Desktop management is the prime responsibility of any network administrator or Internet services professional. It consists of the systematic activities that manage the computer resources either on an individual personal computer or for the computers of an entire network or organization. There are many different types of software that manage desktops, and they can be very simple or very complicated to use. They can also be free or extremely expensive.

With desktop management, administrators manage the hardware and software on personal computers, mobile computing devices and local area network servers. If you are looking to service a number of desktops, be prepared to spend thousands of dollars. Most companies justify the expense, because it saves them time and money in the long run. There are ways to do it yourself, but it takes a lot of time and research to find the resources you need, distribute and install the software and maintain all of the licenses, etc.

When you purchase what is known as a suite, you are more likely to get state-of-the-art features like tiered administration, report generations and notifications, accounting packages, inventory scanning, software-license monitoring, etc. You can outsource desktop management, which makes sense for smaller companies.

If you dont want to spend the money, and you have a fairly competent administrator, you can piece together a desktop management system that fits your companys needs. There are hundreds of software packages available that include separate scanning, inventorying and license-checking tools. Just keep in mind that the process is complicated, time-consuming and expensive.