We just started using OCS in combination with GLPI http://glpi-project.org/?lang=en about a month ago and we're loving it thus far. GLPI runs separate from OCS and imports data from it. It provides helpdesk and other functionality, including project management and more. It's not only free and open source, including features previously mentioned (asset tracking, dynamic update through an agent, software push), but it's also one of the better organized and more intuitive products of its type that I've worked with. Compare it to something like RT for issue tracking and it's really quite pleasant to use.
We didn't find setup to be terribly difficult. We do have 1 in house IT staffer and an intern, but the intern is actually the one who handled setup and aside from some version incompatibilities (the project manager system is not yet available for the latest RC), he had no problems. Because of the complexity and flexibility of the system, configuration needs to be planned well. For example we had an issue where everyone in one fo our location groups was copied on all IT ticket communications inadvertantly. Assigning notifications to the IT group instead of the location where the group is based solved that easily. That's just an example anyway of the kind of issues you might encounter, which are in our experience minor and easily solved.
Documentation is a bit scattered, but definitely available. I think the main development community is French, but there is still plenty of English help and information.
All in all we're extremely pleased and frankly amazed at what we got for free. Our primary IT coordinator has been in the business 20 years, he worked at Autodesk where they have 10's of 1000's of assets and were using hefty software to manage the infrastructure, and he was blown away by what this software can do for the price. It's a pretty comprehensive solution. And we haven't thus far found it to need much software management or upkeep, it's very stable and self-sufficient once you have it configured and running. If configuration is a problem then you can contract someone temporarily to set it up. With how easy and fast it is, I wouldn't expect that to cost that much, and it's very easy to use after that.
Oh I almost forgot, it has Win, Mac, and Linux agents, which allow dynamic asset tracking and software push on all 3 platforms, and you can also use the agent in a stand-alone mode to output a report for later import into the system (for non-networked assets).
I'd be glad to answer any questions about use or functionality of the system. I'll keep an eye on this thread...
Regards,
Oshyan Greene
