REDMOND, Wash., Feb. 25, 2003 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the availability of updated tools to help enterprises evaluate and deploy Windows® XP Professional and Office XP on the new Desktop Center. Microsoft estimates the tools will help enterprise customers reduce deployment time for Windows XP by up to 67 percent compared with Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT®
4 through streamlining key processes such as application compatibility testing and security updates. The deployment tools are available at no cost on the new Desktop Center at http://www.microsoft.com/desktop/ and in Microsoft’s new Desktop Deployment Customer Toolkit CD.
“Application compatibility is one of the primary concerns of enterprises currently evaluating the deployment of Windows XP,”
said Michael Silver, vice president and research director at Gartner Inc.
“It is not uncommon for enterprises to have hundreds or thousands of applications to test for compatibility before deploying a new operating system.”
Microsoft developed the Windows XP Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) 2.6 to dramatically reduce the time to test and update applications to run on Windows XP. The toolkit not only helps evaluate and test applications, it also goes a step further by assisting IT administrators in tailoring adjustments to the applications so they are optimized for Windows XP. In a recent study audited by BearingPoint Inc. (formerly KPMG Consulting), Microsoft evaluated nine companies with more than 800 applications using the toolkit and found Windows XP was compatible with more than 95 percent of the applications upon deployment.
“Enterprise customers told us they wanted better tools and resources to help them through the deployment process,”
said Rogers Weed, corporate vice president of Windows product management at Microsoft.
“The toolkit will alleviate much of the burden of testing applications and streamline the process by addressing compatibility issues before deploying the OS across the organization.”
The updated portal also includes the Microsoft®
Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) 1.1. The new analyzer scans corporate desktops for missing security updates and service packs and also identifies common system misconfigurations. Once the scan is complete, the analyzer provides an individual XML security report for each desktop scanned. To perform local or remote scans of Windows systems, the analyzer includes a graphical and command line interface for IT managers.
The Desktop Deployment portal Web site also includes a host of other updated and improved tools and resources to help enterprises evaluate and deploy Windows XP Professional and Office XP. The portal includes a calculator to measure return on investment, which helps IT managers evaluate the overall business value of upgrading to Windows XP; a System Preparation Tool, designed to reduce the number of images required in a deployment; guides for large-scale deployments and easy access to other deployment resources including TechNet, service offerings, knowledge base articles, deployment partners and best practices from early adopters.
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“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.
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