Desktop Change & Configuration Management software can be defined as a software application which attempts to help minimize total cost of ownership of desktop software, by managing updates and upgrades for such software
 

The target audience for this report includes corporate IT, corporate IT purchasing, IT consulting and vendor product marketing professionals
 

Information contained in this report concerning Desktop Change & Configuration Management softwarelist pricing, discounting practices and Total Cost of Implementation (TCI) was obtained through public domain sources, and telephone interviews with the vendors themselves, and with persons familiar with actual Desktop Change & Configuration Management software deals, May-July, 2004
 

The vendors taken into consideration are
 

Altiris

CA

IBM

Microsoft

Novadigm

Novell

This report presents list pricing for all Desktop Change & Configuration Management (and Server Change & Configuration Management where appropriate) software for the 6 vendors taken into consideration, representing over 250 distinct prices
 

List pricing includes
 

	Product name
	Whether can be purchased separately
	License type (perpetual or term)
	License unit (Server, Processor, Desktop, etc.)
	Price by unit, or unit range

List pricing also includes detailed analysis of each vendor’s Maintenance/Support offering, and pricing
 

This report then goes on to summarize the essential aspects of 26 case studies of actual enterprise implementations of Desktop Change & Configuration Management software
 

In particular, Average Total Cost of Implementation is analyzed for each vendor, composed of
 

	Average Total License cost
	Average Maintenance/Support cost (for the first year)
	Average Initial Development Internal Human Resources cost
	Average Consulting cost
	Average Training cost
	Average Initial Deployment Internal Human Resources cost

Total Cost of Implementation averaged US$ 126 per managed desktop, although Vendor 1 was by far the lowest at US$ 69 per managed desktop, followed by Vendor 2 at US$ 78 per managed desktop (View the sample excerpt)
 

And Total Duration of Initial Development & Deployment averaged 0.019 days per managed desktop, whereas Vendor 1 exhibited by far the shortest at 0.004 days, followed by Vendor 2 at 0.011 days and Vendor 3 at 0.015 days, and Vendor 4 at 0.042 days (View the sample excerpt)