SMS 2003 Windows Management Services Integration Datasheet
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On This Page
 | Realizing IT Investment |
| Integrated Administration |
| Standards-based Hardware Inventory |
| Ease of Use |
| Reduced Operational Costs |
Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 provides a comprehensive solution for addressing and resolving your change and configuration needs, enabling a reduction in operational costs by fully utilizing the manageability built into the Windows platform.
| • | To increase competitiveness and business potential it is necessary to reduce the operational costs of managing IT. To enable the reduction in costs on Windows-based systems, the optimal solution is a management tool that takes advantage of the built-in management capabilities already present in Windows platform. |
| • | SMS 2003 reduces overall operational costs of managing software by integrating with Windows and using the native Windows management services. |
Realizing IT Investment
Taking advantage of the built-in management capabilities within Windows-based systems, management solutions can reduce operational costs by not duplicating infrastructure and functionalities already available. By integrating with the Windows platform, and then investing in the backend technologies, such as Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), Active Directory®, and Windows Installer Services, SMS 2003 provides an increased level of manageability for Windows-based clients.
Integrated Administration
To enable administration based not only on IT needs, but business needs as well, it is important to utilize the Active Directory-embedded business organizational information. SMS 2003 has been extended to take advantage of the components of Active Directory wherever possible. For instance:
| • | Aligning with the Active Directory site design to simplify enterprise design and reduce operational costs. |
| • | Integrating with the Active Directory security model to allow SMS 2003 to utilize existing user accounts, eliminating the need for separate accounts and security settings, thereby reducing exposure to security attacks while minimizing the time and effort required for managing security. |
| • | Using Active Directory as a locator service for mobile clients to allow SMS 2003 to help locate critical resources and provide access to available software from the closest location. |
| • | Targeting software deployments based on the business logic contained within Active Directory including Organizational Units, Distribution Lists, and security groups. |
Standards-based Hardware Inventory
SMS 2003 enables rich hardware identification and tracking to ease the management of the enterprise. SMS 2003 has been designed to use Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), which is built into the Windows operating system for collecting inventory data. By using WMI, SMS is able to provide a consistent and richly descriptive model of the configuration, status, and operational aspects of a Windows-based system enabling a reducing maintenance and life cycle costs.
Ease of Use
Enabling users to easily install software is an extremely important factor for reducing training and support costs. SMS 2003 integrates with the Add/Remove Programs user interface included in Windows 2000 Professional and Windows XP Professional, enabling users to manage business applications through the a familiar interface while increasing the success rate and timeliness of installation of business applications on corporate desktops.
Reduced Operational Costs
SMS 2003 utilizes Windows Installer Service, greatly reducing the operational costs associated with preparing and deploying applications. Packages can be created directly from a Windows Installer (.MSI) files—which are able to self-heal installations—reducing efforts and potential support requirements for corrupted packages and failed installations. The combination of SMS 2003 and the Windows Installer Service enables users' security levels to be maintained for regular activities, while applying and utilizing elevated rights to enable automatic deployment of software, maintaining a high security configuration at all times.