HP to Resell LANDesk's IT Client Management Suite

LANDesk Software has scored a big win, announcing a collaboration with HP that has the HP Personal Systems Group reselling LANDesk’s Management Suite to help business customers speed up PC deployments, driver updates, firmware updates and other IT maintenance tasks. The two companies made the announcement this week.

On the LANDesk side, it’s no surprise that the company would want to team up with HP, given Dell KACE’s aggressive marketing push, going after players such as LANDesk, Symantec Altiris and Microsoft SCCM with a cost calculator on its site. It only makes sense for LANDesk to team up with its own big PC hardware player.

The LANDesk collaboration means that HP business customers will be able to use LANDesk Management Suite for remote deployments, reducing the need for desk-side visits.  HP says that can reduce the deployment time from hours to minutes. What’s more, the partnership between the two companies provides for the automatic acquisition and remote deployment of the most recent HP updates including drivers and hardware and firmware updates for PCs.

That will help business customers with their client management, end-point security and IT service management, too, according to HP. Other capabilities include energy conservation, device and BIOS management as well as proactive hardware failure alerts.

HP’s Strategy

It’s all part of helping business customers automate their IT processes, according to VP and General Manager of the Commercial Clients Global Business at HP Dan Forlenza who said in a prepared statement, “HP is committed to helping commercial customers mitigate issues that result in lost time, money and productivity”

But don’t worry if your customers have standardized on another HP solution or on Microsoft Systems Center Configuration Manager on HP for those jobs. Support for those will continue, too, according to the Palo Alto, Calif.-based technology giant.

LANDesk Management Suite is available now, and policy enforcement of key HP Professional Innovations, including HP Power Assistant power management tool and HP Connection Manager connectivity interface, is scheduled to be available in June. LANDesk support for HP thin clients will be available in October, according to HP.

What’s Next?

Also in October HP says it will expand support for Microsoft SCCM with a new deployment pack to help customers more easily perform scripted operating system installs and BIOS settings configurations.

Plus, HP will continue to offer HP Client Automation (HPCA) management solution, which provides end-client management automation and what HP says is the lowest cost of ownership in an all-HP solution. According to HP, this solution uses desired-state, policy-driven technology to enable enterprises to ensure their end points are correct and functional, and that they have enhanced security.

By popular demand, HP will also provide a single file that contains all the necessary drivers for a particular platform or model by August for most desktop and notebook PCs and workstations launched since 2010. The driver packs will be available in LANDesk Management Suite, the HP Client Catalog for Microsoft SCCM and HP Softpaq Download Manager.

Will LANDesk take its solutions even further, expanding into the MSP market? There’s been chatter about that, but nothing confirmed. Still, Dell KACE has certainly viewed managed services as a prime space with an RMM appliance deemed compliant with Fed standards.  Time will tell if LANDesk follows suit, now that it has a big hardware partner onboard.

Earlier this year LANDesk jumped on the mobile bandwagon, announcing support for mobile device management of devices including Apple iOS for iPad and iPhone, Google Android and RIM BlackBerry.