By Don Retallack [bio]
Posted: May 26, 2008

The following is an illustration accompanying an article published by Directions on Microsoft, an independent research firm focused exclusively on Microsoft strategy & technology. More samples of our content, as well as a list of upcoming articles and reports are also available.

The roadmap for Microsoft's System Center family of systems management products shows several updates in 2008, with 2009 likely being a pivotal year as betas are released ahead of the next major wave of releases in 2010. These will probably include more integration with security products, such as the Forefront line for servers and clients, and additional emphasis on Service Modeling Language (SML) and PowerShell. (Naming and release dates for June 2008 and later in this chart are Directions on Microsoft estimates based on previous release cycles and code names.)

Configuration Manager 2007 SP1 was released in May 2008 for management of Windows Server 2008 and Hyper-V (Windows Server virtualization) virtual machines (VMs), among other features. Configuration Manager 2007 R2, planned for the second half of 2008, will support additional features such as Application Virtualization, SQL Reporting Services, and multicast image deployment. The next version has not been announced but is likely in 2010 (shown here as Configuration Manager v5).

The Operations Manager monitoring product received a major update in 2007 and is due for another release, likely named SP2, in late 2009. Operations Manager 2007 SP1, released in Feb. 2008, will require a further update (planned for June 2008) to enable the product to monitor and run on Windows Server 2008, which is not supported by Operations Manager 2007 or 2007 SP1. The next version has not been announced but is likely in 2010 (shown here as Operations Manager v4).

Virtual Machine Manager was released in 2007 and enables administrators to create VMs from physical server configurations. It also supports centrally managing and moving VMs. Virtual Machine Manager 2007 Workgroup (WG) for midsized organizations was released in early 2008. A new version that supports Windows Server Hyper-V will be released in mid-2008. The next new version (labeled v3 here) is likely to be released in 2010.

Data Protection Manager will receive a rollup update to accommodate tape library sharing between Data Protection Manager Servers and additional enhancements for handling storage media. The SP1 release (not officially named) will likely add support for SQL Server 2008 and Hyper-V when they are released. Data Protection Manager will probably receive a new version (labeled v3 here) in 2010.

Mobile Device Manager 2008 was released in Apr. 2008 and will likely be updated in 2009 to support the future Windows Mobile 7 device platform. A new Service Manager product will support trouble ticketing and problem resolution and integrate with Operations Manager, Configuration Manager, and other Systems Center management products. Service Manager will include an updated version of Reporting Manager, which will no longer be offered as a separate product. Service Manager was initially planned for the second half of 2008 but has been postponed to 2010, based on feedback from beta testing in 2006 and 2007.