New Dell KACE Appliance Improves Software License Compliance and Dell Warranty Management

Today, Dell KACE™ announced the latest major release of its award-winning systems management technology, the Dell KACE K1000 Management Appliance. IT organizations of all sizes can save time and money through innovative new software license compliance capabilities that make it easy to inventory and audit software assets. The new Dell KACE K1000 appliance also comes with new Dell Warranty integration, providing Dell KACE’s global customers improved visibility into their Dell assets, and the ability to better manage their warranties on Dell PCs and servers.

“As a result of our acquisition by Dell last year, KACE is now adding features that enable organizations who run Dell computers in their IT environment to eliminate manual tasks, such as researching warranty information, downloading hardware drivers and managing Dell images,” said Rob Meinhardt, president of Dell KACE. “In addition, we’re rapidly adding new features, such as advanced software license compliance that are available for Windows, Mac and Linux end-points.”

IT organizations are losing millions of dollars each year through unused or under-utilized software licenses. In addition organizations are facing rising costs from fixing security breaches due to malware, and from lost productivity that comes from unapproved software on end user systems. The new Dell KACE Management Appliance helps companies address these issues by harvesting and re-allocating unused or under-utilized software assets, which can help protect against litigation risks and equip customers with tools to avoid license violations. The appliance improves license management with innovative features that help users track software installation statistics, automatically distribute and patch software and easily run reports on software usage.

Key new features of the latest Dell KACE K1000 Management Appliance include:

Enhanced Reporting System. Dell KACE Appliances utilize a new Web-based reporting engine that can be accessed from any browser equipped device, including Windows-based PC or Apple Mac computers, as well as tablets and handheld devices. The new engine allows IT managers to easily generate and view custom reports that can quickly identify license compliance violations or unapproved software installations. This appliance offers an alternative to process-driven Windows console-based or Silverlight software tools.
Dell Warranty Integration. Dell KACE Appliances now integrate with Dell Warranty cloud-based services. This allows users to see the real time status of all Dell warrantees per computer. Administrators can use this information to create policies to efficiently address warranty expiration issues related to managed assets allowing administrators to quickly determine whether they should refresh assets, buy extended warranty or retire assets all together.
Improved Windows Agent. Dell KACE Appliances add a new and improved Windows agent that simplifies deployment to Windows-based systems. Easier agent deployment can result in greater visibility of all network systems and higher levels of compliance.

“We realized huge time and cost savings through the Dell KACE K1000 Management Appliance by automating software distribution and patch management,” said Tom Miller, systems engineer at Hampton-Newport News Community Services Board. “We were able to easily and accurately inventory all of the software across our client systems, thereby helping us stay compliant with software license agreements. The easy-to-use and Web-based reporting system helped us stay on top of our hardware and software component lifecycle status, thereby helping us save costs by retiring old assets in a timely fashion.”

The new Dell KACE K1000 Management Appliance and new Dell Warranty integration is available May 20, 2011. The appliance manages desktops, laptops and servers that run Windows, Apple Mac OS X and Linux. Pricing starts at $8,900 for 100 nodes. Unlimited node and special educational pricing is also available.

The Dell KACE family of systems management and deployment appliances fulfill the systems management needs for organizations of all sizes, from initial computer deployment to ongoing management and retirement. Dell KACE products are available as both physical and virtual appliances, directly from Dell or through its partners.

Join Dell KACE for a live Web event, titled “Software License Compliance: Confirmation Not Speculation,” on Thursday, April 21 at 10 a.m. PDT/1 p.m. EDT. To register, click here.

About Dell

Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) creates, enhances and integrates technology and services customers count on to provide them reliable, long-term value. Dell provides system-management solutions for customers of all sizes and system complexity. The award-winning Dell KACE family of appliances delivers easy-to-use, comprehensive, and affordable systems management capabilities. For more information, visit http://www.dell.com/KACE or follow the conversation at http://twitter.com/DellKACE.

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