Windows at Worldwide Partner Conference 2011

Here at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference, we’re talking with attendees about the IT challenges they face and how those challenges can be overcome with solutions from Microsoft and from our network of partners to get the most out of their Windows experience.

One way we can help our partners and our customers get the most from their Windows experience is to help them move off of Windows XP. As of today, customers have 1000 days until support for Windows XP ends. Windows XP served us well, but in the ten years since it launched, the world has changed. It’s time to retire Windows XP and move to Windows 7 to take advantage of the last decade of innovation in areas such as security, performance and more natural, intuitive interface.

Microsoft and our ecosystem of partners are committed to helping every customer move to Windows 7 by providing the deployment tools and resources they need. One way users can stay updated on the latest version of Windows is through Windows Intune, our cloud-based PC management and security service that includes the benefit of upgrade rights to Windows 7 Enterprise as well as future versions of Windows.

Since the Windows Intune launch in March, we’ve seen positive reception from partners and customers looking to standardize and manage their PC environments. Windows Intune has proven to be the comprehensive solution they need, giving them cloud services for PC management and security and upgrade rights to Windows 7 Enterprise (and future versions of Windows) from a single, simple subscription. Partners like InfinIT Consulting have leveraged Windows Intune to move customers to Windows 7 Enterprise while also providing the most advanced security solution, powerful management tools to their small, medium, and enterprise customers.

Today at WPC, we are excited to announce the beta availability for the next release of Windows Intune - we expect the final release later this year. Based on the feedback we continue to receive from partners and customers, this release includes top feature requests and usability improvements:

• Software distribution: One of the most common requests has been software distribution and we’ve worked hard to bring this feature to this beta. With this release, administrators can deploy most Microsoft and third-party updates or software applications to PCs virtually anywhere, without the need for a server infrastructure or physically touching each PC to install the software or update.
• Remote Tasks: This update allows IT to perform tasks, including full scan, quick scan, restart, and update malware definition all from the administration console. If there is an alert for a malware threat for example, administrators can run a scan on the affected PC by simply right-clicking on the PC from the administration console.
• Read-only Access: IT pros and partners can grant select administrators read-only access to the administration console so that they can view PC information as needed, but not perform any tasks.

These are just a few of the new features, to check out more features and to sign up for your beta account, visit Windows Intune on Springboard. Each new update builds upon the prior version, so regardless of when Windows Intune customers purchase the service, they will automatically get the latest and greatest features available. Existing Windows Intune customers will receive this update seamless without any migration. To log into your Windows Intune beta account after signing up, click here!

Partner and Customer Success with Windows Intune

Our partners have shown us they are motivated to support Windows Intune – in the short time it’s been in the market, they’ve been able to build or enhance their managed services business with new revenue opportunities, greater customer reach and reduced costs. Today we are announcing new updates, including new Internal Usage Rights (IUR) program and new sales incentives.

• We are increasing the Windows Intune internal usage rights licenses to align with the benefit levels provided to partners with Silver and Gold competencies. Starting now, Cloud Essentials partners will be entitled to 25 licenses and 100 licenses for Cloud Accelerate partners.
• Over the past year, Microsoft has been enhancing and broadening channel incentives with the goal of rewarding partners across activities that drive growth and customer value. For more information, partners can visit https://partner.microsoft.com/40142578

Partners like District Computers and New Signature are working with companies of all sizes and various industries to deploy Windows Intune and benefit from the best Windows experience on a standardized platform:

• For D.C. based Microsoft Online Services Partner District Computers, Windows Intune has become the solution they need to provide customers with a secure and up-to-date system. They worked with Friendship Heights Rehabilitation Center to deploy Windows Intune to manage their PCs and standardize on Windows 7. Friendship Heights Rehabilitation Center’s executive director, Therese Rodda, appreciates having a dashboard to view the entire network, detect problems ahead of time and respond to updates: “Windows Intune has helped me as a business owner reduce my IT vendor costs because now I’m in the driver’s seat.” Watch a video on their experience with Windows Intune here.

• The California state-sponsored non-profit organization, the California Strawberry Commission, purchased Windows Intune for its remote management capabilities, so that their employees would have a well-managed, highly secure PC without being tied to the corporate network. With Windows Intune, California Strawberry Commission gets these benefits without huge upfront investment costs for servers and software since Microsoft hosts and maintains the cloud service. Furthermore, they take advantage of the upgrade rights to Windows 7 Enterprise to standardize their PC environment, and take advantage of features like BitLocker to protect data.
• New Signature couples their managed service offering Total Assurance Management Service (TAMS) with Windows Intune to reduce the infrastructure complexity in client networks, giving their team more time to focus on driving high-margin IT alignment business opportunities with their clients. New Signature worked with an emerging national law firm to deliver TAMS with Windows Intune, helping to keep these attorneys focused on business-critical tasks with PC’s performing at their best.

We thank the partners and customers that have helped us develop this beta update for Windows Intune, and encourage you to download and try the beta today!

Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) Updates

Today we also have updates to the MDOP suite, and are pleased to announce that MDOP 2011 R2 will be generally available for download in August with the following updates:

• Microsoft BitLocker Administration & Monitoring (MBAM) 1.0: Adds BitLocker Administration & Monitoring capabilities to the suite, which simplifies BitLocker provisioning and deployment, improves compliance and reporting, and reduces support costs
• Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset (DaRT) 7.0: New features, such as remote boot, make DaRT more flexible to administer and resolve issues while offsite
• Asset Inventory Service (AIS) 2.0: Updated/localized UI and improved software reporting improves inventory capabilities

There are many businesses that can benefit from purchasing MDOP for the first time and the more MDOP components you deploy, the higher the ROI. We recommend customers look into MDOP and find out how they can benefit from the six technologies that it offers. Windows Intune customers can have the MDOP on-premise tools as an add-on for an additional dollar per seat per month.

Let us know what you think!

So as you can see, we have a lot of new developments to help businesses get the most out of their Windows experiences, and to offer the right technologies for both their employees and their business. We encourage partners and customers to sign up for the Windows Intune beta and let us know what you think of the updates we’ve made.