Microsoft redesigned its Systems Management Software for a third time, addressing complaints that earlier versions were slow and complex.
Sometimes Microsoft needs at least three trips to the plate to bang out a solid
hit. The first two versions of its Systems Management Server (SMS) prompted
a litany of gripes, including that the software was bulky and its reporting
features were inaccurate.
With SMS 2003, customers say, Microsoft has finally delivered a first-class
package for managing Windows desktops—although the product wasn't officially
released until October 2003, about two years later than first promised.
Marathon Oil was so stymied by SMS 2.0 that last year it jumped at the chance
to check out an early version of the next release. "We had a lot of issues with
the 2.0 client software being kind of flaky," says Michael Niehaus, who until
recently was a technology consultant at the Houston oil company, which is using
SMS to manage about 11,000 desktop PCs.
One big problem Marathon encountered with SMS 2.0: It was extraordinarily slow.
The system would take between two and four hours to install a software package
because the SMS servers had to scan through the company's 1,800 applications
one at a time. "SMS 2.0 was never, ever considered a fast software package,"
Niehaus says. And it was a network hog, eating up to 10% of Marathon's network
capacity.
In SMS 2003, Microsoft redesigned the Windows-based software agent, dubbed the
Advanced Client, which Niehaus says is much more reliable. SMS 2003, he says,
also produces less than 1% of the network traffic that the 2.0 agent did.
The Advanced Client uses Microsoft's Background Intelligent Transfer Service
(BITS), based on code developed for WindowsUpdate.com, which delivers operating-
system updates. Using BITS, PCs automatically adjust the download rate according
to connection speed. By contrast, using SMS 2.0 to distribute software over
slow network links is "like trying to pull a boat with a Volkswagen," says Brian
Steele, workstations manager at Citgo, an oil refining and gas company based
in Tulsa, Okla. "It would never work."
Another plus: SMS 2003 is much less complicated. "There's a learning curve with
SMS 2.0 that has definitely been reduced with SMS 2003," says Michael Schorr,
a network analyst at Ace Hardware.
Microsoft
1 Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052
(425) 882-8080
www.microsoft.com/smserver
Ticker: MSFT
Exchange: NASDAQ
Employees: 55,000
Kirill Tatarinov
VP, Enterprise Management Division
Leads development and marketing efforts for Windows' management technologies
and products, including Systems Management Server. Previously, he was chief
technology officer of BMC Software.
David Hamilton
Director of Product Management, Enterprise Management Division
Responsible for defining the product strategy for managing the Windows operating
system. Joined Microsoft in 1995 after the company acquired Network Managers
of the U.K.
Products
Systems Management Server 2003 provides automated software distribution, hardware-
and software-inventory information, desktop configuration, remote control and
security-patch updating for Windows PCs over local-area networks and low-speed
connections. Requires Windows 2000 Server or later and Microsoft SQL Server
2000 or 7.0.
Reference Checks
CNF
Roger Wilding
Senior Technical Engineer
wilding.roger@cnf.com
Project: Logistics and shipping firm uses 16 SMS 2003 servers to manage
4,000 PCs in its four business units.
Central Technology Services
Donnie Taylor
Network Administrator
donnie_taylor@central technology.net
Project: Service provider to Central Bancompany, a 14-bank holding company
in Jefferson City, Mo., installed SMS 2003 last year to support 2,700 PCs in 110
facilities.
Citgo
Brian Steele
Workstations Manager
bsteele@citgo.com
Project: Oil refiner uses SMS 2.0 to manage 4,000 PCs; migrating to SMS
2003 because of its improved handling of low-speed links.
Qualcomm
Richard Threlkeld
SMS Administrator
richardt@qualcomm.com
Project: Wireless-technology firm automates software distribution and patch
management for more than 10,000 PCs worldwide with SMS 2.0.
Ace Hardware
Michael Schorr
Network Analyst
mschor@acehardware.com
Project: With SMS 2.0, the hardware-supplies retailer supports 1,500
desktop PCs at its Oak Brook, Ill., headquarters and five distribution warehouses
across the U.S.
Mirant
Andy Ray
Systems Administrator
andy.ray@mirant.com
Project: Atlanta-based energy company maintains 3,000 PCs nationwide
with SMS 2.0. Planning to adopt SMS 2003 by end of March for its patch-management
features.
Executives listed here are all users of Microsoft's products. Their willingness
to talk has been confirmed by Baseline.
Projects: Data Analysis 
