IntroductionWhen desktop computers and local area networks (LANs) emerged in the 1980s, they were small in scale and being somewhat complex, they required technical skills practical and were therefore acquired in limited quantities. Low cash costs also meant they were often purchased without senior management approval. The popularity of computers and local area networks has increased to the point that some organizations have recognized the need to account for the cost of assets and time spent on support. Industry analysts, using total cost of ownership (TCO) techniques, have studied actual costs and found that they are approximately 6-7 times the initial purchase price over the life of the technology. With uncontrolled purchases, companies find that the hardware fleet consists of a wide range of devices from different manufacturers. Little knowledge about the age of equipment and the existence of support agreements are also common. Operating systems (OS) have been produced in abundance by software companies for many years. These platforms are typically installed by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM), i.e. pre-installed at the time of purchase, or by a technically competent individual within the organization. Among the wide choice of platforms available, businesses are finding that there is more than one platform. Operating system platform installed throughout the enterprise. Even if only one operating system is available, it is extremely unlikely that there will be a consistent install base, due to changing business requirements, the release of service packs, hot fixes, and the multitude of available subcomponents. In an age where organizations have become dependent on technology, this leads to a serious challenge in IT services, as consistent end-to-end services can rarely...... middle of paper .... ..ler to introduce or change service providerDisadvantagesThe main disadvantage of establishing an initial SOE, which adds benefits to a business, is the time and effort required to produce. With the resources involved in the design and testing stages and the amount of work required to produce a finalized image and delivery infrastructure, costs can quickly add up and become increasingly difficult to justify. There are several other problems with introducing an image; • If the equipment fleet is not sufficient, the creation of an automated SOE installation will not provide a return on investment (ROI) within an acceptable time frame. • The majority of image changes are caused by driver updates, a hardware purchasing policy must be introduced, otherwise the effort associated with constantly changing the image will impact cost savings