsthat provide both Windows and Mac management.

Absolute Computrace, in conjunction with Absolute Manage, provides strong agent health andhardware inventory management capabilities.

Cautions

Absolute Manage does not support any application virtualization products or provide support fornonpersistent virtual desktops.

Although it can manage larger environments, Absolute Manage is best­suited to small or midsizeorganizations with 100 to 2,500 users.

Relative to other vendors, Absolute Software's customer base and awareness for Absolute Manageare relatively low, particularly for Windows, and it lacks a strong online community and user groups.

AcceleriteIn March 2014, Persistent Systems created its Accelerite business unit to take a common portfolio ofproducts to market. Its flagship product is Radia Client Automation, the company's client managementtool, which it acquired through an exclusive licensing agreement with HP in February 2013. A primaryobjective for Accelerite during the last year has been to preserve HP's installed base of large enterprisecustomers, something we believe it has had a fair amount of success in achieving. Moving forward,Accelerite will continue to target larger enterprises while shifting more of its focus toward the midmarket.Since taking over product development from HP, Accelerite added basic integrated MDM capabilities, alongwith enabling a Radia SaaS delivery model, both focused at midmarket buyers. The creation of Acceleriteas a separate product unit should allow greater focus on client management product development; butscaling sales and marketing and developing a channel will be challenging. Radia Client Automation is agood fit for midsize organizations experienced in client management and looking for basic integrated MDMor SaaS­based delivery; it is typically not a good fit for enterprise organizations requiring high levels ofservice and support.

Strengths

Radia Client Automation has a highly scalable underlying architecture with a focused set ofmanagement functionalities.

The SaaS­based delivery option and integrated basic MDM functionality included with Radia ClientAutomation are valued by the midmarket.

Radia Client Automation is particularly strong in allowing organizations to manage hosted virtualdesktop (HVD) environments.

Cautions

Accelerite is a new organization with limited dedicated resources that must quickly grow share in themidmarket while preserving its enterprise business.

Customers with few devices to manage generally do not place high value on scalability — one of thekey product strengths.

Accelerite has weak go­to­market capabilities, limited dedicated sales capacity, inexperience indeveloping marketing and channel strategies, and a weak user community.

BMC SoftwareBMC Client Management, originating from the 2012 Numara acquisition, is BMC's tool for managing PCs(BMC BladeLogic Client Automation has been phased out). BMC Software continues to focus on the ClientManagement suite. The vendor will tie client management to its MyIT platform in an effort to provide aunified app store for PCs and mobile devices to acquire Windows, cloud, and mobile applications. BMCClient Management has a small market presence, but its usability makes it attractive to midmarketcustomers that represent most new business. BMC Client Management is a good choice for users of otherBMC management products, such as the vendor's IT service desk offerings, especially those looking fortightly integrated solutions.

Strengths

The solution uses a simple user interface, making it accessible to IT staff that lack substantialdesktop administration expertise.

BMC Client Management has tight integration with FootPrints Service Core and BMC Remedyforce

differentiation, functionality, methodology and featuresets as they map to current and future requirements.

Business Model: The soundness and logic of thevendor's underlying business proposition.

Vertical/Industry Strategy: The vendor's strategyto direct resources, skills and offerings to meet thespecific needs of individual market segments, includingvertical markets.

Innovation: Direct, related, complementary andsynergistic layouts of resources, expertise or capitalfor investment, consolidation, defensive or pre­emptive purposes.

Geographic Strategy: The vendor's strategy to directresources, skills and offerings to meet the specificneeds of geographies outside the "home" or nativegeography, either directly or through partners,channels and subsidiaries as appropriate for thatgeography and market.

3/30/2015 Magic Quadrant for Client Management Tools

http://www.gartner.com/technology/reprints.do?id=1­1UURNK7&ct=140603&st=sg&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRonu6jAd%252B%252FhmjTEU5z16Osp… 3/12

Service Desk, at a console, data and process level.

The Partnerpedia acquisition gives BMC a head start in developing broad enterprise app stores thatsupport Windows and mobile OS applications.

Cautions

BMC Client Management lacks a strong community of users to share tips and best practices.

BMC is a strong enterprise vendor, but its ability to service the midmarket — the segment to whichits product is best­suited — is limited.

The vendor has made strong improvements to BMC Client Management's Mac managementcapabilities during the past year, but it still lacks comprehensive functionality comparable to what'savailable for managing Windows PCs.

CA TechnologiesCA Technologies' client management focus for the past two years has largely been on two fronts: unifyingphysical and virtual desktop management, and extending its functionality to manage highly mobileworkforces. The most recent release of CA Client Automation 12.8 focused on improvements to the coreClient Automation functionality, as well as integration with the CA Mobile Device Management product.Client Automation continues to receive positive feedback for its stability and code quality. However, CA'svisibility in this market continues to decline, with few Gartner clients considering Client Automation.Nevertheless, Client Automation is a good fit for organizations looking to manage virtual and physicalsystems together, especially users of related CA products, such as IT Asset Manager and Service DeskManager.

Strengths

Client Automation has strong software inventory management functionality, providing multipleways to identify software, including a unique capability called Intellisigs, which allows administratorsto identify software more accurately than with heuristics or signature­based methods.

Client Automation's Extended Network Connectivity (ENC) technology allows organizations toefficiently and securely manage remote locations and users, even when not directly connected tothe corporate network.

Client Automation allows administrators to manage any device that has a supported OS, whether itis physical or virtual.

Cautions

Client Automation does not support the ability to deploy OSs to multiple PCs simultaneously(multicast).

Customers report the setup and initial configuration of Client Automation can be challenging andrequire high levels of customization.

CA is currently behind the market in enabling client management functionality to be delivered toend­user organizations via a SaaS­based model.

Dell KaceDell Kace continues to be the only vendor in the client management tool market that offers its productsexclusively as appliances. It made updates to both its OS deployment (K2000) and life cycle management(K1000) appliances during the past year, in addition to a major update to its MDM appliance (K3000).Kace appliances offer a strong set of core functionality, highlighted by ease of setup and ease of use. Thispositions the vendor particularly well to address the needs of midsize organizations that may not have theresources or expertise in client management to support more comprehensive and complex clientmanagement tools. In 2013, Dell went private and is now refocusing around a set of strategic initiatives,one being to grow its software business, so organizations should expect continued investment and focuson management tools. Kace is a good fit for organizations that want a product that is easy to deploy andeasy to use; it is typically not a good fit for organizations that want to customize or for those that managetens of thousands of clients, or that are highly distributed.

Strengths

The Dell sales force, which has been actively promoting Dell software products, gives Kace a uniquesales channel with broad and geographically diverse capabilities.

Kace appliances are easy to deploy, maintain and upgrade, which are among the major challenges ofclient management tools in general.

Dell Kace offers a broad set of capabilities across its different management appliances, which can beused independently or easily integrated, depending on specific user requirements.

Cautions

Kace typically lags other market­leading client management tools in enabling new functionality andcapabilities, particularly in addressing the requirements of larger organizations.

While Kace officially supports customers with up to 20,000 users with a single appliance, the K1000is better­suited to organizations with 200 to 5,000 users, due to the product's architecture.

Kace appliances are more difficult to customize than competitive products.

FrontRangeFrontRange Heat Desktop and Server Management (DSM) is an easy­to­use client management productaimed primarily at midsize organizations. As part of a broader management approach, DSM is often soldwith FrontRange Heat Service Management and the recently introduced Heat Mobile Device Management

3/30/2015 Magic Quadrant for Client Management Tools

http://www.gartner.com/technology/reprints.do?id=1­1UURNK7&ct=140603&st=sg&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRonu6jAd%252B%252FhmjTEU5z16Osp… 4/12

solutions. FrontRange has improved its integration between the different modules, and offers a uniqueset of hybrid, on­premises and cloud delivery options. Foundational to DSM is software package creationand distribution, which is the central function to its management approach. The majority of DSM'srevenue is generated from European customers; Gartner has yet to see substantial adoption of theproduct in North America or Asia. FrontRange DSM is a good fit for European organizations with limiteddesktop management skills.

Strengths

Package building has long been a differentiator for DSM. Many client management offerings requirethird­party products for advanced application packaging, but DSM includes strong native capabilitiesto help customers build packages.

Heat DSM provides easy­to­use, wizard­driven functionality for less experienced users, and moreadvanced functionality, such as scripting, for users who are more experienced with clientmanagement.

FrontRange is further along than most client management vendors in offering hybrid configurationoptions across different modules within its portfolio.

Cautions

Heat DSM has a limited software title database to help in the identification and ongoingmanagement of application software.

The product's console must be enhanced to improve startup performance and overall stability.

While improved in the latest release, DSM has historically had high server requirements to managedistributed environments.

IBMIBM Endpoint Manager excels in patch management, multiplatform support and overall scalability. IBM'smobile strategy changed with the acquisition of enterprise mobility management vendor FiberlinkCommunications in December 2013. Both companies offer strong products for client and mobilitymanagement, and the two already had a longstanding OEM relationship (Fiberlink used Endpoint Managerfor patching). IBM will focus on improving integration between the IBM Endpoint Manager and FiberlinkMaaS360 platforms, with full integration still several years off and requiring significant changes. IBM willlikely keep Endpoint Manager focused on large enterprises rather than midsize customers. EndpointManager is a good choice for organizations heavily focused on security configuration management(including patching), and those that require strong multiplatform server management in addition to clientmanagement or scalability to support tens of thousands of endpoints. It is not as good a choice fororganizations that require simple usability or tight integration with third­party service desk or assetmanagement tools.

Strengths

Endpoint Manager's primary differentiator is that the tool's intelligence is on the endpoint, ratherthan the server. This allows the agent to actively discover a deviation from policy and executeremediation, rather than rely on a predefined schedule of system scans and subsequent server­sidereporting. This enables organizations to maintain higher degrees of configuration compliance.

The product's endpoint­oriented control, along with its relay server architecture, results in arelatively small server footprint to support the Endpoint Manager environment, and makes it a goodfit for highly distributed environments.

The IBM Endpoint Manager architecture was designed for speed to support frequent policy checksand status updates. This provides a very current view of the endpoint environment.

Cautions

Uptake of OS deployment remains low. Organizations cite a lack of documentation and known bestpractices to use this module effectively.

Certain patches (e.g., Microsoft nonsecurity) often require manual configuration prior todeployment.

IBM's packaging, bundling options and pricing of its various management functionality are complexand can be challenging for users to understand.

KaseyaKaseya Virtual System Administrator (VSA) is a broad IT operations management platform providing awide range of functionality, such as client management, MDM, service desk, network performancemonitoring, data backup and endpoint protection, from a common console. Kaseya VSA remains a strongplayer among managed service providers, which continue to be their primary sales target. While KaseyaVSA does have some large customers, the product is most appropriate for midsize organizations. KaseyaVSA is a good choice for organizations that value a single solution for client and mobile management,endpoint security, and service desk through the same console.

Strengths

Kaseya VSA is ahead of most vendors in offering SaaS­based client management, allowing for anInternet­based, accessible management console and general administrative ease of use, as well asless complex deployment compared to on­premises tools.

The vendor's products offer a wide range of client management functionality, including capabilitiesthat many other client management tools do not offer, such as PC backup and system performancemonitoring.

Kaseya VSA provides strong capabilities to track, audit and report on endpoint management tasks.

3/30/2015 Magic Quadrant for Client Management Tools

http://www.gartner.com/technology/reprints.do?id=1­1UURNK7&ct=140603&st=sg&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRonu6jAd%252B%252FhmjTEU5z16Osp… 5/12

Cautions

Kaseya VSA lacks comprehensive software title rationalization, software request workflowautomation and usage monitoring.

The majority of Kaseya's clients are managed service providers (MSPs), and its ability to continue togrow this business, while also expanding its business with end­user organizations, will bechallenging.

Kaseya VSA does not provide vulnerability assessment or turnkey security configurationprofiling/posturing.

LandeskLandesk Management Suite (LDMS) is one of the most complete client management tools in the market.It is particularly strong at managing branch­office users through its Targeted Multicast technology's PeerDownload option, software distribution and virtual desktop management. In 2013, Landesk acquiredShavlik, a third­party patching vendor with content that is being used by several other clientmanagement tools. Not only does this help Landesk strengthen its already strong native patchingcapabilities, it also marks the beginning of Landesk partnering with erstwhile competitors, most notablyMicrosoft. Landesk has also been heavily focused on its new pricing model that allows customers tolicense the Landesk suite of management and security products by user, rather than device. Whilegeneral industry adoption to date has been mixed, we believe the shift from device­ to user­centricmanagement will continue to gain interest with organizations, and that Landesk will be well­positioned tocapitalize. LDMS is a good fit for organizations that require cross­platform support, robust managementacross clients and servers, and flexibility to customize their management tools; it is typically not a goodchoice for organizations with basic requirements that place high value on simplicity.

Strengths

Landesk offers one of the most robust sets of management functionality among all clientmanagement vendors, with strong cross­device and cross­platform support — Windows, OS X andmobile.

Landesk has robust self­service and process automation capabilities, supported by a strong workflowmanagement tool.

The LDMS Targeted Multicast with the Peer Download option enables administrators to distributeapplications using a peer­to­peer model at subnets. Landesk customers have fewer remote packageservers than customers using competitive products.

Cautions

Landesk's MDM capabilities are less mature than its PC management capabilities, and integrationneeds to be tighter.

The Landesk console is in need of an update. The Web console does not provide the same capabilityas the thick­client console. Disparity between on­premises and Web­based consoles must beunderstood and accounted for.

It can be difficult to understand the status and health of the Landesk infrastructure — in particular,monitoring the status of scheduled tasks, and understanding when and why tasks fail.

ManageEngineManageEngine Desktop Central is an easy­to­use, cost­effective client management product aimed atmidsize organizations heavily standardized on Microsoft Windows. Desktop Central's functionality isintuitive and offers a wide breadth of basic management capabilities, including a recently introduced MDMmodule. The product lacks depth of functionality in several areas (e.g., effectively managing non­Windowsplatforms), and does not effectively scale to meet the requirements of large enterprises. ManageEngine isa good fit for midsize organizations seeking basic functionality for managing Windows environments atlower price points. Desktop Central is typically not a good fit for enterprise organizations or those thatrequire advanced management functionality.

Strengths

Initial setup and configuration of Desktop Central is straightforward. The interface is intuitive andeasy to navigate, and it does not require high levels of client management experience.

Desktop Central is one of the most aggressively priced products in the client management space.

Desktop Central's use of cache and distribution servers allows organizations to efficiently applypatches and distribute software to remote­office Windows clients.

Cautions

Only select Mac OS X functionality is available in Desktop Central today, although additionalfunctionality is planned for future versions.

Desktop Central offers basic management functionality, but trails the market in several key areas,including cross­platform support, self­service, enterprise scalability and OS deployment.

ManageEngine is still small and not as well­known as many of the leading client management toolvendors; as such, it has a limited following among users and limited online community resources.

Matrix42Matrix42's focus for the past two years has been centered on end­user self­service and tying togetherphysical, virtual and mobile management. Currently, Matrix42 is focused on extending managementcapabilities to SaaS­based services, such as Office365 and salesforce.com, as well as enabling its ownSaaS­based delivery capabilities. Matrix42 has always had a strong focus on emerging and futurerequirements. The vendor has a strong presence across Europe, its main target market, but a minimal

3/30/2015 Magic Quadrant for Client Management Tools

http://www.gartner.com/technology/reprints.do?id=1­1UURNK7&ct=140603&st=sg&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRonu6jAd%252B%252FhmjTEU5z16Osp… 6/12

presence outside of Europe. In a mature client management tool market, it will be challenging forMatrix42 to grow its business outside of Europe with its limited installed base. Matrix42 is a good choicefor European organizations that manage a complex endpoint environment composed of physical PCs,virtual desktops and mobile devices.

Strengths

Matrix42's management support for server­based computing and virtualization platforms (such asCitrix XenDesktop, Citrix XenApp and Microsoft Windows Terminal Server [WTS]) allowsadministrators to create and manage physical and virtual desktops using the same process andconsole.

Matrix42 recently added a Package Cloud that offers a catalog of prepackaged apps for enterprises todeploy without the requirement to create application­specific packages.

The product has a comprehensive end­user self­service interface that includes approval processesand compliance checks, and is independent of the Matrix42 service desk.

Cautions

The vendor's lack of traction outside Europe will present challenges for non­European customers —namely, a lack of regional user communities and challenges finding system administrators withMatrix42 experience.

Mac management capabilities are incomplete, currently lacking OS deployment and patchmanagement.

Patch management (including vulnerability assessment), remote control and package creation arenot included in Matrix42's core offering and must be purchased as separate add­ons.

MicrosoftMicrosoft has the largest market share in the client management tool market and continues to grow. Thevendor's licensing strategy, offering System Center Configuration Manager (Configuration Manager) as apart of the Core and Enterprise Client Access Licenses, is its driving force, although it is no longer availableas a stand­alone component. The 2012 Configuration Manager (part of the System Center 2012 R2suite) is the current version, which includes many improvements from 2007, such as simplifiedinfrastructure, role­based access control and improved endpoint desired state (including an ability tomonitor the Configuration Manager agent). Microsoft's new Enterprise Mobility Suite (EMS) hasdominated the vendor's focus of late. EMS provides a wide range of mobility, SaaS security extensionsand PC management capabilities designed to integrate with Configuration Manager. ConfigurationManager is a good choice for large enterprises, but small or midsize organizations may be challenged toget full use out of the product.

Strengths

Configuration Manager has a scalable architecture, and its scalability has been proven by many largecustomers.

Software distribution is strong in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager, including strongtargeting and testing features.

Configuration Manager has tight integration with Microsoft App­V, which has become the mostwidely used application virtualization product.

Cautions

Configuration Manager is server­heavy in highly distributed environments, which adds cost andcomplexity for organizations with a large number of small sites.

Configuration Manager lacks automated patch management for most non­Microsoft desktopapplications. Organizations must patch most non­Microsoft applications through traditional softwaredistribution or third­party patch management tools.

Remote control is frequently supplemented by third­party products. Configuration Managerspecifically lacks advanced security and auditing capabilities offered by third­party remote­controltools.

NovellNovell ZENworks Configuration Management (ZCM) is a client management tool with inventory, OSdeployment and patch management features comparable to competitive products. Its softwaredistribution is strong, offering advanced capabilities for managing application package dependencies anddeploying applications to users (rather than merely to machines). Novell's recent focus has been onproviding integrated MDM, as well as integration with Novell Filr and Novell iPrint. The vendor's presencein the client management tool market continues to decline. However, ZENworks is a good product, andorganizations that are experienced and satisfied with it should have no compelling reason to switch.

Strengths

ZENworks allows desktop applications to be managed dynamically. Applications can be launchedtaking into account user identity and location, time and other factors, without the need to developscripts or a separate profile management tool.

ZCM has comprehensive software distribution capabilities; complex software distribution jobs can bemanaged more easily in ZCM than in many competitive products that may require more scripting ormanual effort.

ZCM has a solid set of core management functionality, and gets positive feedback from users for itsstability and strong codebase.

3/30/2015 Magic Quadrant for Client Management Tools

http://www.gartner.com/technology/reprints.do?id=1­1UURNK7&ct=140603&st=sg&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRonu6jAd%252B%252FhmjTEU5z16Osp… 7/12

Cautions

Novell does not have a strong brand in this market, and Gartner continues to see few organizationsconsidering ZENworks outside of legacy Novell customers upgrading from an old version ofZENworks to ZCM.

ZCM does not provide vulnerability assessment or out­of­the­box security configuration assessmentcapabilities.

ZCM has a dwindling user community, with a very limited online support presence and number ofuser forums.

SymantecThe Symantec Client Management Suite (CMS) is a comprehensive client management product. CMSoffers a breadth of advanced functionality and high levels of flexibility that allow it to be easily adapted toaddress a broad set of enterprise requirements. In October 2013, Symantec released the long anticipatedCMS version 7.5 after significant delay to improve stability and performance, and enhance capabilitiesacross management functions. The response from customers to CMS 7.5 has been more positive than itslast few product releases. However, Symantec's struggles with product stability issues, support and theability to meet promised timelines have forced it to more heavily focus on regaining trust from existingusers than on targeting new account wins. Symantec's commitment to the CMS product line has longbeen in question, and, while we remain concerned about the short­term focus on and investments instand­alone client management tools, we believe client management is a key component of Symantec'slonger­term vision of providing robust endpoint management and security solutions. CMS is a good fit fororganizations looking for advanced management functionality and flexibility to customize theirmanagement tools; it is typically not a good choice for smaller organizations without client managementskills.

Strengths

CMS offers great flexibility in managing endpoints; there are many ways to execute the variousfunctions, allowing administrators to tailor the product to meet their processes.

Symantec has a large installed base of customers, with one of the largest and most activecommunities of user groups and online forums.

Within its User Protection and Productivity group, Symantec has a complete portfolio of stand­aloneproducts for client management, mobile management and endpoint security that can be combinedto create unique endpoint solution offerings.

Cautions

While improved in the latest release, console performance may be slower than expected, and theinterface may be difficult and overly complex to navigate, especially for users without strong clientmanagement experience.

Symantec is unlikely to make significant new enhancements in the current CMS product. Gartnerexpects the vendor to focus on developing next­generation capabilities and solutions.

During the past several years, customers have expressed concerns about general Symantecsupport; specific complaints range from a lack of useful documentation to slow responsiveness toinconsistent support quality.

Vendors Added and DroppedWe review and adjust our inclusion criteria for Magic Quadrants and MarketScopes as markets change. Asa result of these adjustments, the mix of vendors in any Magic Quadrant or MarketScope may changeover time. A vendor's appearance in a Magic Quadrant or MarketScope one year and not the next doesnot necessarily indicate that we have changed our opinion of that vendor. It may be a reflection of achange in the market and, therefore, changed evaluation criteria, or of a change of focus by that vendor.

AddedAccelerite and ManageEngine were added to the Magic Quadrant.

DroppedNo vendors were dropped from the Magic Quadrant.

Other VendorsThere is another set of vendors in the market that Gartner believes provides client managementcapabilities, but that have an approach to management that is specific to virtualized client computingarchitectures. Citrix and VMware are two such vendors. Although we initially considered these vendors forpossible inclusion, after further analysis, we determined it would not be a fair comparison. Both vendors'tools should be considered as complementary solutions to the vendors included in this Magic Quadrant.

Another vendor we looked at but that was unable to meet every inclusion criterion is FileWave. FileWaveoffers many core requisite management capabilities, and may be a good choice for small or midsizeenterprises with large Mac populations.

Inclusion and Exclusion CriteriaProducts must include the following functions for Windows PC systems:

OS deployment

Inventory

Software distribution

3/30/2015 Magic Quadrant for Client Management Tools

http://www.gartner.com/technology/reprints.do?id=1­1UURNK7&ct=140603&st=sg&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRonu6jAd%252B%252FhmjTEU5z16Osp… 8/12

Patch management

Other functionality often included in client management tools includes:Software usage monitoring

Remote control

Security configuration management

Software packaging

Scripting

While not necessary for Magic Quadrant inclusion, the management of non­Windows devices isbecoming increasingly important and influential in client management purchasing decisions.Organizations increasingly look to extend much of the client management functionality to iOS,Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone/RT and Mac OS X.

Client management product revenue must exceed $10 million per year.

Products must be of interest to Gartner clients by appearing on their product selection shortlists.

Vendors must be able to provide product and support across multiple major geographies.

Vendors must provide at least five references for their client management products.

Evaluation CriteriaAbility to ExecuteThe Ability to Execute axis measures the vendors' ability to meet the current needs of clientmanagement tool buyers, as well as their ability to succeed in this market by gaining market share andachieving revenue growth.

Product/Service: We evaluated the core features of client management:

Software distribution

Hardware and software inventory, including software usage monitoring

OS deployment

Patch management

Other client management functions, such as remote control, security configuration management andsoftware packaging, were evaluated, but received less emphasis than the core features listed above. Inaddition, we also looked at cross­platform and mobile support, workflow capabilities to automate clientmanagement processes, and self­service capabilities. Product scalability, usability and administration werealso evaluated as they relate to being able to meet buyers' current needs.

Overall Viability (Business Unit, Financial, Strategy, Organization): This criterion evaluated thesize of the vendors and their financial performance. We also evaluated the size and growth of thevendors' client management business.

Sales Execution/Pricing: This criterion was influenced most by the vendors' competitiveness, pricingstructure and the frequency of appearance on buyers' shortlists. We also evaluated the degree to whichthe vendors have a presence in North America, Europe and the Asia/Pacific region.

Market Responsiveness and Track Record: We looked at the vendors' execution in deliveringproducts consistently and in a timely fashion, the ability to meet new market demands, and how well thevendors receive and utilize customer feedback.

Marketing Execution: This was a measure of the clarity, quality, creativity and efficacy of programsdesigned to deliver the organization's message in order to influence the market, promote the brand andbusiness, increase awareness of the products, and establish a positive identification with theproduct/brand and organization in the minds of buyers. This criterion also evaluated the degree to whichcustomers and partners have positive identification with the client management product, and whetherthe vendors have credibility in this market.

Customer Experience: We assessed the vendors' reputation in the market based on customer feedbackregarding their experiences working with the vendors, whether they were glad they chose the vendors'product and whether they planned to continue working with the vendors. User communities areincreasingly important to the customer experience; thus, we looked at the presence of user groups,vibrancy of forums and overall online presence.

Operations: This criterion evaluated the ability of the vendors to meet goals and commitments. Factorsincluded the quality of the organizational structure, such as skills, experiences, programs, systems andother vehicles that enable vendors to operate effectively and efficiently on an ongoing basis.

Table 1. Ability to Execute Evaluation Criteria

Evaluation Criteria Weighting

Product/Service High

Overall Viability (Business Unit, Financial, Strategy, Organization) High

Sales Execution/Pricing High

3/30/2015 Magic Quadrant for Client Management Tools

http://www.gartner.com/technology/reprints.do?id=1­1UURNK7&ct=140603&st=sg&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRonu6jAd%252B%252FhmjTEU5z16Osp… 9/12

Market Responsiveness and Track Record Medium

Marketing Execution Medium

Customer Experience High

Operations Low

Source: Gartner (May 2014)

Completeness of VisionThe Completeness of Vision axis provides an aggregate measure of the vendors' likelihood of futuresuccess in the client management tool market. We evaluated vendors' statements about future productdirection, the degree to which current capabilities map to future demands and the focus of the vendorson client management requirements.

Market Understanding: This criterion evaluated the vendors' capabilities against future marketrequirements. It describes the degree to which vendors understand current and future customerrequirements, and have a timely road map to provide this functionality.

Marketing Strategy: This criterion evaluated the vendors' overall marketing vision of their clientmanagement tools, including messaging and positioning and how they are communicated throughout theorganization, and externalized through the website, advertising, customer programs and positioningstatements.

Sales Strategy: The criterion evaluated the vendors' strategy and routes to market (e.g., direct versusindirect sales, and end user versus service provider) and the strength of the additional offerings they bringto market with their client management tools (e.g., endpoint security, service desk and assetmanagement). We also evaluated pricing models and whether they map to customer requirements.

Offering (Product) Strategy: We evaluated the vendors' vision and ability to address and deliver oncurrent and future market requirements:

MDM: This considers whether the vendor has a strong capability to manage smartphones andtablets, such as iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Windows RT and BlackBerry. While MDM is notnecessary for inclusion in this Magic Quadrant, it does influence Visionaries quadrant placement.

Mac management: This evaluates product capabilities, plans to manage Mac OS X and the ability toprovide functionality (such as inventory, software distribution, patch management, OS deploymentand remote control).

Virtual desktop management: This evaluates the vendor's ability to manage physical and virtualenvironments. Application virtualization and HVD support are particularly important capabilities.

Integration with IT service desk and asset management: This considers whether a vendor hasservice desk and asset management products, how relevant those products are in those markets,and how well the client management product integrates with those products.

Endpoint security: This evaluates whether the vendor has relevant endpoint security capabilities,and whether those capabilities are integrated with the client management product. Endpointsecurity includes security and policy­based configuration management capabilities in the clientmanagement toolset, as well as endpoint protection tools offered as adjacent products.

Alternative delivery models: This evaluates whether the vendor has alternative ways of deliveringclient management functionality, either in the form of an appliance or as SaaS, and their ability tosupport hybrid configurations.

Self­service: This looks at the ability of the vendor to provide capabilities that empower users toservice and help themselves. This includes pull­based software delivery options, enterpriseapplication stores and portals, and support for workflow functionality.

Business Model: We considered how strategic the vendors' client management tool business was andhow important it was to the vendors' overall success, and whether its client management tool business isstructured, staffed and funded adequately to succeed.

Geographic Strategy: This criterion evaluated the vendors' strategy to direct resources, skills andofferings to meet the specific needs of geographies, either directly or through partners, channels andsubsidiaries, as appropriate for the geography and market. (Client management tools are heavilypenetrated in the U.S. and some European markets.) We also evaluated the vendors' strategy topenetrate new markets.

Table 2. Completeness of VisionEvaluation Criteria

Evaluation Criteria Weighting

Market Understanding High

Marketing Strategy Low

Sales Strategy Medium

Offering (Product) Strategy High

Business Model Medium

Vertical/Industry Strategy No Rating

3/30/2015 Magic Quadrant for Client Management Tools

http://www.gartner.com/technology/reprints.do?id=1­1UURNK7&ct=140603&st=sg&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRonu6jAd%252B%252FhmjTEU5z16Osp… 10/12

Innovation No Rating

Geographic Strategy Medium

Source: Gartner (May 2014)

Quadrant DescriptionsLeadersPositioning in the Leaders quadrant is the result of successfully addressing the Completeness of Visionand Ability to Execute criteria. These vendors have succeeded in all the following areas:

They understand future organizational demands for client and user management.

They have the ability to meet a diverse set of organizational requirements, especially those of largeand mature enterprises.

There is consistent positive feedback from clients regarding the value of their products and theoverall service and support experiences.

They have sustainable market share and financial health.

They demonstrate ongoing visibility and deal success in the client management market (Gartnertracks how often vendors are being considered by organizations as a measure of visibility).

They have the ability to service global clients, or have demonstrated the ability to deliver andsupport solutions to customers in North America, Europe and Asia.

The vendors in the Leaders quadrant have unique characteristics that position them favorably for futuremarket success.

ChallengersChallengers are defined by keen capabilities related to the Ability to Execute criteria; however, whencompared with competitors, their products lack complete functionality and have comparatively fewvisionary features, particularly around emerging requirements to manage mobile and other non­Windowsdevices. This, along with the ability to support new management paradigms, is viewed as necessary toshape the future of the market. Their ability to execute will be proved by solid market share and overallstrong functionality. These capabilities are bolstered by overall industry­leading fiscal health and broadgeographic presence. There are no Challengers in this year's Magic Quadrant.

VisionariesVisionaries have scores that reflect feature­complete products, and show technology leadership inproviding differentiated or unique management functions that users have begun requesting, or that willhave an impact during the next few years. A Visionary has particular strengths in certain emerging areas,but may lack a fully mature life cycle management solution, global market presence, brand recognitionand/or large enterprise capabilities.

Niche PlayersNiche Players can be good choices. They may have strengths in particular areas, but don't have theresources to invest in all the requirements we evaluate for the Completeness of Vision criteria.Organizations looking for products with specific strengths, or looking for only a subset of capabilities, mayfind that Niche Players' products offer sufficient capabilities and support. Niche Players often target specificsegments or geographies, are new to the market, or sell their client management tools into their owninstalled base, rather than consistently as stand­alone solutions.

ContextClient management tools all perform the same set of core functions. The right tool for any organizationdepends on a large number of factors, including, but not limited to:

Scalability and architecture

Ease of use

Support for Mac

Integration with MDM or enterprise mobility management products

Skill level of IT staff

Remote­office or home­user management requirements

Endpoint security requirements

Integration and inclusion with other IT management tools (e.g., service desk)

Resources available to manage the tool

Cloud delivery options

Organizations should not merely choose from vendors in the Leaders quadrant; they should create a listof criteria that describes their needs, and select from vendors that best meet those requirements.Organizations should use a vendor focused on this market that can meet their specific needs for at leastthe next three years. Strong focus should be placed on skills, training, process and proper productimplementation, because these factors will influence an organization's product experience more than thespecific functional capabilities.

Market OverviewUse of client management tools is widespread in both midsize and large enterprises. They are used by

3/30/2015 Magic Quadrant for Client Management Tools

http://www.gartner.com/technology/reprints.do?id=1­1UURNK7&ct=140603&st=sg&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRonu6jAd%252B%252FhmjTEU5z16Osp… 11/12

many organizations as a primary means to reduce cost of ownership, improve user productivity, increaseIT efficiency and help enable a secure client computing environment. Client management tools have beenaround for almost two decades, and the market is fairly mature. However, ongoing changes in end­usercomputing are forcing client management tool vendors to continually innovate and evolve their productsto address new requirements. The consumerization of IT and the impact of the Nexus of Forces aredriving unprecedented change in the end­user computing space. In particular, bring your own device(BYOD), mobility, form­factor fragmentation and the cloud are requiring organizations to rethink the waythey manage end­user computing environments. We have also seen a renewed interest in clientmanagement tools from organizations looking to update capabilities as a result of Windows XP migrations.

Client management tool functionality continues to evolve in a number of ways. The core requirements ofinventory, software distribution, OS deployment and patch management remain constant, and toolfunctionality continues to improve in performing these tasks:

Patch management is increasingly becoming a bigger focus for organizations as they place greateremphasis on ensuring the highest levels of client security. OS­level patching has historically beenthe primary area of concentration, but, more and more, organizations are moving beyond just OSpatching and including third­party applications. There continues to be significant variability inpatching capabilities among client management tools. Licensing and integration of third­partyproducts (e.g., Landesk­Shavlik and Lumension) are not uncommon, especially for non­nativeapplication patching.

Self­service capabilities are quickly becoming a client management tool requirement. Organizationssee self­service as a way to enhance the management experience for the user, improve theefficiency in which software is distributed and potentially help save money on software licenses.Most leading client management tools offer basic enterprise application store or portal capabilities fordistribution today, but few offer out­of­the­box workflow, something enterprises want. Self­servicecapabilities are a differentiation feature among client management tools, and will be an area ofcontinued investment and focus by vendors.

The number of client management vendors offering SaaS­based options continues to grow, as doesinterest from organizations of all sizes, driven by a desire to lower costs, reduce managementinfrastructure and simplify management, among other things. Vendors are actively working todevelop SaaS­based offerings and we believe most will have basic cloud­based functionality availablewithin the next 12 months. While adoption of SaaS­based client management tools has beensomewhat limited to smaller organizations, specific functions (e.g., patching) or use cases (e.g.,mobile laptop users), we believe the future state of client management will be a hybrid of on­premises and SaaS­based functionality.

The growth of non­Windows endpoints and the lessening dependence on Windows applicationscontinue to be the most impactful trends in the client management tool market. Organizations arestruggling to manage the growing number of smartphones and tablets connecting to their corporatenetworks. This includes both corporate­issued devices and BYOD. All client management toolvendors in the 2014 Magic Quadrant offer some level of MDM capabilities, but the way they aredelivered varies greatly from vendor to vendor, with most offering separate products that can beloosely integrated, at best. Organizations purchasing client management tools should closelyevaluate the MDM capabilities of vendors, as the convergence of client management and MDM is stillimmature. The vast majority of enterprises still have different client management tool and MDMvendors.

A subtle, but important, paradigm shift in client management has begun: movement away fromdevice management to user management or to the management of isolated enterpriseenvironments across multiple devices. This shift is driven by the need to manage users who areincreasingly carrying multiple devices, the acceleration of BYOD, and the new user­based pricingmodels already pervasive in mobile management tools and introduced with other software, such asMicrosoft Office 365. Some consoles allow visibility to user­level information, but managementremains at the device level. We expect this to gradually shift and eventually become the preferredmethod of management. Some vendors offer user­based pricing today, but management remainsdevice­focused.

Client management is a mature market. Switching client management tool vendors occurs ratherinfrequently, especially at large enterprises. This is because there are usually limited meaningful technicalbenefits in doing so, switching can be a significant effort and the migrations can be time­consuming. Thisis particularly true where processes have been developed around specific tools. The main reasons we findorganizations moving from one vendor to another are because of dissatisfaction with the incumbentprovider or to get better pricing. In the midmarket, there are still many organizations with no clientmanagement tools in place, which makes it a focus area for all vendors and a highly competitive market.As traditional client management tools and mobile management tools start to converge during the nextseveral years, we expect a new wave of migrations to occur as organizations re­evaluate theirmanagement tool strategies.

© 2014 Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Gartner is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. or its affiliates. This publication may not bereproduced or distributed in any form without Gartner’s prior written permission. If you are authorized to access this publication, your use of it is subject to theUsage Guidelines for Gartner Services posted on gartner.com. The information contained in this publication has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable.Gartner disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of such information and shall have no liability for errors, omissions or inadequaciesin such information. This publication consists of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. The opinionsexpressed herein are subject to change without notice. Although Gartner research may include a discussion of related legal issues, Gartner does not provide legaladvice or services and its research should not be construed or used as such. Gartner is a public company, and its shareholders may include firms and funds thathave financial interests in entities covered in Gartner research. Gartner’s Board of Directors may include senior managers of these firms or funds. Gartner researchis produced independently by its research organization without input or influence from these firms, funds or their managers. For further information on theindependence and integrity of Gartner research, see “Guiding Principles on Independence and Objectivity.”

3/30/2015 Magic Quadrant for Client Management Tools

http://www.gartner.com/technology/reprints.do?id=1­1UURNK7&ct=140603&st=sg&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRonu6jAd%252B%252FhmjTEU5z16Osp… 12/12

About Gartner | Careers | Newsroom | Policies | Site Index | IT Glossary | Contact Gartner