7/30/2019 Ovum: Selecting a PC Power Management Solution Vendor
1/15
Selecting a PC Power Management Solution Vendor (OI00139-020)
Ovum (Published 12/2011) Page 1
This report is a licensed product and is not to be photocopied
SUMMARY
Catalyst
The cost of electricity is rising and for many organizations so too is their IT power bill. PC power
management (PCPM) solutions can be a cost-effective way for organizations to reduce energy
consumption, and therefore operating costs.
Ovum view
PCPM solutions are lightweight, relatively inexpensive, and easy to deploy. They deliver a fast
return on investment, and while energy savings per machine are modest, they can deliver
substantial operational savings when implemented across large fleets of machines.
Key messages
PCPM solutions save power, money, and carbon emissions
Vendor estimates vary, but PCPM solutions can save organizations about $36 per computer per
year just in computer power consumption. There may be additional savings in air conditioning
because fewer powered-up computers will produce less heat. This typically equates to a 40%
reduction in PC power costs or 380 kWh per PC per year or 586 pounds of CO2 per user per year.
Savings across desktop fleets are greater than across notebook or laptop deployments because
mobile devices consume far less energy than desktop machines. The average desktop base unit
consumes 52W and monitors consume 40W per year, while the average laptop's yearly
INDUSTRY SOLUTIONS GUIDE
Selecting a PC Power
Management Solution Vendor
Weighing many options in a crowded market
Reference Code: OI00139-020
Publication Date: December 2011
Author: Rhonda Ascierto
7/30/2019 Ovum: Selecting a PC Power Management Solution Vendor
2/15
Selecting a PC Power Management Solution Vendor (OI00139-020)
Ovum (Published 12/2011) Page 2
This report is a licensed product and is not to be photocopied
consumption is just 30W, though many organizations with large laptop fleets also supply
employees with external monitors, raising overall power consumption. In either case, PCPM
deployment can deliver worthwhile power, cost, and CO2 savings.
Power saving technologies built into operating systems are inadequate
Many IT administrators have inflated expectations about the effectiveness of desktops' built-in
power-saving technologies. Newer desktop machines and operating systems have improved
power-saving features, such as the default setting in Windows 7 that switches a machine into
sleep mode after an hour of idle time. However, a PCPM solution can deliver an additional 40% or
more power savings than the features built into operating systems and desktops. Furthermore,
many PCPM solutions enable after-hours remote access. Many corporate users override the
default power-saving settings in Windows so they can remotely access their office PCs after hours.
The typical PCPM savings of 40% or more also applies to desktop fleets that are managed by
Microsoft's System Center Configuration Manager (ConfigMgr) for endpoint management. While
Microsoft's latest ConfigMgr release, R3, includes improved power management, it falls short of
mature PCPM solutions on the market. For example, ConfigMgr will put PCs into sleep mode after
a period of inactivity, whereas a PCPM solution will shut them down completely. PCPM solutions
also have powerful controls for XP clients, while ConfigMgr does not.
PCPM solutions can tackle PC insomnia
Unlike built-in operating system power management systems, PCPM solutions tackle "PC
insomnia", which occurs when a machine is idle yet unable to shut down or switch into a low-
power mode. PC insomnia occurs when the idle timer in the built-in power management system in
Windows is kept active even when there is no user activity or purposeful CPU activity. This can be
caused by applications that are not power-management-aware. Another culprit can be a faulty
mouse with "pointer drift" that makes it appear that a user is present. Leading PCPM solutions
commonly address PC insomnia by identifying and reporting on power consumption that seems
uncharacteristic or unreasonable, and also by blacklisting certain applications that are known to
cause to PC insomnia. Some PCPM solutions can also whitelist certain actions that may seem like
PC insomnia but are not, such as, for example, downloading a large media file such as a movie,
which requires no user involvement but causes substantial CPU activity.
Reporting is key
"You can't manage what you can't measure" is a well-worn phrase and for good cause when it
comes to power management on desktops, monitors, and laptops. PCPM solutions can measure
power, cost, and CO2 savings, and report these metrics to IT administrators and C-level
executives. A PCPM solution with comprehensive reporting capabilities enables accurate and
granular measurement of desktop power consumption. Insightful reports equip IT administrators
7/30/2019 Ovum: Selecting a PC Power Management Solution Vendor
3/15
Selecting a PC Power Management Solution Vendor (OI00139-020)
Ovum (Published 12/2011) Page 3
This report is a licensed product and is not to be photocopied
with data to create power-management policies that deliver greater power savings, as well as
better-informed desktop configuration and hardware and software purchasing solutions. For
example, PCPM reports can show the difference between Energy Star versus non-Energy Star
computers to better justify sustainable procurement policies. PCPM reports also can show the
energy consumption of different models and types of computer monitors in different offices within
an organization.
Market development relies on IT being involved in energy and sustainability
The payback period for PCPM solutions is typically six months or sooner, and in the US the
solution costs may be completely offset by utility rebates.
INDUSTRY SOLUTIONS GUIDE TO PCPM
In this report, Ovum examines the competitive landscape of PCPM solutions. This assessment is a
quantitative and qualitative representation of Ovum's view and opinion about the competitive
market environment for these solutions.
7/30/2019 Ovum: Selecting a PC Power Management Solution Vendor
4/15
Selecting a PC Power Management Solution Vendor (OI00139-020)
Ovum (Published 12/2011) Page 4
This report is a licensed product and is not to be photocopied
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SUMMARY 1Catalyst 1Ovum view 1Key messages 1
MARKET LEADERS 6Market leaders: technology assessment 7Market leaders: market impact 8Market leaders: reporting 10
VENDOR ANALYSIS 111E 11
APPENDIX 14Ask the analyst 14Ovum ratings 14Extended methodology 14Disclaimer 15
7/30/2019 Ovum: Selecting a PC Power Management Solution Vendor
5/15
Selecting a PC Power Management Solution Vendor (OI00139-020)
Ovum (Published 12/2011) Page 5
This report is a licensed product and is not to be photocopied
TABLE OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Leading PCPM solutions -- positioning and assessment 6Figure 2: Market leaders - technology assessment 7Figure 3: Market leaders - market impact 9Figure 4: Market leaders - reporting 10Figure 5: 1E PCPM solution assessments 11
7/30/2019 Ovum: Selecting a PC Power Management Solution Vendor
6/15
Selecting a PC Power Management Solution Vendor (OI00139-020)
Ovum (Published 12/2011) Page 6
This report is a licensed product and is not to be photocopied
MARKET LEADERS
By focusing on giving IT administrators flexibility and choice with numerous dashboards and
granular reporting capabilities, 1E has become one of the most influential and largest vendors in
this market. Its customers include global Fortune 500 companies and public-sector organizations.
Figure 1: Leading PCPM solutions -- positioning and assessment
Source: Ovum O V U M
7/30/2019 Ovum: Selecting a PC Power Management Solution Vendor
7/15
Selecting a PC Power Management Solution Vendor (OI00139-020)
Ovum (Published 12/2011) Page 7
This report is a licensed product and is not to be photocopied
MARKET LEADERS
The competitive landscape varies across the evaluation categories covered in this report:
technology assessment, market impact, and reporting.
Market leaders: technology assessment
As a testament to the strength of competition among PCPM solutions, seven of the 11 vendors in
this report are positioned as market leaders for at least one of the technology assessment criteria.
Figure 2: Market leaders - technology assessment
Source: Ovum O V U M
The highest scores for depth and breadth of function and features indicate that a solution is the
best of its type on the market. These solutions, from market leaders 1E, IBM, and Verdiem, have
the broadest range of functionality. No single vendor has the full complement of available PCPM
features, but these three leaders come closest. Certain features offer obvious advantages to
7/30/2019 Ovum: Selecting a PC Power Management Solution Vendor
8/15
Selecting a PC Power Management Solution Vendor (OI00139-020)
Ovum (Published 12/2011) Page 8
This report is a licensed product and is not to be photocopied
organizations of all sizes and requirements, such as automatic remediation of PC insomnia.
However, other features may not be as useful across the board. For example, 1E, IBM, and
Verdiem (and others in this report) can limit the number of desktop wake-ups per second in order
to avoid network overload.
A vendor's maturity can be an indicator of its financial stability and long-term outlook, while a
solution's maturity can speak to its level of development. 1E and Verdiem have the most mature
PCPM solutions on the market, each with a lineage of more than 10 years.
Ovum's usability assessment focuses on ease of use for both the IT administrator and the end
user. Market leaders 1E, IBM, and Verdiem, as well as the fast-growing startup AVOB, dominate
this area. Usability assesses how features and functions can be accessed and deployed, and
includes factors such as training, whether data is automatically saved before a scheduled shut
down, and whether end-user profiles and reports can be readily customized.
In terms of security, it should be noted that all vendors' solutions in this report are highly secure.
However, the leaders 1E, IBM, LANDesk, and Verdiem all lock or hibernate a device that has been
left unattended for a designated period of time. All have been externally verified as being secure
and provide encryption support for the US Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS), which
is a required for US government procurement.
Market leaders: market impactMarket impact scores reflect a combination of commercial factors, including revenues, installed
base, and geographic, vertical, and customer size-band reach. Figure 5 shows the highest-scoring
vendors in each of these categories.
7/30/2019 Ovum: Selecting a PC Power Management Solution Vendor
9/15
Selecting a PC Power Management Solution Vendor (OI00139-020)
Ovum (Published 12/2011) Page 9
This report is a licensed product and is not to be photocopied
Figure 3: Market leaders - market impact
Source: Ovum O V U M
1E pulls away from the rest of the vendors in the PCPM landscape largely because of its high
revenues, and its broad geographical and customer size-band reach (its customers are spread
across small, mid-sized, and large companies). 1E has one of the largest PCPM installed bases
and boasts some very large installations in high-profile Fortune 100 companies. Among pure-play
PCPM vendors, 1E has the largest installed base.
7/30/2019 Ovum: Selecting a PC Power Management Solution Vendor
10/15
Selecting a PC Power Management Solution Vendor (OI00139-020)
Ovum (Published 12/2011) Page 10
This report is a licensed product and is not to be photocopied
Market leaders: reporting
Figure 4: Market leaders - reporting
Source: Ovum O V U M
1E ranks as the reporting leader by virtue of its expansive breadth and depth of reporting
capabilities. NightWatchman Enterprise from 1E and other solutions include what-if analysis, which
can compare actual and/or hypothetical groups of machines by make and model, software
installed, or any other type of metric. This yields power-usage data for modeling for PC refreshcycles, as well as for determining the most energy-efficient deployment configurations.
7/30/2019 Ovum: Selecting a PC Power Management Solution Vendor
11/15
Selecting a PC Power Management Solution Vendor (OI00139-020)
Ovum (Published 12/2011) Page 11
This report is a licensed product and is not to be photocopied
VENDOR ANALYSIS
1E
London-based 1E, with its suite of energy management software, is widely recognized as a top
PCPM vendor. Since launching its flagship NightWatchman Enterprise desktop solution more than
a decade ago, 1E has become a best-of-breed vendor.
Figure 5: 1E PCPM solution assessments
Source: Ovum O V U M
Feature-rich NightWatchman Enterprise has found a wide following among large organizations,
particularly in the public sector, and among Fortune 500 companies in the finance and services
7/30/2019 Ovum: Selecting a PC Power Management Solution Vendor
12/15
Selecting a PC Power Management Solution Vendor (OI00139-020)
Ovum (Published 12/2011) Page 12
This report is a licensed product and is not to be photocopied
industries. 1E has various-sized customers for NightWatchman Enterprise, including small
organizations with 500 nodes. The 1E customer base is skewed heavily toward North America and
Europe, though it is steadily expanding in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.
NightWatchman Enterprise is a comprehensive, stand-alone power-management solution for
desktops and laptops that has been certified by major US utilities that offer rebates for power
savings.
NightWatchman Enterprise takes a fine-grained approach to accuracy, reporting, and usability.
Among its strengths, NightWatchman Enterprise features robust PC insomnia capabilities called
Advanced Sleepless Client Detection, whose breadth and depth is a competitive differentiator. It
reports on processes that prevent PCs from sleeping, such as anti-virus software and
screensavers, and allows administrators to automatically override them. Moreover,
NightWatchman Enterprise is one of only a handful of leading PCPM solutions that reports on
other issues that can prevent a scheduled power-down, such as faulty keyboard/mouse activity,
faulty drivers, spikes in CPU activity, and rogue processes that raise flags to operating systems for
invalid reasons. Examples of rogue processes include network drivers keeping machines awake,
or the operating system acting as though media is still playing when the program has been closed.
While it does not compete head-to-head with endpoint management systems, NightWatchman
Enterprise does include some optional management features, such as patch management, PC
health monitoring, and automated remediation. These features are included in the solution andbolster 1Es position in the mid-market, where companies are less likely to have a comprehensive
endpoint management system already in place.
Another strength of NightWatchman Enterprise is that it determines a consumption baseline before
deployment. This enables more accurate measurement of power savings because it is based on
actual behavior and not assumptions.
NightWatchman Enterprise includes automatic document recovery for all Windows applications, as
well as IBM Lotus Notes and Lotus 1-2-3. IT administrators can whitelist home-grown applications
and apply scripts to auto-recover other applications. One of the products other strengths is that it
helps IT administrators and end users by providing about a dozen different end-user dashboards
out of the box, including an executive version. Its dashboards include an end-user widget that
shows energy consumed and saved, in dollars, watts, and CO2. Administrators also can customize
dashboards and give each version a different look and features.
1E also scores strongly in remote management capabilities, which includes offering basic web-
based PC access for remote situations through Microsofts Remote Desktop Protocol technology.
This feature does not compete with more advanced remote-access technologies such as
7/30/2019 Ovum: Selecting a PC Power Management Solution Vendor
13/15
Selecting a PC Power Management Solution Vendor (OI00139-020)
Ovum (Published 12/2011) Page 13
This report is a licensed product and is not to be photocopied
GoToMyPC and others. Instead, it offers remote access through either a customizable web portal
or a mobile device, allowing end users to wake their office PC automatically before connecting.
In addition to its tight integration with Windows platforms, it supports Mac computers, but not Linux
machines. It is currently available only in English, French, and German, although further language
support can be provided at an additional cost. However, it does support multi-currency reporting
for multi-country deployments.
1E offers NightWatchman Enterprise via a perpetual or subscription on-premise license. However,
it does not yet offer an agentless version of NightWatchman Enterprise with SaaS-based licensing.
1E recently began to offer a shared-savings model, in which customers pay back to 1E the cost ofthe solution with the power savings they achieve within a one-year period.
Recommendation: shortlist
NightWatchman Enterprise should be shortlisted by mid-to-large-size organizations that seek a
best-of-breed, stand-alone PCPM solution that can also perform patch management and PC
health remediation.
NightWatchman Enterprise is an excellent choice for organizations with a focus on sustainability
because its reports include CO2 consumption and savings, which can feed into company-wide
sustainability reports.
7/30/2019 Ovum: Selecting a PC Power Management Solution Vendor
14/15
Selecting a PC Power Management Solution Vendor (OI00139-020)
Ovum (Published 12/2011) Page 14
This report is a licensed product and is not to be photocopied
APPENDIX
Ask the analyst
Rhonda Ascierto, Senior Analyst, Energy and Sustainability Technology
Ovum ratings
Shortlist these vendors solutions should always be placed on an organization's
shortlist for PCPM technology selection. This category represents the leading
solutions that Ovum believes are worthy of a place on most technology selection
shortlists. The vendor has established a commanding market position with a product
that is widely accepted as best of breed.
Extended methodology
Ovum assesses PCPM solution vendors across three major dimensions: technology capability,
market impact, and reporting features and functionality.
Technology
Ovum analysts score each vendor across seven major technology criteria, on a normalized scale
of 1 to 10. The seven rating areas used for assessing the vendors in the PCPM market are:
Remote configuration management
Usability Security
Maturity
Functional breadth and depth
Strategy and execution
Scalability
Market impact
Ovum uses data collected through primary and secondary research to determine a vendors global
market impact. Market impact is measured across six categories, each of which has a maximum
score of 10.
PCPM revenues
Overall revenue growth
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]7/30/2019 Ovum: Selecting a PC Power Management Solution Vendor
15/15
Selecting a PC Power Management Solution Vendor (OI00139-020)
Ovum (Published 12/2011) Page 15
This report is a licensed product and is not to be photocopied
Vertical reach
Geographic reach
Customer size-band coverage
PCPM installed base
Reporting
Disclaimer
All Rights Reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in anyform by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the
prior permission of the publisher, Ovum (an Informa business).
The facts of this report are believed to be correct at the time of publication but cannot be
guaranteed. Please note that the findings, conclusions, and recommendations that Ovum delivers
will be based on information gathered in good faith from both primary and secondary sources,
whose accuracy we are not always in a position to guarantee. As such Ovum can accept no
liability whatever for actions taken based on any information that may subsequently prove to be
incorrect.
Top Related