Free IT management community growing exponentially

In fact it now boasts 30,000 IT users in SMEs of all kinds around the world – a figure that’s doubled in the last two months alone. Why? Because they like the easy to use, free system management software they get all paid for by advertising sponsorship. And they like the active community that links them to each other and with useful technology vendors. Co-founder Jay Hallberg says the success is due to the formula being right: “IT pros don’t like the complex and expensive IT management solutions they’re forced to choose from today. They also struggle to find the information they need to manage their networks. “And they’re spending $10 billion every year on IT management technology that they could spend on hardware, software and services to help their companies grow.” He expects that uptake to shift up another gear next month, when Spiceworks IT Desktop version 1.5 is launched with new functionality suggested and voted for by existing users. That will include multi operator support and project tracking, inventory and asset tracking, software application and network equipment monitoring tools and more help desk tools. There will also be new software tools to assist with collaboration around IT profiles and Spiceworks Projects – wiki pages and discussion forums on IT projects such as upgrading to Vista, securing a wireless network and backing up.