This free seminar was for
organizations that have
purchased Microsoft Software
Assurance for their desktop and
laptop systems and want to
better understand what Microsoft
has as a suite of bundled
products called the “Desktop
Optimization Pack.” In this
session, Rand Morimoto,
President of Convergent
Computing and co-author of
dozens of best selling books
shared how the Desktop
Optimization Pack allows
organizations to better control
their laptops and desktops,
accelerate software deployment
and migrations, better manage
LAN and remote systems, and
improve IT responsiveness and
end-user uptime. Rand’s session
covered what these features and
functions are, how organizations
are using them to improve
administration and management,
and how they can be best
leveraged in the enterprise.
Rand presented, demonstrated,
and discussed the add-on tools
that include:
* Asset Inventory Service:
this components (formerly called
AssetMetrix) goes far beyond the
common tracking of software
installed on a system but rather
provides a monitoring and
reporting capability that allows
organizations to know what
software is used, how often the
software is used, and will
compare the software usage
information to organizational
policies to alert an
administrator of any
discrepancies
* SoftGrid: this component
(formerly from Softricity) is a
combination client and server
product that allows for the
auto-distribution of software to
client systems in an isolated
session that enables an
organization to deploy software
without the software conflicting
with other applications on the
client system. This is an
excellent tool for application
compatibility for organizations
migrating to Windows Vista where
applications are not Vista
certified yet, and this tool
allows multiple versions of
software to run simultaneously
so a user can run Access 2007
and Access 2003 on their system
at the same time without
application conflicts
* Advanced Group Policy Mgmt:
this component provides
administrators with the ability
to have more granular
administrative control for
better delegation, role-based
administration, change request
management, creation of group
policy object template
libraries, and a special ability
to rollback deployed changes
* Diagnostics and Recovery
Toolset: this component is a
series of tools (formerly
Winternals) that assists in the
rapid recovery of system
problems, simple recovery of
deleted files, tools to
completely wipe a disk, and
integrated system restore points
for easier system recovery
You should download and print
the
slide deck that will be used
throughout this session
Video #1 (1-hr
25-min):
Introduction to the Microsoft
Desktop Optimization Pack and
SoftGrid
Video #2 (43-minutes):
Advanced Group Policies,
Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset
and Asset Inventory Service
Convergent Computing is a
technology consulting firm
headquartered in the San
Francisco Bay Area that helps
organizations plan, implement,
and support their networking
environments. If your
organization can use assistance
implementing, supporting, or
just getting better use of your
Windows Active Directory,
Exchange, SharePoint, or other
network or application
technologies, please contact our
organization for assistance
mailto:sales@cco.com
