SCCM Reporter: Essential Reports Every Admin Should RunSystem Center Configuration Manager (SCCM), now part of Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager, is a powerful tool for managing devices, deployments, and compliance in enterprise environments. Reporting is one of its most valuable features: the right reports give visibility into hardware and software inventory, deployment success, security posture, and configuration drift. This article covers the essential SCCM Reporter reports every admin should run, why they matter, how to interpret them, and practical tips to act on the findings.
Why reporting matters in SCCM
Effective reporting converts raw data into actionable insights. SCCM collects massive amounts of inventory and telemetry; without focused reports you’ll miss problems until they become incidents. Key benefits of running essential reports regularly:
- Visibility into device compliance, patch status, and software deployment success.
- Risk reduction by quickly identifying vulnerable, unpatched, or noncompliant endpoints.
- Operational efficiency by detecting failed deployments and inventory gaps.
- Audit readiness through historical records of installed software and configuration state.
Report categories every admin should prioritize
Below are the primary categories and the specific reports within each category that are most useful in day-to-day SCCM operations.
1) Deployment and Application Success Reports
Why: Ensure software, OS images, and updates reach intended targets and succeed.
Essential reports:
- Application deployment status (success/failure by device and by user)
- Task sequence/OS deployment success rates and failure breakdowns
- Software update compliance per update, per update group
What to watch for:
- High failure rates clustered by distribution point, boundary group, or client version.
- Repeated failures on the same devices (client health issues).
- Task sequence steps that fail consistently — correlate with logs (smsts.log).
Action steps:
- Re-distribute packages to problem distribution points; verify network connectivity.
- Run client health remediation on devices with repeated failures.
- Update task sequence with error-handling steps and logging.
2) Software Update and Patch Compliance Reports
Why: Security and stability depend on timely patching.
Essential reports:
- Compliance by collection (showing percentage compliant, noncompliant, unknown)
- Missing updates by device with severity and release date
- Expiring software update deployments
What to watch for:
- Large numbers of noncompliant devices grouped by OS version or location.
- Devices with long-standing missing high- or critical-severity updates.
- Deferred or expired deployments that need reissuing.
Action steps:
- Prioritize critical updates in phased deployments; use pilot collections.
- Investigate clients reporting unknown — check WSUS/SUP synchronization and client scan agent.
- Re-target or recreate deployments for expired packages.
3) Inventory and Asset Reports
Why: Accurate hardware and software inventory supports lifecycle management and license compliance.
Essential reports:
- Installed applications by device and by software title
- Non-compliant BIOS/firmware or driver versions across devices
- Hardware inventory summary (CPU, RAM, disk sizes) for lifecycle planning
What to watch for:
- Unexpected installed software (unauthorized or risky apps).
- Multiple devices with outdated BIOS/firmware that may require coordinated updates.
- Devices with insufficient hardware for OS upgrades.
Action steps:
- Use application control/SCCM compliance settings to block or restrict unauthorized apps.
- Schedule firmware updates via SCCM task sequences or vendor tools.
- Plan procurement cycles for underpowered hardware.
4) Client Health and Connectivity Reports
Why: SCCM relies on well-functioning clients; detecting unhealthy clients prevents reporting and deployment gaps.
Essential reports:
- Client health status by collection (client check results, heartbeat, last hardware/software inventory)
- Clients not reporting to management point or not received policy
- Distribution point and site system availability
What to watch for:
- Clients with outdated client agents or failing to send heartbeat discovery data.
- High counts of clients that haven’t performed inventory or software scans recently.
- Site system performance or distribution point issues causing client failures.
Action steps:
- Automate client upgrades and run client remediation scripts.
- Investigate network/firewall changes affecting access to site systems.
- Rebalance load across distribution points or fix disk/DB issues on site systems.
5) Compliance Settings and Configuration Baselines
Why: Ensure devices adhere to corporate security and configuration standards.
Essential reports:
- Configuration baseline compliance by device and baseline item results
- Noncompliant settings with remediation success rates
- Trend of baseline compliance over time
What to watch for:
- Baselines failing due to evaluation errors or unsupported OS versions.
- Low remediation success rate indicating broken remediation tasks.
- Growing noncompliance trends suggesting policy drift.
Action steps:
- Correct baseline logic and test remediation scripts in pilot collections.
- Update baselines for new OS variants or changed corporate standards.
- Escalate persistent noncompliance for manual remediation.
6) Security and Vulnerability Reports
Why: Identify exposed devices, vulnerable software, and configuration gaps that increase security risk.
Essential reports:
- Devices with critical vulnerabilities (from integrated vulnerability management or mapped updates)
- Devices with insecure configurations (e.g., missing antivirus, firewall disabled)
- High-risk software versions and end-of-life OS installations
What to watch for:
- Clusters of vulnerable devices in key business units or networks.
- Devices missing endpoint protection definitions or reporting antivirus failures.
- Devices running unsupported OS versions — regulatory risk.
Action steps:
- Prioritize remediation for high-risk assets and business-critical systems.
- Enforce endpoint protection through compliance settings and required deployments.
- Plan migrations away from end-of-life OS versions.
How to schedule and automate report use
- Schedule reports to run during off-peak hours and deliver results via email to relevant teams (security, desktop ops, patch team).
- Use subscriptions for collections and key stakeholders so they receive timely snapshots.
- Export report data to CSV for further analysis in Excel or Power BI for dashboards.
Custom reports: when and how to build them
Built-in reports are powerful, but sometimes you need tailored queries.
When to build custom reports:
- Unique inventory attributes (custom hardware/software inventory classes).
- Complex cross-site aggregation or historical trends not available in default reports.
- Combining SCCM data with external sources (HR, CMDB).
Basic checklist for custom reports:
- Design SQL queries against the SCCM reporting views (vGS* and v_R_System etc.).
- Avoid direct queries to the SCCM database tables — use supported views.
- Test performance — ensure queries are indexed and optimized; avoid large cartesian joins.
- Add parameters to narrow scope (by collection, site, date range) to reduce load.
Example starting views for common needs:
- v_R_System for device identity and attributes
- v_GS_COMPUTER_SYSTEM, v_GS_OPERATING_SYSTEM for hardware/OS details
- v_UpdateComplianceStatus and v_UpdateSummary for patch reporting
Troubleshooting report discrepancies
Common causes of inaccurate or missing report data:
- Stale or incomplete hardware/software inventory (inventory agents failing).
- Clients failing to send status messages or heartbeat discovery data.
- Reports timed around maintenance windows or during in-progress inventory cycles.
Troubleshooting steps:
- Check client logs (InventoryAgent.log, UpdatesHandler.log, ClientIDManagerStartup.log).
- Verify MP and SUP connectivity and IIS logs on site systems.
- Re-run inventory on a sample client and watch the SCCM Server for incoming data.
Practical schedule — what to run and how often
- Daily: Patch compliance summary, critical deployment failures, client health snapshot.
- Weekly: Installed applications by device, configuration baseline compliance, distribution point status.
- Monthly: Hardware inventory summary for lifecycle planning, software license audits, trend reports for patching and compliance.
Example KPI dashboard ideas
- Patch compliance percentage (overall and critical updates)
- Percentage of healthy clients (heartbeat + policy + inventory)
- Top 10 failed deployments by count and failure reason
- Number of noncompliant configuration baselines
Final recommendations
- Focus on a small set of high-value reports (patch, deployment, client health, inventory, compliance).
- Automate delivery and integrate with ticketing or remediation workflows when possible.
- Regularly validate report accuracy by sampling client data and reviewing logs.
- Use custom reports sparingly and optimize queries to avoid performance issues.
Running these essential SCCM Reporter reports routinely turns SCCM from a passive data store into a proactive control center for device management, security, and compliance.
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