Is it always beneficial to employ partially or fully-integrated add-on software with your deployment solution? Well, it depends on your process, and your process depends on the capabilities of your selected OS deployment solution. Third-party applications can be useful in assisting in the management of drivers, application packaging, and patch management, among others. Your solution may include these functions, yet sometimes a third-party vendor, dedicated to one function, may do it better/offer more granularity/better features, etc. If you have a process that does not include OS images derived from installation media, and you wish to employ third-party software to augment the preparation of your final deployed OS, you'll find that stand-alone add-ons are your best if not only option. You may also find that the selection of available stand-alone applications is not plentiful. The design of stand-alone applications must take into account the state of the operating system and be executed (usually manually) at a specific time during the OS deployment process, either prior to the image capture or after image deployment. One of the big draws of solutions that utilize imported OS images is the capability to make changes to OS configurations during the application of a raw image when the OS is offline and able to accept changes to files and registry entries. Many of these solutions, such as Microsoft SCCM or MDT, not only allow for development of integrated applications though the support of software development kits (SDK), they also support the creation of automated answer files (with varying granularity) to assist in the configuration of the deployed, raw OS. Integrated applications, when given access to sufficient features of the deployment solution, can execute the design of the add-on with great efficiency, using standardized, approved methodologies. This enables a high degree of stability and consistency, often reducing associated troubleshooting efforts. So, if you're selecting a new OS deployment solution or considering a more efficient process, be sure to research what third-party applications are available and potentially useful in your environment. Save yourself some time and effort! How important are third-party integrated applications within your deployment solution? What are your favorite plug-ins?