We work with HCL directly. The solution was implemented through them. We installed it ourselves, from scratch, with the vendor shadowing us. We had to build servers and set up the infrastructure. The solution is currently deployed on-premises. That's why it's not straightforward, as we have to build the infrastructure.

That's why a cloud-based solution would be better, where everything is provisioned like a SaaS-based solution, similar to Microsoft.

The deployment took us around six months to complete the entire project, with multiple deliverables. Even with the features from BigFix, it took us at least a year for preparation and deployment.

We deployed the BigFix agent, and from there, we could deploy various fixes, logs, commands, and scripts. So, in simple terms, we just deployed the BigFix agent.

Around 20 people, including the vendor, were involved in the deployment process. It's like an entire project management team. You would have a project manager, a delivery lead, a technical delivery architect, and then you would have support teams for layers one to three. 

There is regular maintenance required to fix any issues that arise. Currently, we have 20 people from HCL for day-to-day support.

The deployment was handled in-house. However, we are looking to try and automate more in Ansible going forward. 

For the complete infrastructure deployment, you need to follow capacity planning guidelines. This will help determine the required infrastructure.

Recently, we have set up new infrastructure, and capacity planning is a time-consuming process. Depending on the client and their requirements, it can take a couple of days to two weeks to finalize the agreement, especially if there are cost constraints. Companies often have limitations on project expenses. Once everything is finalized, it takes just one day to get the entire infrastructure up and running.

As for the endpoints, when we start deploying agents on laptops or desktops used by end users (not servers), it can take up to 30 days. This is because the agents are deployed as the endpoints come online intermittently. We keep the deployment policy open for five business days to accommodate this.

So, to summarize, infrastructure installation is typically completed within six to eight hours. After that, the network team checks the network utilization and load, and if necessary, they adjust the bandwidth. Deployment of agents onto clients usually takes about a week, but in server environments with a large number of servers (e.g., 5,000 servers), all the clients can be deployed within an hour or two. Once the entire infrastructure is up and running, we need to monitor the dashboards to ensure that BigFix is performing as expected. This monitoring period lasts for 30 days. Once everything is set up and functioning properly, we can start using BigFix.

For the basic setup of BigFix, you would typically require two architects: one familiar with Windows and another familiar with Linux. Additionally, networking expertise is needed to enable and disable certain ports. The involvement of various teams is necessary, especially the network team, which handles port opening and tunnel creation. For environments larger than 20,000 endpoints, two architects are needed. However, if the environment has around 5,000 to 10,000 endpoints, one architect is sufficient. Apart from the architects, you would also need two sole operators to manage all the modules within BigFix, such as inventory, compliance, cash management, and lifecycle management, which includes package deployment and patch deployment.

Currently, we have two people managing the maintenance of over a thousand devices. However, we recently increased the team to three members. They provide 24/5 support and handle various issues, including configuration and web application problems. If you require 24/5 support, it's recommended to have two architects and two operators who have a good understanding of BigFix. During peak times, the architects are available, and during off-peak hours, the operators can handle the tasks.

There were approximately three people, the vendors, and our technical teams that did the implementation.

BigFix requires specific maintenance, whenever there is a new release we manage it.

We implemented in-house. 

We utilized an implementation partner who we found to be supportive and explanatory when it came to training the in-house resources and to deploying the solution. 

It was set up within the company. There was no outside assistance.

We implemented this solution in-house.

We mananged to do it by our self. 

We used a third-party consultant.

We implemented ourselves. 

We implemented internally. We've worked with IBM professional services for new capability and assistance with improving our overall capability but we didn't use them directly to implement. We've been using the tool for a really long time.

We implemented in-house. 

Our internal software team does the implementation and support of the solution.

Our implementation was done through a vendor partner team. My advice: choose a partner with real experience on this product. The settings and design of this product are not complex but require a great deal of experience to adapt it to your IT ecosystem.

We implement in-house. 

We implemented in-house. 

This was implemented in-house.

We implemented it ourselves. 

We implemented in-house. 

We are a BigFix vendor. We rate ourselves as excellent subject matter experts. Given the exposure and experience of handling fairly large deployments on Bigfix, we have gathered vast knowledge in the Patch, Security & Software compliance space.

We used IBM Professional Services and it was a good experience. 

When selecting a vendor, I think it is important to consider whether the product is going to be a long-term product. And, we also need to provide the best solution for the department.