This is a question many out there are wrestling with, and it deserves a straight answer - so I thought I would throw some quick thoughts together on the topic. Below are some questions and considerations to help you honestly assess your circumstances and choose the right path for IT operations and systems management for your organization.

Essentials 2007 (aka SCE) is an exciting product in that it draws together many features of multiple MS enterprise systems and operations management platform in a package designed (and priced)for the mid-market. But let’s face it, IT pros are busy in the enterprise too - that a one stop shop� concept, delivering all aspects of day-to-day management in a unified console is pretty attractive. I get that, and I feel your pain - that’s my life too. But the fact is SCE was designed for the mid-market IT generalist - the guy without the time, the staff, the budget and the skills of the IT shop in the large enterprise and without some of the more advanced management requirements and environmental complexity seen in that space.

Essentials delivers a lot of functionality for a single product, and I see some enterprises out their trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, largely because the product is so convenient and easy to use, delivering so much functionality: 1) Monitoring (including network device monitoring for FREE!) 2) Update Management 3) Hardware / Software Inventory 4) Software Deployment 5) Reporting (capacity, performance, availability, asset tracking) and 6) packed in a way that makes setup easy for the less-than-guru class of administrator.

All in a single console€¦. really very impressive.

But let’s get to the bottom line. Is Essentials 2007 right for your organization?

Let’s find out. Ask yourself the following questions to make a ’self assessment’ of the appropriate path for your organization. Below are the relevant questions, broken down into some rough categories.

• If you can honestly answer €œno€� to all the following, then it’s €œgame on€�! Get that Essentials deployment rolling!
• If you answer €œyes€� to one or more of the following, you should consider taking the enterprise path for operations and systems management. That means SCOM, SCCM and WSUS 3.0

Update Management

Do you currently have or require a distributed WSUS deployment?

If the answer to either of these is yes, then you’ll need to opt for the stand-alone WSUS 3.0 platform. Essentials does not support or participate in a distributed WSUS topology as an upstream / downstream server.

Software Deployment

Do you have advanced deployment needs, such as Vista OS deployment?

If your answer is yes, then Configuration Manager (SMS) is the route for you. Essentials is great for application deployments such as Office 2007, but lacks the robust feature sets of the enterprise platform when it comes to OS deployment.

Configuration Management

Do you have a need for monitoring / auditing of specific desktop or server configuration settings?

If so, you should opt for the enterprise Configuration Manager (SMS) platform, which contains advanced functionality for monitoring of desired configuration items (Desired Configuration Manager). Essentials has great base inventory reporting, but is not customizable for monitoring a user-defined attribute set.

Software / Hardware Inventory

Do you have the need to customize your software and hardware inventory?

SCE reports on approximately 60 aspects of software and hardware in managed systems, but cannot be customized. If you have substantial need to customize, chances are you need to go the enterprise route of Configuration Manager.

Capacity / Complexity

Do you have more than 30 servers / 500 clients?

Those are the supported limits. If you’re at these limits, or think you will be approaching them in the next 18-24 months, you should probably opt for the enterprise platforms SCOM, SCCM, and WSUS.

Do you require multiple management groups within a single domain, such as for autonomous IT units in delegation scenarios (resource OUs)?

Only 1 Essentials Server is allowed per domain. If you require multiple management groups, then you are a candidate for Ops Mgr 2007.

Do you have multiple branch offices with substantial client and server counts?

Gateway scenarios, tiering and multiple management server deployments are not available with SCE. If you have need to distribute workloads to conserve bandwidth, then the enterprise route will be the path for you.

Untrusted domains€¦.workgroup servers?

Essentials doesn’t support the gateway / certificate-based authorization scenarios of the enterprise Operations Manager platform. Such scenarios will necessitate going the enterprise route.

Security

Do you require role-based security for IT specialists in specific support roles?

SCE doesn’t support the robust role-based options you see in SCOM. If you need to drill down on role-based security, SCOM is the tool for the job.

Conclusion

That’s it! Count up your answers. If you have even a single yes in here, weigh your options carefully. You can make some concessions, but don’t back yourself into a corner to save a buck. Essentials is a awesome tool, but it’s not right for every environment. Choose wisely.

Questions? Comments? Leave your comments here or ping me through the contact page on this site.