Client Management Products

The Desktop Optimization Pack 2012 was released in Nov. 2012. It includes DART 8.0, App-V 5.0, and a new tool, User Experience Virtualization, as well as other updates to support Windows 8. An updated Asset Inventory Service (AIS) 2.0, an update to DART 7.0, and a new feature, BitLocker Administration and Monitoring, are included in the Desktop Optimization Pack 2011 R2 released in Aug. 2011. Previous updates to the PC management suite added support for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (both 32-bit and 64-bit versions) and additional languages.

Microsoft has announced that AIS will be discontinued in Apr. 2013, although customers with active Software Assurance can obtain rights to use Windows Intune, which has a similar inventorying feature. Desktop Error Monitoring and Enterprise Desktop Virtualization will not be updated in the future (specifically not updated for Windows 8), but customers can continue to use them with Windows 7.

Windows Intune (previously referred to as System Center Online Desktop Manager) is a set of Microsoft-hosted online services that provides integrated desktop security and management. General availability of the first version was Mar. 23, 2011. An update released in Oct. 2011 includes additional features such as the ability to deploy applications and third-party updates. Further updates in June 2012 added the capability to manage devices such as tablets and smartphones in conjunction with Exchange ActiveSync. A further update, released in Dec. 2012, can manage Windows 8 and adds direct management of Windows RT, Windows Phone 8, and iOS devices. With this release, Intune is offered under a new licensing model: per-user (with up to five devices) rather than per-device, and it has lower-cost options for customers who already use Configuration Manager.