Desktop management is a comprehensive approach to managing all the computers within an organization. Despite its name, desktop management includes overseeing laptops and other computing devices as well as desktop computers. Desktop management is a component of systems management, which is the administration of all components of an organization’s information systems. Other components of systems management include network management and database management.
Traditional desktop management tasks include installing and maintaining hardware and software, spam filtering, and administering user permissions. In recent years, however, security-related tasks have become an increasingly large part of desktop management. As a result, an increasingly large proportion of administrative resources have been devoted to security-related tasks, such as patch management, fighting viruses and spyware, and controlling greynet applications (programs installed without corporate approval, such as instant messaging, file sharing programs, and RSS readers).
Desktop Management Interface (DMI) is an industry framework for managing and keeping track of hardware and software components in a system of personal computers from a central location. DMI was created by the Desktop Management Task Force (DMTF) to automate system management and is particularly beneficial in a network computing environment where dozens or more computers are managed.