Kaseya White Paper

The State of
IT Systems Management
IT professionals need to support users through innovative
and cost-efficient IT services but currently lack the budget,
staff and tools to meet their goals.

www.kaseya.com
Kaseya White Paper | The State of IT Systems Management

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We’re not gonna lie. Providing reliable and efficient IT
services to a growing, increasingly-distributed workforce is hard.
Mountains of data are being created, stored and accessed by more users over Kaseya is working
a larger geographic area. IT infrastructure is becoming more complex as
with IT professionals
virtualization, cloud computing and on demand computing are re-engineering
the way networks are deployed and configured. Federal, state and industry around the world
regulations are tougher than ever and require strict documentation. Users are to better understand
demanding more data-intensive applications that they can access from virtually the issues and
anywhere—whether they are in a branch office, working from home or
challenges associated
checking in from the beach.
with the dynamic
Kaseya is working with IT professionals around the world to better understand

”
the issues and challenges associated with the dynamic world of IT systems
world of IT systems
management. In March 2010, we conducted a survey of IT professionals asking management.
them about their priorities, concerns and goals for the rest of the year. We talked
to directors, managers and administrators from small and large organizations
who work in manufacturing, banking, retail, higher education, health care,
government and professional organizations among other industries.
The following white paper is a culmination of the survey results, painting a
complete and accurate picture of the most common IT issues and Kaseya’s
solution to solving these problems.

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Without further adieu, here is the state of IT systems management in 2010.

Why Do We Exist?
It’s a question philosophers have investigated for millennia: Why do we exist? For IT organizations,
it’s not as existential as all that. It’s simple: What is the role of IT?
A more efficient
For some, the mission is clear with clear direction and expectations from your organization’s
IT organization would
management team. Others are left to make things up as they go along as long as users seem help streamline
happy and the company isn’t embroiled in some data breach public relations fiasco.1
operations and
According to Kaseya’s State of IT Systems Management Survey, the main goal of the IT organiza-
tion is to improve user performance with 48 percent citing it as their top priority. And, frankly, that make the organization

”
makes sense. Technology is pervasive in today’s business world but if users cannot access the tools more nimble and
and information they need, all the technology in the world would be worthless.
more flexible...
What is the main goal of your organization? %
Improving user performance 48%
Increasing IT efficiency 37%
Mitigating risk 7%
Other 9%
Increasing IT efficiency and improving user performance are the most critical goals for more than
80 percent of IT organizations.

However, more than one third of respondents said that increasing the efficiency of IT (improving IT
productivity while reducing IT expenditures) is their main goal. And this makes sense as well.
All too often, IT is seen as an inhibitor to success. Administrators are constantly interrupting users

1
According to the State of IT Survey, 42 percent of respondents said the management team at their organization sets general IT policies but
leaves the nuts and bolts to the IT staff while only 30 percent said that the management team is involved in every decision. Nineteen percent
say that they are only involved in the budgeting process, and eight percent say the management team has no say in IT decision making.
Kaseya White Paper | The State of IT Systems Management

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to update their computers, and a large part of the budget goes toward capital and operational IT
expenses. A more efficient IT organization would help streamline operations and make the The main goal
organization more nimble and more flexible when reacting quickly to dynamic market conditions.
of an IT organization
So, what’s the answer? It’s both of course. The main goal of an IT organization should be to
support users through innovative, cost-efficient IT services.2 should be to support
User concerns seem to back up this set of priorities. According to the IT professionals we surveyed, users through inno-

”
their users are most concerned with systems performance and application availability. This isn’t
surprising given this is the most visible responsibility of the IT organization. Users are unlikely to
vative, cost-efficient
care about the nuts and bolts of IT systems management rather than whether they are able to IT services.
access the network.

How would you rate user satisfaction at your organization? %

Don’t know 2%
Somewhat pleased 64%
Unhappy 8%
Very pleased 26%

User satisfaction seems good but lukewarm.

What is the most common IT user concern in your organization? %
Application availability 57%
Data protection 19%
Energy consumption 2%
Poor performance 63%

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Security 17%
User name or password issues 28%

Two-thirds of users cite poor performance or application availability as their main IT concern.

So, with a clear mission to support users with innovative, cost-efficient IT services, IT professionals The fact is,
should already have a clear roadmap as to how to do their job, right? Wrong. Saying you need to the lack of staffing
do something is much different from having the tools to execute on it. The fact is, the lack of
staffing resources, training, specialized expertise and budget is severely hindering this mission. resources, training,
What is the most annoying aspect of your organizatin's IT systems
specialized expertise
%
management strategy? and budget is

”
I often have to disrupt users to conduct maintenance 21%
I’m always on call and have to work nights and weekends 18% severely hindering
There is a lot of manual, repetitive administration 49% this mission.
We’re strapped by a small budget and staff 98%

Working within a limited budget and staffing resources is the most annoying aspect of IT systems
management.

What Are We Doing Wrong?

It’s not necessarily what we are doing wrong when it comes to IT systems management;
it’s how we are doing it wrong. We’re monitoring systems. We’re backing up data.
We’re updating software and keeping track of inventory. These administrative tasks are all a
critical component of IT systems management. However, it’s how we are conducting this
administration that is grossly inefficient. Even with advances in automation technology, too
much time is still being spent on basic administrative tasks using manual methods or
relying on a patchwork of various solutions seemingly working independent of each other.

2
Less than 20 percent of organizations count ‘Mitigating Risk’ or ‘Other’ as their top priority.
 “
Kaseya White Paper | The State of IT Systems Management

What percent of your time is spent doing basic administrative tasks? % ...half of IT
25-49 percent 47%
50-74 percent 67% professionals spend
75-99 percent 12%
Less than 25 percent 49%
more than 50%
More than 75 percent 11% of their time on
According to our survey, half of IT professionals spend more than 50 percent of their time on administrative

”
administrative tasks, and 12 percent said they spend more than 75 percent of their time on
administration. This is too much.
tasks...This is too
Upgrading software is often still conducted manually, one machine at a time. Backups take the
much.
entire weekend. Systems monitoring siphons off an entire administrator position that could be
better allocated to another team. Patch Tuesdays require all hands on deck and are a marathon
onto themselves. Help desk remediation is like fighting a five alarm fire with a SuperSoaker.
Serious issues are getting lost among the deluge of password requests and basic configuration
problems. And having four individual solutions from four different vendors only compounds
these problems.
As a result of this inefficiency, basic, regular maintenance has a tendency to fall through the
cracks, resulting in an inconsistent IT systems management strategy. As a result, problems crop
up more often and take longer to resolve. Downtime increases. User performance suffers.
The organization is put at risk.
The good news is that there is a better way, and organizations are aware. Nearly forty percent
of IT professionals we surveyed indicated that they are likely to make a change in how they
conduct IT systems management in the next year while another one third are also considering it.

“
How likely are you to make a change to your IT systems management
strategy in the next 12 months?
%
Absolutely will 13%
Definitely won’t 8% ...an automatic
Not sure yet 31% and remote IT systems
Probably will 26%
Probably won’t 22% management strategy
Thirty-nine percent of organizations plan to make a change in their IT systems management streamlines basic
strategy in the next year while only eight percent said they definitely would not make a administrative tasks,
change.
allowing you to focus

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How Can We Be More Efficient and Improve User Productivity?
Implementing an automatic and remote IT systems management strategy streamlines basic
on other more strate-
administrative tasks, allowing you to focus on other more strategic projects that improve user gic projects...
productivity or contribute to the bottom line.
Automation is the key.
Imagine pressing a single button that downloads the latest Windows patch, tests it on a single
machine, then pushes it out to hundreds of desktops and laptops where it is automatically
installed and configured. A process that used to take several administrators hours—or even
days—now takes all of five seconds.
Imagine a new accountant is hired in the Baton Rouge office. You ask the local hiring manager
to plug in a laptop, and you press a button. The ‘Level 1 Accountant – Baton Rouge’ user profile
is pushed out to the machine. It automatically downloads required applications and drivers,
loads preferences, sets up a new email account, sets authentication policies and emails the
new employee a welcome packet from the IT department with training, help desk and policy
information.
Kaseya White Paper | The State of IT Systems Management

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Imagine setting preferences that automatically turn off inactive CPUs and monitors as the
clock strikes 6:30 pm on the Eastern Seaboard. An hour later, machines in the Central time zone
are shut off. By the time the sun sets over the Pacific Ocean, all inactive machines on your
organization’s network in North America are off for the night, saving thousands of dollars
in electricity costs and reducing your organization’s carbon footprint. A process that
As you can see, automation is a powerful tool. Having access to comprehensive systems used to take several
management capabilities in a single, fully integrated solution is even more powerful. And it’s administrators
within your grasp. By implementing an integrated and automated IT systems management
strategy you can transform the way IT services are deployed throughout your organization, hours—or even

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creating an efficient, consistent and transparent IT automation framework.
days—now takes all
Efficiency Benefits
Your IT systems management strategy needs to streamline basic administrative tasks simply
of five seconds.
and intuitively. Only then, will you start to see the benefits. However, some management tools
talk the talk but fail to walk the walk, requiring an advance degree in software engineering to
write scripts. IT automation should be simple. The goal here is to manage more systems with
less staff, freeing up resources to focus on more strategic projects. Adding complexity is simply
counter productive.

Rate the importance of each IT task to your organization. %

Helpdesk Issues
Not As Important 8%
Not Important 1%
Somewhat Important 23%
Very Important 68%

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Monitoring
Not As Important 12%
Not Important 1%
Somewhat Important
Very Important
38% The goal here
48%
Data protection is to manage more
Not As Important 1% systems with less
Not Important 1%
Somewhat Important 12% staff, freeing up
Very Important 87%
resources to focus

”
Risk management and compliance
Not As Important 8% on more strategic
Not Important 2%
Somewhat Important 26%
projects
Very Important 63%
Systems management
Not As Important 6%
Not Important 1%
Somewhat Important 39%
Very Important 54%
User state management
Not As Important 14%
Not Important 3%
Somewhat Important 47%
Very Important 37%

Data protection and help desk issues rate the highest in importance for the majority of
organizations.
Kaseya White Paper | The State of IT Systems Management

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Consistency Benefits
Likewise, it is important that your IT systems management strategy covers the entire IT
environment from the smallest mobile device to the largest supercomputer with everything in
between. You should be able to set up groups of machines to standardize IT maintenance while ...it is important
recognizing that a laptop needs to be managed differently than a Web server. The user
experience needs to be consistent as well—as an engineer in Bangladesh often needs the that your IT systems
same level of performance and access to data as an engineer in Seattle.
management strategy
Distributed employees often share data, so the data protection policies of your organization
need to be consistent between regions and departments. Ultimately, viruses find their way into
covers the entire IT
your network any way they can—often through the weakest link. It’s up to you to ensure environment from the
there are no holes in the security net.
smallest mobile device

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Transparency Benefits
Getting a handle on your IT environment is perhaps the most helpful and beneficial thing you to the largest super-
can do to make IT systems management more robust and more efficient. Knowing what is out computer...
there, who has access to what and where they are accessing it allows you to better understand
your organization’s and users’ IT needs. Only then can you effectively meet these requirements.
Having a reliable, accurate and efficient reporting mechanism is critical when creating
transparency throughout the network. It helps with budgeting and planning and can be a
lifesaver during an audit. Easy-to-run and easy-to-read reports also allow you to keep other
stakeholders informed. It’s a lot easier to make the case you need more budget or staff if you
can easily explain and show why the additional expenditures are necessary.

What roles do IT performance reporting play at your organization? %

Keeps management staff informed of IT status 61%
Keeps users informed of IT status 42%

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Helps with auditing and compliance management 50%
Helps with planning and budgeting 55%
Is strictly an internal tool for the IT organization 25%
Has no role whatsoever 8%
...monitor, main-
Sixty-one percent of IT professionals currently use reporting tools to update management staff,
making it critical that your bosses understand what you are putting in front of them. tain, update, secure,
How Can We Create an Efficient, Consistent and Transparent
back up and power
IT Systems Management Strategy? down any machine on
The Kaseya IT Automation Framework gives you a single powerful and reliable platform in the network —
which to implement an integrated and proactive IT systems management strategy. As a result,
repetitive tasks are streamlined and you have complete visibility and access into all machines
regardless of physical

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on the network from a central, Web-based management console. Repetitive tasks like patch location — from a
management, security monitoring, backups and software updates are automated, dramatically
reducing the time and effort you put into administration and allowing you to focus on more single screen....
strategic, revenue-generating projects.
Much like preventative dental care, Kaseya’s proactive approach to IT systems management
prevents major issues from occurring while giving administrators a single tool in which to
quickly identify and resolve the small ones. As a result, IT is more productive and costs less,
user productivity increases and the risk of security breaches, data loss or regulatory
non-compliance is dramatically reduced.
Monitoring and Alerts
The Kaseya IT Automation Framework includes proactive, user-defined monitoring with instant
notification of problems or changes. Administrators receive a system alert when critical servers
go down, users alter their configuration or a possible security breach occurs. Instead of being a
Kaseya White Paper | The State of IT Systems Management

“
slave to your management
software, Kaseya works for We have
you, letting you know when
and where to focus your customers that manage
energy. more than 1,000

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The platform also allows
administrators to manage
workstations per
more machines. We have administrator.
customers that manage more
than 1,000 workstations per
administrator. This makes IT
more productive at a more
efficient cost to the business,
making your management staff
more happy and more likely
to support IT initiatives in
the future. Kaseya’s integrated dashboard allows you to monitor, maintain,
update, secure, back up and power down any machine on the
Scheduling network—regardless of physical location—from a single screen.
The Kaseya IT Automation
Framework allows you to schedule events—backups, security scans, software and patch
updates—at a more convenient time for you, users and the organization. More importantly, you
don’t have to be onsite during the evenings or over the weekend to execute the commands.

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Simply schedule the event and be alerted on your mobile device if an error occurs. Manually
executing these commands takes time, and it’s likely you won’t get to all machines in a timely
manner. Kaseya ensures this basic, regular maintenance occurs, making IT maintenance
consistent across the entire organization.
Kaseya allows
What is the most annoying aspect of your organizatin's IT systems
management strategy?
% you to schedule
I often have to disrupt users to conduct maintenance 21% events—backups,
I’m always on call and have to work nights and weekends 18% security scans,
There is a lot of manual, repetitive administration 49%
We’re strapped by a small budget and staff 98% software and patch
Nearly half of IT administrators cited manual repetition, working nights and weekends and updates at a more
disrupting users as inhibitors to their job, issues that are resolved through automated scheduling.
convenient time for

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Scripting
Agent Procedures allow you to build virtually any execution, command or operation you want
you, users and the
through an intuitive graphic interface with virtually no prior programming knowledge. It allows organization.
you to combine multiple scripts into a single, concise agent procedure, further streamlining
complex automated operations while simplifying the process of writing, executing, updating and
managing agent procedures.
For example, it typically requires up to five separate scripts to remotely defrag a hard drive.
Kaseya allows you to roll all these scripts into a single procedure that 1) checks to see if users
are online, 2) executes the defrag operation, 3) confirms execution, 4) tests for performance
issues and 5) generates a report. Instead of manually firing off separate scripts one after the
other, Kaseya automates the procedure with the touch of a single button.
Writing and managing the agent procedures is easy. Dozens of commands are built right into
Kaseya, or you can write you own or import existing scripts. You simply drag and drop the
commands to build agent procedures and schedule them daily, weekly or monthly. Consequently
agent procedures can be managed as a whole or by individual commands and alerts can be
set up to notify you of failures within an agent procedure.
Kaseya White Paper | The State of IT Systems Management

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Help Desk
The service desk solution provides a comprehensive and flexible web-based helpdesk
environment. Think of it as your Hub of Knowledge where your predefined IT processes flow
through a central repository to create a fully-automated service desk strategy. The help desk ...administrators
module is integrated with the Kaseya IT Automation platform, so administrators have access to
all the pertinent information they need to identify, troubleshoot and resolve each issues as it
have access to all the
arises. They can instantly know how old the machines is, what is installed, when it was last pertinent information
defragged, when the last security scan and backup were conducted and who logged on over
a period of time.
they need to identify,
At the same time, users can be empowered through Kaseya’s end user portal, giving them access troubleshoot and

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to documentation, ticketing information and commonly asked questions. This transparency resolve each issues
further eliminates some of the more basic help desk issues, freeing administrators to focus on
more serious issues. as it arises.
What percentage of your help desk administrators time is spent on problem
isolation and root cause analysis instead of remediation?
%
25-49 percent 26%
50-74 percent 25%
75-99 percent 10%
Less than 25 percent 32%
More than 75 percent 8%

Nearly half of IT organizations spend more than half their help desk administration time on
problem isolation and root cause analysis instead of remediation.

Integrated under a single framework, the service desk solution speeds up the process of
identifying the issue and gets administrators to the remediation process more quickly. As a result
of this transparency, issues are resolved quicker, systems can go back on time earlier and users
are more productive.

Reporting

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IT professionals need quick and easy access to the details of their networks. The ability to
accumulate, track and analyze data over time is invaluable for tactical and strategic planning
as well as keeping the higher ups informed. The Kaseya IT Automation Framework provides
comprehensive reporting for all data collected and stored in the system. From hardware and The ability to
software inventory to bandwidth usage and server uptime, Kaseya provides you with the
information you need to effectively manage and convey the status of the network infrastructure. accumulate, track
and analyze data
Kaseya’s reporting mechanism includes:
over time is invaluable
¸ ¸

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Detailed list, table and graphic style reports Network Usage and Statistics
for tactical and
¸ Complete and customizable reports
¸ Server and Workstation Uptime History
strategic planning
¸ Hardware and Software Inventory
¸ Help Desk Trouble Tickets

¸ Complete Computer Changes

¸ Computer Logs and Status

¸ Disk Utilization
¸ Security Patch and Update Status

¸ License Usage and Compliance

 “
Kaseya White Paper | The State of IT Systems Management

Conclusion
Kaseya gives
The state of IT systems management is optimistic. Advances in remote and automated
technology have made things a bit easier. However, inefficiencies still exist. Manual you a single, powerful
administration still prevents IT organizations from supporting users through innovative,
cost-efficient IT services.
and reliable platform in
which to implement a
The Kaseya IT Automation Framework gives you a single, powerful and reliable platform in
which to implement a proactive, preventative IT systems management strategy. As a result,
proactive, preventative

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IT is more productive and costs less, users have access to the tools and information they need IT systems management
and the organization is at less of a risk of security threats, data loss or non-compliance.
strategy.
Kaseya State of IT Systems Management Survey
Results and Methodology
As part of an ongoing market research initiative to identify systems management trends
and evaluate best practices, Kaseya routinely contacts key IT representatives at a variety of
companies located throughout the world. For this specific effort, completed in March 2010,
we conducted an online survey of senior IT professionals at public organizations and private
sector companies in the U.S. Using a sample population of more than 3,000 targets, more than
300 people responded to this survey. Approximately two thirds of the respondents represented
the healthcare and education vertical market segments and more than 50 percent of the
respondents are employed by companies with 10,000 or more employees.

About Kaseya
Kaseya is the leading global provider of IT Systems Management software. Kaseya’s solutions empower virtually
everyone –– from individual consumers to large corporations and IT service providers –– to proactively monitor,
manage and control IT assets remotely, easily and efficiently from one integrated Web-based platform.
To learn more, please visit www.kaseya.com
©2010 Kaseya. All rights reserved. Kaseya, the Kaseya logo, Our Automation. Your Liberation. are among the trademarks or registered trademarks
owned by or licensed to Kaseya International Limited. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.
www.kaseya.com