Summary

In searching for a new workstation deployment solution, GTRI identified 15 ranked characteristics which an acceptable solution should possess. These 15 characteristics were used as the basis for this Analysis of Alternatives. This process consisted of a research phase and testing phase. 

During the research phase, team members compiled a list of potential solutions and gathered basic information about each. This list was eventually pruned to ten products which were further researched and scored based on their reported ability to meet the supplied requirements. As a result of this research, Ivanti DSM and Theopenem were selected for testing in a lab environment. Despite KACE scoring higher than Ivanti and Theopenem, Theopenem was ultimately chosen due to the unavailability of a KACE demo installation. 

The testing phase consisted of building a test environment for each tool. These environments were relatively simple and consisted of one server, a small network, and a client. During this phase, the tools were evaluated using GTRI’s requirements and any other features which may be useful to GTRI. The process and experience were documented along the way. 

Based on the research and testing phases' results, it was concluded that Theopenem was the optimal deployment tool for GTRI, given its ease of use and performance over Ivanti DSM. 

IT Capstone Spring 2023