But users want more than technical features. These vendors acknowledge that their connections to handhelds, especially, aren't as solid as to desktop PCs. Most require handhelds to be docked in their PC synchronization cradles for software updates and reports on system status. In Motion Ltd., says Mike Teplinsky, an enterprise consultant at Mobile Automation. Teplinsky touts the benefits of including data from mobile devices in desktop-management inventories.
Drake cites statistics that corroborate the help-desk opportunity.
One user of Intel's LANDesk Management Suite confirms that bandwidth is indeed a barrier to effective administration of notebooks. For many companies like Nabisco, desktop-management suites are also valued for their ability to track licenses, manage hardware inventories, facilitate remote technical support and monitor improper activities. Desktop-management software and suites have historically been plagued by incompatible standards for collecting and storing hardware and software configuration data. This has made it hard to share data among competing products and related tools, especially asset-management software from the likes of Remedy Corp. in Mountain View, Calif., and Peregrine Systems Inc. in San Diego. While vendors report satisfaction with CIM as a widely followed standard, they acknowledge that true interoperability hasn't arrived, though users are clearly demanding it.