TL;DR: The PDQ Deploy & Inventory Tune-Up for 2026 is about eliminating blind spots and busywork before they turn into real problems. By tightening Active Directory Sync, using application reports to spot software drift, and leaning on practical, persistent automation, admins can reduce surprises and keep their environments honest.
A new year is often when technical debt becomes impossible to ignore, especially in endpoint management environments that rely on outdated visibility, automation, or reporting.
The calendar flips, leadership asks for cleaner reporting, and suddenly every dusty corner of your environment feels louder than it did in December. Machines that shouldn’t exist still show up. Software you swear you removed years ago is somehow alive and well. Patch cycles feel heavier than they need to be. And automation? It technically exists, but it’s not exactly helping.
But we're here to help admins reset their environment, tighten visibility, and let PDQ do more of the boring work it was built for.
Your Deploy & Inventory tune-up for 2026
Check out our on-demand webinar to learn tips and tricks for getting the most out of PDQ Deploy & Inventory.
Why perform a PDQ Deploy & Inventory tune-up
A PDQ Deploy & Inventory tune-up helps reduce surprises by eliminating blind spots in device visibility, software tracking, and patch status before they cause production issues.
"As new devices join your environment, you want them to get added to Inventory,” says Zach Fegan, PDQ sales engineer. “Because you want to know what's on them, because that's the job that you do.”
At a high level, the goal of a tune-up is simple: reduce surprises.
Clean up Active Directory Sync for real visibility
Active Directory Sync is one of those features everyone enables once and then never revisits. That’s a mistake.
In our on-demand webinar, Zach points to AD Sync the first thing he sets up when working with a new environment ... and the first thing he revisits when something feels off. The reason is straightforward: AD Sync is how PDQ Inventory learns which devices exist, when new ones appear, and when old ones should disappear.
The biggest point of confusion, and the one that causes the most long‑term mess, is delete mode.
Import‑only sync feels safe at first. Nothing ever disappears. But that safety net turns into clutter fast. Devices removed from Active Directory live forever in Inventory, quietly inflating reports and muddying collections. Zach’s advice is clear: import‑only is fine for testing, but it shouldn’t be your steady state.
Most environments land on mixed sync. It mirrors AD changes while still allowing manually added records when there’s a good reason for them. Full sync, on the other hand, is best when you want Inventory to reflect AD exactly, with the caveat that you need a real cleanup process on the AD side first.
Just as important is scope. You don’t need to sync everything. Selecting specific OUs (and excluding those that don’t belong) keeps Inventory focused on devices you actually manage. Linux machines, lab systems, or edge cases are better handled by exclusion than by elaborate workarounds.
And yes, enable auto‑sync. As Zach jokes, Inventory without auto‑sync is “a car without wheels.”
Use application reports to understand what’s actually installed
Application reports in PDQ Inventory show what software is installed across all devices, making it easier to detect unauthorized apps, software drift, and outdated tools.
Zach shares a habit from his sysadmin days: a recurring “what is this doing here?” review. The approach is refreshingly simple. Build an application report with no filters. Include computer name, application name, version, install date, and publisher. Then group the results by application.
Suddenly, patterns jump out.
That random utility no one remembers approving. The developer tool that only exists on one laptop. The app that appeared last week and shouldn’t have.
From there, Inventory doesn’t just tell you the problem; it lets you act. You can jump straight to the device, uninstall software, or build a collection that watches for it in the future. Reports can be exported, scheduled, and emailed, turning ad‑hoc discovery into a regular hygiene check instead of a once‑a‑year panic.
Use automations that don’t suck (and actually save time)
In PDQ Deploy & Inventory, automation is most effective when it focuses on repetitive maintenance tasks like reboots, cleanup scripts, and enforcing software standards.
Instead of forcing reboots at the worst time, many admins use Inventory data like uptime or pending updates to nudge users repeatedly until the reboot finally happens. It’s not elegant, but it works.
Another popular pattern is recurring maintenance scripts: clearing temp directories, resetting Windows Update components, and running health checks. These jobs often don’t fit cleanly into GPO, but they fit perfectly into scheduled PDQ Deploy packages.
The most entertaining example comes from Zach’s own experience: a developer with admin rights who kept reinstalling an ancient, vulnerable version of Java. The solution wasn’t another meeting. It was an hourly uninstall automation. The behavior stopped within days.
Effective automation isn’t about being clever. It’s about being persistent.
Make Windows updates less painful without WSUS
Patch management is often where good intentions go to die.
While PDQ has long offered curated Windows update packages, the session highlighted why so many admins lean on the PSWindowsUpdate‑based packages instead. They’re flexible, fast, and don’t require standing up or maintaining WSUS.
Instead of approving individual updates one by one, you can define the type of updates you want (critical, security, non‑drivers) or even target a specific KB by name. The same approach works in reverse, with uninstall packages available when a bad update needs to disappear quickly.
The scanning side matters just as much. PowerShell scanners can identify needed updates without installing them, giving you visibility before action. It’s the same logic Windows uses when you click “Check for updates” but with admin‑level control layered on top.
For many environments, this approach hits the sweet spot: enough control to stay safe without the overhead that makes WSUS feel heavier every year.
Extend visibility to remote devices with PDQ Connect and ISL
PDQ Connect extends PDQ Deploy & Inventory visibility to remote devices by using an agent-based model that works even when endpoints are off-network.
Agent‑based management removes dependency on domain connectivity, DNS health, and location. If the device can reach the internet, it can be managed.
That changes how automation behaves. Actions can trigger the moment a device comes online or changes state instead of waiting for a scheduled scan window. Plus, inventory stays fresh without hammering the network.
Remote access ties directly into that story. With ISL Online inside PDQ Connect, admins can move from detection to remediation to troubleshooting without context switching.
Centralize your endpoint management
With PDQ Connect, gain real-time visibility, deploy software, remediate vulnerabilities, schedule reports, automate maintenance tasks, and access remote devices from one easy-to-use platform.
End the year stronger than you started it
Tuning up PDQ Deploy & Inventory for 2026 isn’t about doing more. It’s about intentionally doing less: less manual cleanup, less guesswork, and less reacting to problems after they’ve already cost you time.
By tightening AD Sync, leaning into application reporting, and letting automation handle the repetitive work, PDQ Deploy & Inventory start to feel less like utilities and more like teammates.
Ready to put these ideas to work? Check out how PDQ Deploy & Inventory or PDQ Connect give you visibility, automation, and control over endpoints devices. Try them today to see for yourself.
