Assessment, Planning Accelerator Released

The Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Solution Accelerator can help organizations prepare for deployment of Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, or Office 2007. Previously known as the Windows Vista Hardware Assessment tool, it finds computers on a network, performs hardware, driver, and software inventories, and then determines if the computers are ready to run the latest versions of Windows or Office. Detailed reports show what needs updating. While the previous tool focused on clients, MAP adds server assessments that will help IT workers plan migration to Windows Server 2008 or virtual servers and may help Microsoft persuade organizations to upgrade to that OS.

Inventory, Assess, Report, Recommend

MAP runs on a single, networked computer—the inventory computer—and uses Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) and Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) to inventory computers and other devices on the network. It produces Excel spreadsheets showing the results of the inventories and assessments, and Word documents giving specific recommendations for updates.