Dell has just launched its KACE K Series Systems Management Appliances in India. Dell says that IT systems administrators can leverage these appliances to manage PCs and servers in a way that is comprehensive, yet easy-to-use and affordable. Dell KACE provides an appliance-based approach to systems management and its products are available as both physical and virtual appliances. The two products being launched in India are the K-1000 and K-2000 appliances, each having different functionality.

      Dell KACE 1200 appliance

In an exclusive pre-launch briefing with InformationWeek India, ahead of the launch, Rob Meinhardt, General Manager for Dell KACE said, "Our products are mid-market products and we are targeting the SME segment (organizations with 250 – 2,500 employees). These products are well received in companies that have IT generalists, and are favored because they are easy to deploy and manage."

Dell KACE did a customer survey and found that 60 percent of its customers could deploy the Dell KACE appliance within a week; 71 percent realized the ROI in 5 – 6 months.

“Today’s systems management solutions don’t always address the needs of mid-sized customers, who want solutions that scale to meet the growing management needs of their networks -- without ripping and replacing existing infrastructure. Dell KACE fills the gap between point solutions and complex, expensive management suites,” said Meinhardt.

Notes from the official press release say that the appliance-based systems management solutions help automate critical tasks such as hardware and software inventory, frequent software updates, maintenance of approved configurations, and security patching, allowing the IT administrator to effectively manage end points through a series of simple clicks from a web-based console.

Unlike alternative point solutions that lack key functionality and integration, or enterprise-scale solutions that are costly and complex to install and maintain, Dell KACE K Series Systems Management Appliances fulfill the systems management needs of most organizations, from initial computer deployment to ongoing management and retirement. They provide support for heterogeneous environments (Windows, Mac and Linux) and any compatible hardware manufacturers’ platforms. They typically install in one day at a low total cost of ownership. Dell KACE Appliances are available in both physical and virtual form factors, directly from Dell or through its partners.

Additionally, Dell KACE has set up a product-agnostic online community ITNinja, offering IT professionals a way to search for answers and best practices, to a range of complex issues, through a game-like experience. Content from ITNinja can also be leveraged by Dell KACE customers directly through the Dell KACE Appliance Management Console, providing expertise contextually saving IT teams’ time on common computer administration tasks.

Dell did not indicate the Rupee pricing for the Dell KACE appliances. By dollar value, the K-1000 has an entry price of USD 10,000 while the K-2000 is priced USD 5,000 onwards. Dell KACE appliances sold in India will be serviced by a dedicated team from Dell standard support.

Globally, Dell KACE appliances have been well received by government or public companies, retail organizations and educational institutions.

"We sell to all segments of the market where we see traction. But 40 – 50 percent of our global revenues come from public markets, where we sell to Federal and state/local governments. And in commercial markets our product is best suited to distributed environments that have many offices or branches. We have sold to many retail organizations and education institutions. We have also sold to commercial banks that offer retail banking,” informed Meinhardt.

KACE was an independent company until 2010, when it was acquired by Dell. KACE had a presence in India for the past 4 – 5 years through a partnership with Persistent Systems, Pune. Around 10 -12 engineers at Persistent were involved in QA and engineering work on the KACE appliances. Incidentally, both companies had a common investor.

For more information on Dell KACE products, visit: www.kace.com