A Giant Leap for Avocent: LANDesk 9

Advances in Processes Automation

Abstract

Avocent announces the release of LANDesk 9, the newest version of its popular family of desktop

management solutions. The new release boasts improvements in key areas of software asset management,

simplified management infrastructure and endpoint security, as well as new enhancements to support

migration to Windows 7.

Avocent Releases LANDesk 9

In November 2009, enterprise IT management solution provider, Avocent, announced the latest release of its

flagship software solutions, LANDesk Management Suite 9 and LANDesk Security Suite 9. The service

management offerings include a broad range of improvements focused in the areas of software asset

management, simplifying management infrastructure, facilitating Windows 7 migration, and endpoint security

with an overall intent of enabling customers to achieve appreciable ROI on IT investments through a more

service-centric management approach to IT operations.

Avocent was formed in 2000 from the merger of Apex and Cybex Computer Products Corporation and has

since focused it development efforts on providing hardware and software solutions for enterprise desktop

and datacenter service management. Avocent acquired the LANDesk family of IT management solutions in

2006, solidifying their position as a leader in systems lifecycle management and endpoint security. The

LANDesk Management Suite provides a lifecycle management solution for OS provisioning, systems

monitoring, problem resolution, license management, and power management on a broad range of OS

platforms including Windows, Mac, Linux (Red Hat, SUSE, Ubuntu) and Unix (HP-UX and Solaris). In

October 2009, it was announced that Emerson Electric would acquire Avocent, though significant details of

the transaction have not yet been released.

Achieving Broad Functional Improvements

Version 9 of the LANDesk Management Suite and the LANDesk Security Suite include several key

advancements in enterprise IT administration. The new features are primarily focused in four key

management practice areas:

Software Asset Management

Without control over the distribution and utilization of software, organizations can experience significant

unnecessary expenses and can expose the business to litigation over inappropriate license use. The former

occurs when software packages are installed on desktop systems but are principally unused by system users.

This requires more applications to be purchased, managed and upgraded than are required for business

operations. Conversely, if fewer applications are purchased than are in actual use, due to the inappropriate

practice of issuing duplicate license keys to multiple systems, organization may need to pay legal damages in

the event the license malfeasance is exposed.

With LANDesk 9, Avocent has expanded its ability to bring visibility to software distributions in order to

ensure the appropriate utilization of applications, and that value is achieved in software investments. The

enhancements begin with software delivery, where users are given the ability to cancel the installation process

if significant performance degradation is experienced and administrators are now notified via a return code of

EMA IMPACT BRIEF

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©2009 Enterprise Management Associates