Altiris

Altiris was a software company best known for client management and systems management solutions used in enterprise IT environments. Founded in 1998, the company grew through product innovation and acquisitions to serve customers across industries including finance, healthcare, manufacturing, and government. Altiris products were widely deployed in conjunction with platforms and vendors such as Microsoft, Intel, IBM, and Dell, and its technologies influenced later offerings from Symantec and Broadcom.

History

Altiris was established in 1998 in Lindon, Utah by a team with backgrounds at firms such as Novell, IBM, and Microsoft. Early growth was driven by client management tools that competed with offerings from LANDesk and Computer Associates, leading to venture backing and a series of strategic acquisitions. The company expanded internationally with offices in London, Tokyo, and Sydney, and gained major enterprise customers including Bank of America, General Motors, and Nokia. In 2007 Altiris was acquired by Symantec in a transaction that followed consolidation trends in the enterprise software sector exemplified by deals like EMC Corporation's acquisitions. After later corporate reorganizations and the divestiture of Symantec's enterprise business, the technologies originally developed at Altiris were incorporated into portfolios controlled by firms such as Broadcom Inc. and used alongside products from VMware and Citrix Systems.

Products and Services

Altiris offered a suite of products focused on lifecycle management for endpoints, including inventory, software distribution, patch management, imaging, and remote control. Flagship offerings addressed needs similar to those targeted by Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager, IBM BigFix, and ManageEngine Desktop Central, enabling administrators at organizations like Bank of America, Cisco Systems, and Intel to manage fleets of desktops, laptops, and servers. Services included professional services, training, and support delivered in partnership with integrators such as Accenture, Deloitte, and Capgemini. The product line supported integration with operating systems and platforms including Microsoft Windows, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, macOS, and virtualization platforms from VMware and Microsoft Hyper-V.

Architecture and Technology

Altiris products were built on a client-server architecture using centralized databases, scalable servers, and lightweight agents deployed on managed endpoints. The design favored interoperability with enterprise databases like Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle Database', and leveraged standards and APIs compatible with management frameworks from Microsoft and Intel AMT. Core components included an inventory database, policy engine, distribution servers, and agent modules that communicated over protocols supported by Cisco Systems networking gear and F5 Networks load balancers. Security and authentication integrated with directory services including Active Directory and federated identity systems used by organizations such as Oracle and Okta, while reporting and analytics interoperated with business intelligence platforms like Tableau and IBM Cognos.

Deployment and Integration

Enterprises typically deployed Altiris solutions in on-premises data centers, private clouds, and hybrid environments alongside infrastructure from Dell Technologies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and Lenovo. Integration scenarios included software distribution coordinated with Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager, vulnerability remediation workflows combined with Tenable or Qualys scanners, and asset reconciliation linked to IT service management platforms such as ServiceNow and BMC Remedy. Deployment projects were executed by professional services teams from Symantec and third-party integrators including Accenture and Capgemini, often following change management and compliance frameworks used by regulators like Sarbanes–Oxley Act-governed corporations and standards bodies such as ISO/IEC.

Reception and Impact

Altiris received recognition for its endpoint management capabilities from analysts at firms such as Gartner and Forrester Research, and was adopted by large enterprises, educational institutions like Stanford University, and public sector agencies including U.S. Department of Defense contractors. Its technologies influenced subsequent product lines at Symantec and later Broadcom Inc., shaping practices in software deployment, patch management, and asset lifecycle management comparable to trends seen with Microsoft and VMware toolsets. Critiques often centered on competition from vendors such as IBM, LANDesk, and ManageEngine, and on challenges associated with scaling and integrating in heterogeneous environments used by multinational firms like Siemens and General Electric.

Category:Software companies Category:IT asset management