HP Client Automation Enterprise software

Data sheet

MobilityYour end users use their clients at home, HP Client Automation software helps IT organizations in the office, and on the road. With increased significantly reduce operational costs and improve quality mobility comes the challenge of keeping clients of service by automating many routine tasks in managing patched, configured, and secured without frequent, predictable, or high-bandwidth connections. HP the client environment such as patching, application Client Automation delivers IT organizations a single tool to manage clients through dynamic connectivity deployment, and OS provisioningincluding mobile allowing effective management of client images to PC and virtual desktop environments. It also identifies maintain security and compliance. security, compliance, and vulnerability issues in your HP Client Automation highlights client environment effectively and efficiently remediates HP Client Automation software helps your IT against them. organization meet these demands. Specifically, it helps you: Can you meet your client Reduce administrative costs by automating routine, management challenges? repetitive, and manual tasks Customers tell us that the top challenges in their client environment center around three areas: Reduce infrastructure costs, particularly for remote sites, by leveraging existing server infrastructure Improve success rates for distribution of images, applications, patches, and system migrations Improve security and compliance of the end-user environment Increase quality of service to end users by deploying changes faster and with less disruption Increase end-user satisfaction by reducing the need to engage with IT to resolve many PC-related issues Product overview HP Client Automation Enterprise Edition fundamentally transforms how clients are managed, using a desired state management model where IT defines how it wants devices to look through a series of policies, while agents on client devices proactively synchronize and manage to that defined state. This model results in higher levels of compliance while at the same time significantly reducing the amount of effort needed to manage the environment. It is especially effective for notebook PCs because infrequent and lower bandwidth connections can limit the effectiveness of task-based models that are commonly found across the industry.

Security and complianceKeeping up with the volume and frequency of patches and updates from OS and application vendors is tough. Add increasing availability demands, frequent and sophisticated security threats, and a growing mobile and remote workforce, and security can seem unattainable. HP Client Automation provides IT organizations a single tool that can enable desktop operations and security teams to easily coordinate around a common framework. VirtualizationMost organizations have begun the conversation about virtualizing clients to save costs. But few have standardized on a single technology. HP Client Automation offers IT organizations a single tool to manage PCs, thin clients, and back-end infrastructure enabling desktop operations to realize the benefits of virtualization without increasing the cost and complexity of managing the client environment.

Security, compliance, and vulnerability management In addition to desired-state management of the client environment, HP Client Automation Enterprise Edition integrates distinct capabilities for managing security, compliance, and vulnerability. Many enterprises choose a suite of security tools from a single vendor because it is easy to manage with a single console or set of consoles. However, in many cases this requires compromising on capabilities because no single vendor is best-in-class across the suite of solutions that are needed to maintain security. HP Client Automation removes the need to compromise by providing a single console from which anti-virus, anti-spyware, and personal firewall tools can be managed regardless of vendor. For compliance and vulnerability management, HP Client Automation includes the ability to scan client devices for known PC vulnerabilities as well as regulatory and custom-defined compliance. The results can be summarized in easy-to-understand dashboards and reports that allow IT to identify the highest priority areas, focus on resolution in those areas, and to confirm that remediation is successful. HP Client Automation uses a scanner that has been certified by the US Governments Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP), which is maintained and enforced by the National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST). NIST also maintains a database of known PC vulnerabilities, which are downloaded by HP Client Automation through the HP Business Service Automation Essentials Network. Regulatory compliance information is also obtained through HP Business Service Automation Essentials Network from third parties who are relied upon by the technology industry to set standards, depending on the regulation. In addition, IT can define its own compliance standard through a custom definition capability. Managing Client Virtualization Many enterprises want to take advantage of the business benefits of client virtualization such as data security and privacy. However, managing these environments can present a different set of challenges than the traditional client environment of desktop and notebook PCs. First, these solutions typically replace the PC with a thin client, which often has a different operating system than the PC it replaced. Second, much of the functionality of the PC is moved into data center infrastructure and is virtualized, using technologies from companies such as Citrix and VMware.

HP Client Automation can manage all of these environments. In the thin-client space, all HP thin clients can be managed, including those running Windows XP Embedded, Windows CE, and Linux. However, the real value in HP Client Automation is its ability to manage the back-end infrastructure of these solutions without needing to learn additional management tools or coordinate with other IT groups. HP Client Automation integrates with client virtualization solutions such as Citrix, Microsoft Windows Terminal Services, VMware ESX, and VMware ThinApp. For example, if an application in a Citrix environment needs to be updated, HP Client Automation can make the calls directly into the Citrix environment to suspend services, deploy the updated application, and then resume services. Other management tools may require client administrators to learn Citrix tools to suspend and resume those services, or alternatively require the client administrator to coordinate with a data center administrator to suspend and resume services. Each of these alternatives introduces additional cost and complexity, and can substantially increase the time it takes to deploy the updated application.

Customer Successes
Customers using HP Client Automation have seen these benefits (actual customer results may vary; HP does not guarantee similar results): Day-to-day management of over 200,000 client devices with only two administrators Over 80 percent reduction in weekend support staffing needs More than 10 million distributions over a one-year period with 99.9999 percent success Complete migration of over 6,000 client devices and 400,000 application instances in less than 8 hours with 99.999 percent success Automated change deployment of 300 applications across over 60,000 PCs with 100 percent adherence to service level agreements 90 percent reduction in client administrative staff 65 percent reduction in infrastructure Improving the client environment from being the least secure and compliant part of the IT infrastructure to the best

Addressing all of the stages of the PC lifecycle

Establish a baseline HP Client Automation Enterprise Inventory Manager establishes the foundation on which a solid client manageability strategy is based. By building a comprehensive database of devices and device attributes, IT can develop and deliver to the policies needed to enable security and compliance. Inventory and software utilization reports, including Windows Vista readiness reports, can all be accessed directly through the HP Client Automation Enterprise Manager console to provide visibility and control over all client devices on the network. Monitor software utilization HP Client Automation Enterprise Usage Manager can identify areas where you can reduce security and other risks to your IT environment as well as licensing costs by monitoring software usage. With direct visibility into the location, frequency, version status and trends of software use, your IT organization can reduce cost by decreasing excess user license costs as well as validating that old versions of software have been phased out. Streamline application packaging and identify conflicts HP Client Automation Extensions for Windows Installer helps increase the reliability of new package rollouts. It reinforces best practices by streamlining the package building process, accelerating troubleshooting, and allowing IT to tailor the package to the needs of the environment. As a result, administrators can easily test for possible conflicts and problems before deployment. Speed PC provisioning and migration projects HP Client Automation OS Manager automatically provisions and maintains the right operating system for each device as prescribed by policies. Whether the device is provisioned from bare metal or migrated to a new operating system, such as Microsoft Windows Vista, images are created and provisioned according to policies and are managed throughout the entire lifecycle. Working together with HP Client Automation Settings Migration Manager, HP Client Automation OS Manager enables personalized settings on each PC to be preserved and migrated onto the client to reduce migration time and cost. Keeping the environment patched HP Client Automation Patch Manager significantly reduces the time it takes to patch and secure the client OS. It provides complete lifecycle management of patches, service packs, and hot fixes, including:

Discovery and download Collection, testing, conflict analysis, and vulnerability assessment Targeting, deployment, and nearly continuous enforcement By automating patch management, deployment time can be reduced by an order of magnitude. For example, one customer reduced non-urgent patch deployment time from two months to five days, and can now deploy critical patches across the organization in a single day if needed. Deploy applications and content quickly and reliably HP Client Automation Application Manager provides the control and reliability required to execute timely application deployments based on business or IT needs. Everything can be handled with easeemergency situations when patches or applications must be deployed immediately, scheduled deployments where the application must go live across the enterprise at the same time or small targeted deployments for a select group of end users. Enable self-service software management HP Client Automation Self-Service Manager helps lower IT costs and improve end-user satisfaction by enabling them to automatically download, repair, update, and remove software. It presents a personalized software catalog based the end users identity and role, the machines configuration, and the entitlement policies set by IT. Enable comprehensive reporting HP Client Automation provides comprehensive and centralized operational reporting, including hundreds of out-of-the-box reports and views with flexible customization. Reporting can also be segmented by a variety of parameters, allowing IT to isolate segments such as a specific site, notebook PC users, or the marketing organization. For example, IT could look at the frequency and success of connectivity for notebook PC users to assess whether those users are able to stay in compliance. It could also identify specific users and PCs that are in the greatest need of critical updates and reach out to those users individually if necessary. Reduce management complexity for heterogeneous clients HP Client Automation supports multi-platform environments across Windows and Linux operating systems, and has proven scalability to manage hundreds of thousands of devices with a single set of tools. It reduces complexity by allowing you to standardize on a single solution for managing your heterogeneous environment.

Part of a closed-loop change management solution Complete deployment and migrationReduce the When HP Client Automation is integrated with HP time, cost, and risk of system migrations, including Service Manager and HP Operations Orchestration, readiness evaluation and reporting, conflict analysis, you have a robust solution for closed-loop change automated migration of end-user settings and data, and release management. The change process, from and parameterized deployment of images request through deployment and verification, is fully Modular solution based upon business need automated, reducing cost, time, and risk of change. Implement the appropriate solution for todays In addition, tight integration with HP AssetCenter business needs with an easy and flexible upgrade software provides visibility into software utilization and path as your needs evolve purchased licenses for software asset management and license compliance. A complete solution

Summary of features and benefits

Automated change executionEfficiently, reliably, and quickly deploy and distribute software changes, including operating systems, patches, applications, settings, and content to reduce management costs, time to market, and risk Security and configuration enforcementDefine and centrally manage the policies governing device configuration and software entitlements based upon user or machine identity, automate patch management, enable software integrity based upon distribution from an electronic Definitive Software Library, and maintain applications in operational state with verify and repair Vulnerability and compliance scanning and reportingIdentify security vulnerabilities and compliance gaps in the client environment, summarize results in easy-to-understand dashboards, and direct IT staff to highest priority needs by drilling down into results Continuous lifecycle managementUtilize a common automation tool to manage heterogeneous and geographically distributed client devices throughout the lifecyclefrom discovery and provisioning, to deployment and ongoing management, through software removal and platform retirement

Comprehensive training HP provides a comprehensive curriculum of courses. These offerings provide the training you need to realize the full potential of your HP solutions, increase your network optimization and responsiveness, and achieve better return on your IT investments. With more than 30 years experience meeting complex education challenges worldwide, HP knows training. This experience, coupled with unique insights into HP Software, positions us to deliver a better training experience. For more information about these educational courses, visit www.hp.com/learn The smartest way to invest in IT HP Financial Services provides innovative financing and financial asset management programs to help you cost-effectively acquire, manage, and ultimately retire your HP solutions. For more information on these services, please contact your HP sales representative or find us on the Web at www.hp.com/go/hpfinancialservices

Contact information
To find an HP Software sales office or reseller near you, visit www.openview.hp.com/buy For more information about HP Client Automation, contact your HP representative or visit www.hp.com/go/client

Technology for better business outcomes

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Copyright 20072009 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein. Intel is a trademark or registered trademark of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. Linux is a U.S. registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. Microsoft, Windows and Windows Vista are U.S. registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group. 4AA1-6017ENW Rev. 2, May 2009