Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 4.0 Beta Now Available!
I have posted on the benefits of the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit before, and Baldwin Ng and team have delivered another fabulous upgrade to the toolkit. Please see my blog post here for some background on the MAP toolkit and Online Services.
Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 4.0 Beta Now Available!
Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 will be available in the near future. Are you thinking about deploying these new operating systems? Get a head start with Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 4.0 Beta. Over 680,000 Microsoft customers and partners including Costco Wholesale Corporation, Continental Airlines, and Banque de Luxembourg have already downloaded and used this toolkit to date.
Introducing Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit
Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 4.0 is an integrated planning toolkit that makes it easier for Microsoft customers and partners to quickly identify what servers, workstations, and network devices are in their IT environment. This agentless and scalable toolkit has the ability to discover all computers within Active Directory and workgroup environments. It performs key functions that include hardware and device inventory, hardware compatibility analysis, and generation of actionable, environment-specific IT proposals for migration to most major Microsoft technologies.
What’s New with v4.0?
Version 4.0 of this toolkit has the following new features:
· Windows 7 Hardware and Device Compatibility Assessment
· Windows Server 2008 R2 Hardware and Device Compatibility Assessment
· Virtualization Candidates Assessment for Hyper-V R2 Server Consolidation
· Integration with the Microsoft Integrated Virtualization ROI Calculator
· Inventory of VMware Server Hosts and Guests
· User Interface and Proposal Customization for Partner co-branding
· Enhanced Usability and Improved Inventory Performance
Additional Features
Technorati Tags:
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Hyper-V,
Windows 7,
Windows Server 2008,
R2,
Solution Accelerator,
Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit,
Microsoft Partner Program,
Woody Walton,
Baldwin Ng
Other features from version 3.2 have also been carried over to version 4.0:
· Virtualization Candidates Assessment for Hyper-V Server Consolidation
· Windows Vista Hardware and Device Compatibility Assessment
· Windows Server 2008 Hardware and Device Compatibility Assessment
· 2007 Microsoft Office Readiness Assessment
· SQL Server Instance Discovery
· Desktop Security Assessment for Anti-virus and Anti-malware Programs Installation
· Forefront Client Security/NAP Readiness Assessment
· Online Services (Exchange Online) Assessment
· App-V Infrastructure Readiness Assessment
· Power Savings “Green IT” Calculator
Benefits to Customers and Partners
Saves Planning or Pre-Sales Time. For most IT consultants and Microsoft Partners, a detailed network inventory and assessment of servers and desktops often takes days of manual labor. With Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit, you can now conduct an environment inventory of up to 100,000 computers in a matter of hours instead of days, giving you extra time to focus on critical planning or pre-sales tasks. For IT professionals, this toolkit can significantly reduce the time it takes to gather the information necessary to make the business case for client, server, and virtualization projects.
Provides Actionable Recommendations and Reporting. This toolkit provides valuable inventory and readiness assessment reports with environment-specific upgrade recommendations and virtualization candidate reports, making it easier for IT migration and deployment projects to get off the ground and running.
Covers Wide Range of Scenarios--from Desktops to Servers. This toolkit offers technology assessments and planning recommendations for many Microsoft desktop and server products including Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Hyper-V R2, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Hyper-V, Virtual Server 2005 R2, 2007 Microsoft Office, SQL Server 2008, Forefront Client Security, Network Access Protection, Microsoft Online Services, Microsoft Application Virtualization (or App-V), and more.
Next Steps--How can I get Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 4.0 Beta?
· Download Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 4.0 Beta and give us your feedback (Live ID login and registration required)
· View the Webcast on MAP Toolkit 4.0 Beta (use Recording Key: fqX`%3t.X)
· Learn more about this toolkit and read case studies on TechNet
· To provide technical feedback on this Beta, please e-mail at MAPSBETA@microsoft.com
· Get the latest news from the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit Team Blog
You will definitely want to leverage this toolkit! Check it out now!
-Woody Walton