System management is primarily concerned with the management of distributed IT systems. This includes, for example, the central administration of the users, the distribution of software, the management of the applications, etc. These terms are used particularly in the area of network management. A specific system management product does not only have to offer support in each of these areas. The suppliers usually offer ranges of products designed in such a way that special functionalities can be obtained as a module or an associated individual product.
Network management is the older and more mature management discipline.
In comparison, system management is a relatively new discipline, but is requested more and more due to the rapidly-increasing networking in enterprises and authorities and the resulting increase in heterogeneity and complexity. The goal here must be to integrate the two disciplines. The management products available at the moment are designed in such a way that they can primarily be used either for network management or for system management. Products which combine the two functionalities are still under development. As a rule, products that are designed for system management also allow access to information concerning network management.