Microsoft Tools Aid Deployment

At the IT Forum in Copenhagen last week, Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates announced worldwide availability of Virtual Server 2005 and Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) 2005; the first public beta of Windows Update Services; significant new features for Systems Management Server 2003; and an enhanced desktop accelerator that the company hopes will increase deployments of Windows XP and Office 2003.

Microsoft also announced last week a partnership with Dell to develop standards-based end-to-end management solutions for both software and hardware. The SMS 2003 Inventory Tool For Dell Updates is a one-click tool that deploys Microsoft software on Dell Power Edge server platforms.

Analysts note that Microsoft is trying to provide partners with better management tools to combat Linux.

“Microsoft is in a fierce battle with Unix and Linux and they’re trying to make management a factor that favors Windows,” said Peter Pawlak, an analyst with the Kirkland, Wash.-based newsletter Directions on Microsoft. “They’ve been harping on this message for two years, but they need a broader group of partners to deliver it and they needed better tools and guidance.”

To that end, the company announced last week the Virtual Server 2005 migration toolkit as well as Device Management Feature Pack and Operating System Deployment Feature Pack for its SMS 2003 deployment platform. Microsoft also unveiled an enhanced Solution Accelerator for Business Desktop Deployment, which promises to lower the cost of a desktop deployment to less than $100.

“The tools provided by Microsoft should be considered by anyone deploying Microsoft technologies,” said Paul Freeman, president of Coast Solutions Group, an Irvine, Calif.-based VAR.