Desktop Management Applications Become Subscriptions

Desktop utilities acquired through several 2006 acquisitions-AssetMetrix, DesktopStandard, Softricity, and Winternals-will be made available only to Microsoft’s Software Assurance customers, and only in a bundle called the Desktop Optimization Pack (DOP). The DOP will give customers powerful tools for client diagnostics and repair, application management, and inventory. For Microsoft, it marks the introduction of a new sales model: applications available only as part of a subscription. However, this model may not be a good fit for many customers.

What’s in the DOP?

The DOP contains four major components-Advanced Group Policy Management, the Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset, SoftGrid, and Software Asset Inventory Services-which correspond to products gained in the four acquisitions, although some have been renamed by Microsoft.

Advanced Group Policy Management, from DesktopStandard, gives administrators greater control over Group Policy Objects (GPOs), which are used to control system and application settings on desktop PCs in an Active Directory domain. (For more information about the DesktopStandard acquisition, see “Acquisition Bolsters Group Policy“.)