Quest introduces KACE offerings

Quest Software has introduced KACE Systems Deployment Appliance (SDA) 7.0, which  automates large-scale system deployment and simplifies migrations of multiple operating systems. This newest release of KACE SDA makes it possible for IT users to streamline and optimize systems imaging and deployment processes with a broader scope of management through feature enhancements, including Linux scripted installs.

 

Also available today is KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) 9.1, a comprehensive, multiplatform endpoint management solution that takes an automated approach to addressing systems management needs, from initial inventory of all hardware and software, to ongoing management and retirement. Gaining visibility into your network is key to effective endpoint management, especially when it comes to protecting it from cybercrime. KACE SMA allows IT admins to see what endpoints are connected to the network and automates the patching process – giving these teams peace of mind that they are protected from future ransomware attacks. With updates and new functionality added to KACE SDA and SMA – offerings available within the Quest Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) business – IT and system administrators can tighten their endpoint management strategy and proactively provision, manage, secure, and service their growing endpoint environments.

 

“We are always looking to improve and evolve KACE solutions to meet the needs of our customers as technology continues to change and organizations have to address new endpoint challenges,” said Ken Galvin, Senior Product Manager at Quest Software. “IT departments struggle with managing and securing all devices connected to the network, and just can’t afford to spend time with issues around one-off systems imaging. KACE SDA and SMA address these challenges by arming teams with the solutions necessary to address every organization's growing endpoint needs.”

 

Evolving Endpoint Environments

Multiplatform IT environments and endpoint device management grow increasingly complex each year as new devices – from IoT devices to other network-connected devices including PCs, Macs, Chromebooks, tablets, printers and more – continue to proliferate company networks. Manual disk imaging is no longer feasible for IT departments, who find themselves tasked with more and more responsibilities as the IT ecosystem evolves. It is critical that organizations support their IT teams by providing the solutions that enable effective management of IT environments – instead of merely managing disparate management systems. With KACE SDA and KACE SMA, IT administrators and network managers can easily manage the complete lifecycle of all devices attached to the network, from deployment to retirement to provisioning to updating software, all from a single pane of glass view.  

 

 

Comprehensive Endpoint Management with KACE SDA and SMA

KACE SDA streamlines initial provisioning and ongoing administration of master system images and driver updates across diverse hardware platforms. This allows organizations to reduce operational costs and feel confident that connected systems remain secure and up-to-date at the same time. With robust automation capabilities, organizations can reduce complexity, improve accuracy and reliability, and free IT staff to focus on other high-priority projects. In version 7.0, KACE SDA now enables customers to set up scripted installations within their Linux environments. Also, new customers can take their existing WIM images and introduce them to the SDA imaging and deployment process with more flexibility.

 

“We’ve benefited from the KACE SDA solution for over 10 years and the changes made to the deployment detail pages make it even easier to make rapid changes to our campus production SDA,” said Steve Malaglowicz, Senior Technician, Truckee Meadows Community College. “Changing a task on the detail page was cumbersome, particularly where you had hundreds of tasks in your library. Now with the introduction of drawers capabilities within KACE SDA, the plus/minus buttons and the floating "SAVE" button it takes mere seconds to address these changes. Thank you for listening to user input to make this happen!”

 

KACE SMA is designed to save time and deliver rapid ROI, on average in just two months. With version 9.1, customers can now merge tickets while keeping an audit trail on all associated tickets, preserve HTML formatting in emailed tickets and comments, and access new Mobile Device Management (MDM) fields. The newest release of KACE SMA also supports new OS versions such as macOS 10.14, Windows 10 Fall 2018 Update, SUSE 15, and Fedora 28 and OpenSUSE 15 (both agentless only). Platform and infrastructure changes now include contextual Knowledge Based (KB) articles, an agent assistant tool kit that provides helpful troubleshooting options, and new Azure support that offers users the full SMA experience in Azure.

 

 

New features and functionalities in KACE SDA 7.0 include:

 

• Linux scripted installations: Added support for Linux that encompasses Red Hat, CentOS and Ubuntu and allows for faster, more automated installation services for Linux devices and makes it easier to service a broader range of machines in the enterprise.

 

• New WIM file capabilities: Users can select WIM files for import as an image and download WIM files for offline maintenance and replace current files. With more flexibility in introducing WIMs, it also provides enhanced logs that give admins a greater level of detail on where WIMs have been deployed.

 

• Windows Media Manager enhancement: Streamlines the user experience with Windows Media Manager rewritten in C# and updated to include KBE manipulator features.

 

• Updated SAMBA: Fewer touches in the password update process, with updated SAMBA share passwords that automatically update in every boot environment on the appliance.

 

Operating System upgrade: Users now have the most current, supported and secure version of FreeBSD.