We found this product to be a fairly simple install. The deployment of the suite starts with installing the server components and the management console and then completing the install by deploying the agents. We did find the entire deployment process quite simple, but felt that installing the licenses and certificates could have been a little simpler. BigFix provides a license file, which then has to be installed during the initial setup. After that, there were several steps to set up the various license settings. We feel this process could be more streamlined or just a little more intuitive.
After the initial installation is complete, all management and configuration is done through the management console application. This console is a little overwhelming at first as it contains a lot of options all in one place. The installation of the various packs provides several pre-defined policies, as well as patches and fixes for client machines. We did find that figuring out how to deploy policy is a little tricky. It took us some time working within the product to really understand how to use it. With that said, we also noticed that this product does provide a lot of functionality and flexibility packed into one central place.
BigFix offers a lot of documentation for this tool. The various guides are available on the support site in PDF format and range from installation manuals to administrator and configuration guides and everything in-between. All this documentation is well-organized and easy to follow with many step-by-step instructions and screen shots.
Support includes no-cost phone and email technical support, as well as access to a customer portal where customers can view information about support case history and license details. BigFix also offers upgrade support at an extra cost. This provides a dedicated support contact and custom product support. There is also a massive support area on the website available to all customers that includes a knowledge base, downloads and documentation.
At a price of $20 per seat for the Security Configuration and Vulnerability Manager pack, this is a solid value for the money. It does have a learning curve, but overall it can be a very powerful policy management tool.
