Despite the size and reach of mega-vendors like Microsoft, IBM, VMware, and Symantec, the IT industry is filled with thousands of small, independent vendors that provide innovative solutions to annoying IT problems.

Such is the case with MTM Software and their SysCompare family of products. If you've ever needed to compare system configurations between desktop and server PCs, SysCompare may be worth a look.

I met with MTM Software at Connections 2008, and spent a few minutes discussing the product with Mark B. Cooper, the company's president and CTO. According to Cooper, SysCompare is the first family of products to "dynamically scan and report on the software and hardware differences between Windows PCs."

Cooper explained that SysCompare supports an unlimited number of clients and servers, and automatically detects and reports on configuration differences between them. The tool reports on a wide variety of system configuration information, including device driver versions, system hardware components (including BIOS and memory details), printers, OS properties, installed patches and hot fixes, and dozens of other criteria. The screenshot below displays the SysCompare Pro hotfix comparison screen.

We're planning a full review of SysCompare Pro for a future issue of Windows IT Pro, and we'll post the review online first.