In order to really implement and maintain distributed systems, there is a need to use what is also known as system management software. Assuming a firm is big enough and has operations spread out substantially enough to warrant a distributed system, the benefits are quite obvious. For a growing organization, there is a cutoff point at which it becomes unrealistic to do individual installations on each station, and go through the paper and electronic trail left by every single user to help centralize the actual whole setup.

The concept basically revolves around a thorough scrutiny of information systems in business to ensure that they are up and running. This involves the acquisition of proper peripherals and software so that they can be used in the appropriate areas. They are then assembled and maintained using the latest updates to ensure that all the set goals are met at the right time. In simple terms, the major role it plays is to ensure that a business operates within a secure, reliable and easy to maintain IT atmosphere. It also encompasses hosting services and managed services in addition to monitoring information systems services.

Installation & Management: Fast and easy automation for new installations and upgrades is the core benefit. A company with a handful of computers all located in the same office can do individual installations. But it gets harder when a company has a large setup and a gazillion computers. Introduce system management, and the problems go away, the entire process is now streamlined and automated and needs a lot less effort and manpower.

The organization has to assemble its database for the project and once this is done, it is important for the organization to determine its hardware needs and acquire the appropriate equipment.The global technological revolution has made it easy for organizations or individual employee to own personal computer system instead of the outdated mainframe computers.

Managers have to develop proper documentation of how the system works and organize effective training for the employees on how to use the system. Both manual and computerized documentation help diagram and instruction sheets. Subsequently, this will avail the employee an opportunity learn how to use the system for different purposes. Beyond pure documentation, however, training may also include sessions which will enable employees to practice using the system under the guidance of experts.

Regardless of how well planned an information system is, there will almost certainly be hitches. For example the system may be unable to generate a report that needs to be made available to certain managers or the report may not be in appropriate format or certain employees may be unable to access data that they need. To put these problems under control, the installed system must be tested while appropriate modification is made.


To summarize, the immediate advantages of using system management are very much real and the possibilities even bigger. End of the day, each company has to make an informed decision about this based on its own size and growth curve. A cost benefit analysis to figure out the ROI of system management software would be a good place to begin.