ZENworks, a suite of software products developed and maintained by OpenText for computer systems management, aims to manage the entire life cycle of servers, of desktop PCs (Windows, Linux or Mac), of laptops, and of handheld devices such as Android and iOS mobile phones and tablets. , Novell planned to include Full Disk Encryption (FDE) functionality within ZENworks. ZENworks supports multiple server platforms and multiple directory services.

History The name, "ZENworks", first appeared as "Z.E.N.works" in 1998 with ZENworks 1.0 and with ZENworks Starter Pack - a limited version of ZENworks 1.0 that came bundled with NetWare 5.0 (1998). Novell added server-management functionality, and the product grew into a suite consisting of:

"ZENworks for Desktops" (ZfD) "ZENworks for Servers" (ZfS) "ZENworks for Handhelds" (ZfH)

Novell has continued to add components to the suite, which it sells under the consolidated name "ZENworks Suite".

The initial ZENworks products had a tight integration with Novell Directory Service (NDS). With the release of ZENworks Configuration Management 10 (2007) the product architecture completely changed, the product became directory agnostic and ZENworks Suite products were integrated into a single management framework.

ZENworks Releases:

Product Version Release date NotesNovell Application Launcher (NAL)11996Pre-ZENworks Z.E.N.works 1.0 18 May 1998 Initial release Z.E.N.works 1.1 16 Nov 1998 Z.E.N.works Starter Pack 16 Nov 1998 ZENworks 2 28 Jun 1999 ZENworks for Servers 1 7 Mar 2000 ZENworks for Desktops 3 22 Aug 2000 ZENworks for Servers 2 31 Jan 2001 ZENworks for Desktops 3.2 13 Aug 2001 ZENworks for Servers 3 3 Apr 2002 ZENworks for Desktops 4 27 Aug 2002 ZENworks for Desktops 4.0.1 14 Apr 2002 ZENworks Suite 6 14 Apr 2003 Version number jumped to version 6 as the ZENworks Suite merged ZFD 4, ZFS 3 and ZFH 5 ZENworks Suite 6.5 3 Jun 2004 ZENworks Suite726 Aug 2005 ZENworks Configuration Management 10 21 Sep 2007 First release of new architecture, version 10 as ZENworks existed for 10 years ZENworks Configuration Management 10.1 28 Jan 2009 ZENworks Configuration Management 10.2 2 Jan 2010 ZENworks Configuration Management 10.3 6 Apr 2012 ZENworks Configuration Management 11 5 Jan 2011 ZENworks Configuration Management 11.1 8 Nov 2011 ZENworks Configuration Management 11.2 13 Dec 2012 Full Disk Encryption ZENworks Configuration Management 11.3 9 Jul 2013ZENworks Configuration Management11.4Jul 2015 ZENworks Configuration Management 2017 Dec 2016 Integration of Mobile Device Management ZENworks Configuration Management 2017 Update 1 11 Jul 2017 ZENworks Configuration Management 2017 Update 2 24 Jan 2018 ZENworks Configuration Management 2017 Update 3 16 Aug 2018 ZENworks Configuration Management 2017 Update 4 Jan 2019 ZENworks Configuration Management 2020 Sep 2019 ZENworks Configuration Management 2020 Update 1 Apr 2020 Patching and tracking CVEsZENworks Configuration Management 2020 Update 2 Aug 2021 Includes Antimalware ZENworks Configuration Management 2020 Update 3 May 2022 ZENworks Configuration Management 23.3 July 2023 New Patch Management Architecture ZENworks Configuration Management 23.4 Nov 2023 Baseline version, New appliance installer ZENworks Configuration Management 24.2 Jun 2024 ZENworks Configuration Management 24.4 Nov 2024 ZENworks Configuration Management 25.2 Jun 2025 New REST API ZENworks Configuration Management 25.4 Dec 2025 New appliance installer, Patch Management enhancements ZENworks Configuration Management 26.2 Jun 2026 Device Control Policy for Apple devices, FDE enhancements

Elements of the ZENworks Suite In the latest version of ZENworks known as ZENworks 25.4 the ZENworks Suite consists of seven individual products:

+ZENworks Suite(March 2017) ZENworks Suite / Platform Product ZENworks Suite ZENworks 25.4 Platform ZENworks Asset Management ZENworks Configuration Management ZENworks Endpoint Security Management ZENworks Full Disk EncryptionZENworks Mobile Device Management ZENworks Patch Management Hybrid Workspaces Packaging ZENworks Service Desk (Standard Edition)

Additionally, OpenText offers an ITIL version of "ZENworks Service Desk". This version is ITIL-certified by PinkVERIFY and supports ten ITIL v3 processes, e.g. Change, Incident, Problem and Service Level Management.

In terms of implementation, the ZENworks Agent (also known as the "ZENworks Management Daemon" or "zmd") installs, updates and removes software. The ZENworks Configuration Management (ZCM) addresses patching, endpoint security, asset management and provisioning.

See also Systems Management Patch Management Mobile Device Management Full Disk Encryption Antimalware

References

Further reading

External links Novell ZENworks Product page