For Software Assurance Customers

Microsoft ®

Desktop Optimization Pack

for Software Assurance

Dynamic Desktop Solutions

Enterprise IT infrastructures are increasingly complex to manage. The Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack for
Software Assurance addresses the need to increase manageability and reduce complexity. It is a dynamic desktop
solution, available to Software Assurance customers, that employs innovative technologies to increase desktop
manageability, reduce the total cost of ownership, and improve overall infrastructure satisfaction.

PC Manageability Challenges

Managing desktops across an enterprise is often time-consuming, End-users require administrative rights on their desktops to run
complex, and costly. IT organizations face difficult PC manageability tasks select applications, thereby putting systems at risk
on a daily basis. How many of these issues plague your organization?
Maintaining an inventory of software assets is time consuming
and complex
IT staff spends too much time and resources deploying, upgrading,
supporting, and terminating applications PC crashes impacting user productivity and losing valuable data

Managing corporate images is tedious and labor-intensive

The Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack for Software Assurance can
End-users lose productivity when you deploy new applications,
transform the way you manage these challenges. It will enable you to
upgrades, and patches
better control the desktop, accelerate and simplify desktop deployments
Group policy changes have an unexpected adverse affect on desktops and management, and enable IT to provide highly responsive service.

Extending the Benefits of Software Assurance

Take control of the desktop Accelerate desktop deployment, management, and responsiveness

Ease change management and roll backs, enhance group policy manage- Accelerate and simplify desktop deployments and migrations with
ment, reduce downtime, and provide end users with on demand access application virtualization and streaming—reducing end-user downtime,
to applications for which they are assigned. decreasing IT management costs, and increasing IT agility.

• Lock down desktop permissions and Group Policy Objects (GPOs) • Virtualization enables applications to run as network services—
while the virtual applications still execute with centralized control without ever being installed—on demand. Applications run reliably
of application permissions. without conflicts, increasing user uptime, and accelerating deploy-
ments and OS migrations.
• Applications are delivered on demand to clients, improving the time
it takes to recover users from desktop failures. • Application compatibility conflicts and regression testing are eliminat-
ed by isolating all key components of the application from the desktop.
• Centralized, policy-based management—including deployment,
patching, updating, and application termination—is intelligently • IT help desk call volume is dramatically reduced by eliminating
managed for all types of users via policies and administered through application conflicts. Users have a more reliable desktop experience.
a single console.
• Troubleshooting tools pinpoint problems, and recover and repair PCs.
• Real-time application usage tracking makes it easy to determine Post-crash analysis provides intelligence that helps prevent future PC
how applications are or are not being used so customers can better failures.
manage license compliance.
• Applications are universally available to users in multiple client
• Software inventory management enables IT to better manage environments including desktops, laptops, and terminal servers, with
and control the software environment and reduce TCO. a centrally managed infrastructure.
• OS images are consolidated and stabilized because applications • Application management lifecycle is simplified and accelerated; IT
are decoupled from the OS and delivered on demand. responsiveness and end-user uptime are significantly improved.
 Dynamic Desktop Solutions

Transform software into centrally managed services

Build the foundation for a dynamic infrastructure. • IT can easily assign new computers since they can offer a generic
image to all users.
• Dynamic enterprise is created through a virtual IT environment
where applications can be delivered and managed as on demand • IT can easily replace hardware since applications and users are not
virtual services. bound to specific computers.
• End-users can get their applications from any licensed Windows • Facilitates business continuity planning by allowing users go to any
desktop, like a web page. computer on the network and instantly get to their own applications.1

Technologies Included in Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack for Software Assurance

Microsoft SoftGrid® Application Microsoft Asset Microsoft Advanced Microsoft Diagnostics

Virtualization Inventory Service Group Policy Management and Recovery Toolset

Deploy software applications that Reduce application management Help IT take control of the desktop Quickly repair unbootable or
are never installed and never re- lifecycle TCO through advanced through effective change manage- locked-out systems, restore lost
quire regression testing, yet follow software inventory scanning and ment, versioning, and roll-backs data, remove malware from
users anywhere, on demand. Turn by translating inventory data for via GPOs, and a robust role-based infected systems while the system
Windows applications into centrally more than 430,000 titles into administration and delegation is safely offline using existing
managed virtual services that are useful, admin-friendly information model. antivirus software, and diagnose
delivered to any desktop or laptop available on demand. Delivered system and network issues.
client worldwide. Integrate and as an easily administered, hosted “Microsoft did administrators a
manage within Microsoft SMS. service. huge favor by introducing the “This toolset enabled UMC Health
Group Policy Management Console System to restore client devices
“Using this technology, Alamance “The rapid set up time, ease of (GPMC). With Advanced Group instantly without rebuilding them—
Regional Medical Center eliminated use and effectiveness positioned Policy Management, they enhanced saving up to six hours per instance.
over 200 hours spent annually on us to recover our investment eight the console, integrating change This helps the hospital keep its
regression testing and anticipates times within 90 days of initiating control, role-based delegation, critical systems running, so they can
saving more than $1.5 million in the deployment. The capabilities of difference reporting, offline editing, effectively track where patients are
application management costs over the service are a good compliment workflow, templates, and more, right going, process lab information, and
a three-year period.” to our on-premise management into the existing GPMC. Because make data available to clinicians.”
platform by providing further reach Group Policy setting changes have
Andy Gerringer David Smith
Senior Network Administrator,
for discovery and efficient Software the ability to immediately impact Technical Support Manager,
ALAMANCE REGIONAL Asset Analysis tools” every computer on a network, these UMC Health System
MEDICAL CENTER features are essential to a managed
Terry Blake
Director IT Procurement,
Group Policy environment.”
Expedia, Inc. Dan Twing
Vice President,
Enterprise Management
Associates

Rely on Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack for Software Assurance to control your desktops, accelerate software
deployment and management, and improve IT responsiveness and end-user uptime. The Microsoft Desktop
Optimization Pack can help you reduce the TCO of your entire enterprise-wide application management lifecycle
and create the foundation for an agile, services-oriented infrastructure that supports long-term organization growth.

Learn more about Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack for Software Assurance at
http://www.windowsvista.com/optimizeddesktop.

1 Using Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack for Software Assurance does not change licensing requirements for applications delivered and managed through this solution. Refer to your application license terms.
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