It all started with Ghost imaging. Whatever you call it now—hard disc cloning, PC imaging, OS deployment or OSD—you probably once used "ghosting" like most of us verbify "googling" today. 

With the success of Ghost, several more options for hard drive imaging emerged. Microsoft offers a variety of tools including System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM), the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT), Windows Deployment Services (WDS), Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM)—formerly known as ImageX. If Microsoft’s alphabet soup isn’t for you, then you have options like Altiris or Acronis. If you prefer a hardware solution, then the Dell KACE appliance is a possibility.

Whichever cloning and deployment solution you choose, device drivers are a huge problem, especially for enterprise PC imaging. Even if you manage to locate all the necessary drivers, and then organize, package and test them for all of your existing hardware, the day will inevitably come that you get new machines. And then you’ve got to do it all over again.