Quick PDQ Deploy Pro Review
-
A couple of months ago, we tested and decided to purchase pdq deploy pro. I will have to say this product is one product has made my job easier. PDQ Deploy remotely installs software with a couple clicks of a button, and the pro version comes loaded with a bunch of pre-configued packages. A small list of some of the software is below.
Adobe flash
Adobe Reader
CutePDF
Java
Microsoft Silverlight
Firefox
IE
GIMP
Chrome
Itunes
VLCOnce you decide what package you would like to install you simply download the package, select it, add a "target" in which you can select from Active Directory, Spiceworks, and IP address. Once your target is selected, you simply click deploy and the install starts. All installs are done in the background so you can do the installs while your users are logged in.
-
We also started using PDQ a couple months ago and it has worked quite well. It makes deploying/upgrading software much easier than Group Policies. Well worth the money.
-
@jasonh said:
We also started using PDQ a couple months ago and it has worked quite well. It makes deploying/upgrading software much easier than Group Policies. Well worth the money.
I was amazed by how simple it was. I'm really happy with it.
-
How well does it work with other software. Lets say I had another app I wanted to push, like Office or some other app?
-
@Bill-Kindle said:
How well does it work with other software. Lets say I had another app I wanted to push, like Office or some other app?
The pro version does come with Office 2010 as an option to install. I haven't tried building my own package to deploy yet, but I feel confident that I would be able to because they make it pretty straightforward and give good directions.
-
@Bill-Kindle said:
How well does it work with other software. Lets say I had another app I wanted to push, like Office or some other app?
It works quite well. We use it with a few pieces of software that PDQ doesn't pre-package (GoodSync, ScreenConnect, Sonicwall VPN Client, Scan to PDF, PDF Split & Merge) and it handles them all. The nice thing with PDQ is you can do scripting as part of the deploying, which is particularly useful for software that requires you to uninstall before installing the upgrade. We also use that feature for copying configuration files and changing registry settings after installation.
In PDQ we have a "New Workstation Setup" package that deploys all the packages in one shot. It has made deploying new workstations (and reinstalling existing ones) so much easier; join it to the domain, add it to the security groups, deploy software in PDQ, run Windows Updates, and it's done.
-
@Bill-Kindle said:
How well does it work with other software. Lets say I had another app I wanted to push, like Office or some other app?
Its as powerful as you want it to be, Bill. I have been using PDQ Pro for about a year now and its amazing. You have the power to run installs, scripts, etc. I rarely use the pre-configured packages, but they have their purpose, too
You can pull deployment lists from AD, Spiceworks, PDQ Inventory, or text files. PDQ Inventory and Spiceworks allow you to sort by specifics like version of IE, Any PC with Software X, etc.
You can also chain packages and scripts to run through several reboots. I havent found much that I cant do with PDQ Deploy Pro.
-
@jasonh said:
@Bill-Kindle said:
How well does it work with other software. Lets say I had another app I wanted to push, like Office or some other app?
It works quite well. We use it with a few pieces of software that PDQ doesn't pre-package (GoodSync, ScreenConnect, Sonicwall VPN Client, Scan to PDF, PDF Split & Merge) and it handles them all. The nice thing with PDQ is you can do scripting as part of the deploying, which is particularly useful for software that requires you to uninstall before installing the upgrade. We also use that feature for copying configuration files and changing registry settings after installation.
In PDQ we have a "New Workstation Setup" package that deploys all the packages in one shot. It has made deploying new workstations (and reinstalling existing ones) so much easier; join it to the domain, add it to the security groups, deploy software in PDQ, run Windows Updates, and it's done.
You can deploy MSU(s) with PDQ too. I have several important MSU files on mine.
-
I have tried it in the past but never really put it through any paces past the built in packages. I can't get any more into a budget at the moment, blew most of it on a NAS this year.
-
@Bill-Kindle said:
I have tried it in the past but never really put it through any paces past the built in packages. I can't get any more into a budget at the moment, blew most of it on a NAS this year.
I feel like I couldn't do my job without it. I saved my company the costs of PDQ with one deployment on the 2nd day after we bought it. Its paid for itself 50 times over for me.
