Client Management Products

The Desktop Optimization Pack 2013 was released in Apr. 2013. It includes Advanced Group Policy Management 4.0 SP1, Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset 8.0 SP1, Application Virtualization 5.0 SP1, and many improvements to BitLocker Administration and Monitoring as well as support for additional languages.

Microsoft discontinued the Asset Inventory Service in Apr. 2013, although some customers 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, they will not be updated for Windows 8. However, 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.