REDMOND, Wash., Oct. 22, 2003 — Microsoft Corp. today announced that Systems Management Server 2003, its change and configuration management solution for Windows(r) and a critical piece in the Dynamic Systems Initiative, has been released to manufacturing. Microsoft will formally introduce Systems Management Server 2003 at a launch event Nov. 11 at Microsoft(r) IT Forum 2003 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The result of extensive development efforts and beta testing, Systems Management Server 2003 is already deployed in full production, managing 250,000 devices at more than 60 early adopter customer sites worldwide. Early adopters and beta customers have reported cost savings, seamless upgrades and substantial improvements in software distribution, reporting, scalability and performance.
“We have worked closely with our customers throughout the development process,” said Kirill Tatarinov, corporate vice president of the Enterprise Management Division at Microsoft. “This close collaboration is allowing customers to use Systems Management Server 2003 to deploy millions of updates and achieve datacenter-class reliability for application and patch deployments across distributed Windows enterprises.”
Key functionalities of Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003 include the following:
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Enterprise application deployment. From mobile devices to datacenter servers, Systems Management Server 2003 delivers comprehensive client and server application deployment using Active Directory(r) and inventory-based targeting. With its new Web services-based agent, Systems Management Server 2003 extends unified management beyond the corporate network to the growing mobile work force.
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Securing the enterprise. The inclusion of vulnerability assessment reporting and integrated patch deployment features enables customers to constantly monitor security patch status across their corporations and provide rapid, accurate delivery of updates.
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Managing computer assets. With integrated inventory and application-use monitoring, Systems Management Server 2003 helps companies keep track of corporate IT assets, improve help desk efficiency and identify application usage in the enterprise.
“Tight integration between the directory, inventory and application distribution is quickly becoming a strategic component of configuration management,” said Ronni Colville, research director at Gartner Inc. “With the right software distribution tools and processes in place, married to appropriate staffing resources, enterprises can achieve quick return on investment for automation.”
Pricing and Availability
Estimated retail pricing for Systems Management Server 2003 with 10 device client access licenses is $1,219 (U.S.). With Systems Management Server 2003, customers no longer need to acquire separate Systems Management Server server licenses for Systems Management Server Secondary Site servers. Customers can download a 120-day evaluation copy of Systems Management Server 2003 upon the solution’s release today.
More information on Microsoft Systems Management Server can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/sms/ .
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