A system that facilitates collection of information about computers. DMI is designed to work with any platform and operating system. Newer versions of DMI not only collect information but also allow remote configuration. PCs using DMI are sometimes called "managed PCs."

DMI's primary purposes are to aid in technical support and equipment inventory management. It has four components:

• Management Information Format (MIF). A file used to describe a hardware or software component.
• Service Layer. Basically, a connector between the management and component interfaces.
• Component Interface. An API that updates MIF files via the service layer.