PDQ Deploy

A easy to use and reliable solution for small and mid sized companies

Commenti: When we started to use this software, we did not have a solution to inventory and deploy softwares on your computers and servers, that is a powerful tool, with a very good price that really worths the investiment. We were able to keep all our computers and softwares updated, and we have pushed some Windows build updates through PDQ Deploy, which worked very well! If you do not have a inventory/deploy solution on your environment, and cannot spend so much money with it, go with PDQ without think twice, you will not regret!

Aspetti positivi:

It is easy to implement, configure and to use it, everything on this software is so intuitive, even if you not read the manual you can do more than 50% of the software functionalities. The software has a wide variety of options to deploy softwares to your computers, also, if you spend a few bucks more, you can buy the PDQ Inventory, which works very well integrated with the Deploy solution.

Aspetti negativi:

The error messages on the deploys are not so clear, it difficults the troubleshooting on the first time without some research.

The one thing you got to have

Commenti: Used it at previous job, and when I came discovered they had a competitor. Tried to learn the competitor's patch management and device management. It was a headache and time consuming. Got the boss to purchase PDQ and right of the bat, everyone could use it quickly and efficiently without reading a 100 page pdf on how to use it. So intuitive and easy to use. I use it daily to manage my computers and make sure everything is up to date. Boss has come to me a couple times asking for a list of XYZ, and expecting that it is a project for the rest of the day, I'm able to get that to him within the hour, sometimes in ten minutes.

Aspetti positivi:

the dynamic collections you can make has been life changing. Able to create one on the fly and it continue to update and tell me if new computers have something unwanted on it, or computers that are missing important programs. I use it daily to check things. I also use it to quickly remote into computers. I have computers on the road and I have to jump in there sometimes remotely and need to be able to look at software lists quickly and a couple clicks my remote software is already connected. Or I can use pdq deploy to shoot out a program update or install something new. PDQ Deploy has all the right switches and knows exactly what to do with files to silently deploy practically anything. Testing is simple and easy and usually I have it tested and deployed within an hour. Saves me time everyday to quickly do what I need to do and have time to work on other projects. Support is also a godsend. Quick, easy, and friendly to the max!

Aspetti negativi:

Not much that I do not like. The new icons are weird and there are some bugs in pdq deploy that get updates stuck and they just sit in the list forever. Usually when I have a con come up in my mind, I find out that the feature request I thought of, is already in the system some where.

Can't do without it now

Commenti: PDQ allowed us to align all software to the same versions, standardizing our enviornment. the number of trouble tickets related to misconfigured programs or version issues, etc has become nearly zero.

Aspetti positivi:

The simplicity of building a deployment and sending it off.

Aspetti negativi:

Remote client issues aside (connect would fill that), a revamped scheduling tool with extra reporting would make it much easier to see the progress and status when sending out mass deployments on a schedule.

PDQ Deploy anomalies

Aspetti positivi:

Simplify server management Saves on me sign in multiple times Repeat task on remote machines

Aspetti negativi:

These features seem inconsistent: - Say you want to run a number on commands on a number of servers you cannot get a combined report of the output of all the commands. Often this is needed as the report may be input into further tools - You should be able to set default credentials for each computer you add manually which can be overridden from 'deploy one' - You should be able to group a group of computers like a tree structure eg. directory structure in Windows or UNIX - Computers should be able to be a member of more than one group. When you add a known computer to another group it should copy all these properties as default starting point - In new package, you should have the ability to not have to choose a step type but the commands the user types in most cases tell you what type of step it is

Inexpensive Highly Customizable Management Suite

Commenti: My overall experience with PDQ has been very positive. I used it at my previous job where I automated away all of our by hand processes. I started my new job, and the pandemic began. I championed the software as a lightweight means of managing VPN connected workstations. It was very well received by our team.

Aspetti positivi:

I like that the inventory and deployment system are integrated. You're able to leverage vulnerability deployments against dynamically created groups that are constantly updated. I like the ability to schedule these tasks in a recurring fashion. It's more customizable and less cumbersome than other solutions we have used.

Aspetti negativi:

I don't have a lot of things I dislike about the software. The biggest thing is that it is sometimes frustrating to work out how a script will behave when it is pushed from deploy. There are options to resolve this such as interactive mode, but it sometimes does not play nice with power shell scripts.