Distribution Tool "Saves" PCs

Software Magazine, Feb, 2001 by Elizabeth U. Harding

Solutions provider reduces reloads and help desk calls for its clients

John Peters, vice president of startup OTG-Systems Inc., Minneapolis, says using PictureTaker, a software distribution tool from Minneapolis-based LANovation (www.lanovation.com) can come in handy when doing backups. OTG (which stands for On the Go), provides software and hardware support, integration services, and consulting, and is a contractor of Honeywell. The company routinely sends software updates of approximately 200 applications to some 7,000 users.

"We use PictureTaker when we take a backup of the system registry once a month," says Peters. "When one of our users downloads something from the Internet and screws up their PC, we use this to get their original system back without having to completely re-image their PC or reload all their software. We've saved at least 10 PCs this way."

Peters, who has been using PictureTaker for a few years, is a firm believer in this tool. Besides reducing install time, he says PictureTaker helped increase the install success rate that is measured by calls to the help desk.

IT organizations can install and update software in all heterogeneous PC environments (including remote PCs) via PictureTaker's compressed distribution packages. Software that normally takes up to 50 to 60 minutes to install can take just minutes, according to LANovation. PictureTaker includes LANovation's Conflict Checker Professional, which checks the entire library of PictureTaker Packages for potential file and registry conflicts before deployment. And PictureTaker's "smart variables" enable customization on specified PCs.