Part 1) The Great Debate
Having read (and responded to) comments to Martin Thompson’s recent blog post about the pros and cons of using agent-based IT asset management technology, I felt compelled to articulate my perspective on the subject. It’s a topic that seems to generate a fair share of controversy, and although I may live to regret stirring the pot (novice blogger that I am), I believe the arguments in favor of agent-based technology have been generally under-represented, poorly understood, and, in my opinion, often unjustly maligned. Specifically, some of the advantages of installing a client (such as the ability to communicate with a central server on a regular basis, collect software metering data, etc.) have given rise to an exaggerated claim that agents are, by definition, “invasive,” and therefore, by extension, inherently “flawed.”
So in this series of posts I plan to represent the “other half” of IT asset management professionals who actively choose agent-based technology. As part of this, I’ll do my best to dispel some of the myths surrounding agent-less technology that occasionally lead to political and organizational arguments against deploying solutions that, in many cases, are more apt to deliver the kind of business value that’s being sought.
(more…)