 Windows Vista Enterprise was designed to help global organizations and enterprises with complex IT infrastructures lower IT costs, reduce risk, and stay connected. Building on the features in Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista Enterprise provides higher levels of data protection using hardware-based encryption technology. It also includes tools to improve application compatibility and enables organizations to standardize by using a single worldwide deployment image. Windows Vista Enterprise is available only to Volume License customers who have PCs covered by Microsoft Software Assurance. These customers are also eligible to acquire an optional subscription license for the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack for Software Assurance. This software extends the value of Windows Vista Enterprise by reducing application deployment costs, enabling delivery of applications as services, and allowing for better management and control of enterprise desktop environments. Together these technologies deliver the most cost-effective and flexible Windows desktop management solution. Windows Vista Enterprise includes Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption, a new technology which helps prevent sensitive data and intellectual property from falling into the wrong hands if a computer is lost or stolen. Windows BitLocker uses hardware-based data encryption technology that gives you greater peace of mind knowing that your corporate intellectual property is safer and will remain your strategic asset. Also, since the entire hard drive is encrypted, Windows BitLocker reduces the cost associated with decommissioning old PCs. Windows Vista Enterprise includes built-in tools to improve application compatibility with previous versions of Microsoft operating systems, as well as with UNIX operating systems. It also provides the right to run four virtual operating system sessions, which enables you to run a legacy application in a virtual environment on top of Windows Vista Enterprise. This feature saves you time and money if you are unable to easily migrate a legacy application directly to Windows Vista. Additionally, Windows Vista Enterprise includes Subsystem for UNIX-based Applications (SUA), which enables you to run UNIX applications unchanged on a Windows Vista Enterprise-based PC. Whereas today a UNIX database administrator or system administrator needs to have a UNIX workstation in addition to a Windows-based PC, Windows Vista Enterprise enables you to consolidate both functions into a single Windows Vista-based PC. Windows Vista Enterprise customers that subscribe to the Desktop Optimization Pack for Software Assurance have additional options for minimizing application compatibility challenges. This service can accelerate deployment with tools such as SoftGrid for application virtualization, which can reduce application-to-application conflicts, and with Asset Inventory Services, to help you more quickly compile information about applications running inside your organization. An interface language controls which language a user sees in the Windows Start menu, in the help system, in built-in management tools, and in Windows dialog boxes. Windows Vista Enterprise includes all available interface languages in one offering. Access to all worldwide Windows interface languages enables organizations to build a single deployment image that can be used worldwide and to deploy individual PCs that simultaneously offer different interface languages for different users. Windows Vista Enterprise is designed to meet the needs of large global organizations and those with highly complex IT infrastructures. If your organization has these requirements, Windows Vista Enterprise will help you lower your IT costs and will provide additional layers of protection for your sensitive data. In today's world of work, Windows Vista gives your business an advantage by empowering your most valuable asset—people. Windows Vista makes it easy for people to communicate, collaborate and to work with greater efficiency and effectiveness, regardless of their location. And Windows Vista enhances your organization's ability to find, use, and secure data, meet complex regulatory requirements, and manage information technology costs. It's the heart of any competitive organization's IT desktop investment. Here are some critical areas in which Windows Vista serves the needs of your business and the people responsible for its success. Improve security and complianceProtecting your business information and complying with rules for business transparency can greatly increase the demands on your IT infrastructure. With Windows Vista, sophisticated data protection and auditing capabilities help simplify IT management and lower costs for regulatory compliance. And Windows Vista helps organizations create a more controlled information environment so that managing security risks becomes a routine part of business.
See demo Optimize your desktop infrastructureEvery day more and more demands are made on your IT systems, but that doesn't have to increase your IT expense. Windows Vista is designed to be less expensive to deploy, maintain, and manage—supporting employee productivity and providing and a better return on your IT investment.
See demo Find and use informationThe way people find and use information can be critical to the success of your business. Windows Vista dramatically improves how people access and leverage the knowledge and resources within your organization. The operating system helps people find and use information quickly, easily, and more securely and in more places—including their PCs, e-mail, corporate servers, and the Internet.
See demo Enable your mobile workforceToday, more businesses rely on a mobile workforce to serve their customers and reduce enterprise costs associated with a large onsite staff. Windows Vista gives mobile workers more secure and versatile ways to access company IT resources so they can easily collaborate with colleagues, on and off the company network, and across geographic boundaries.
See demo View Case Studies to learn how other companies have minimized business costs and maximized the value of their Windows investment. The Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack for Software Assurance adds even more value to Windows Vista by changing the way you manage enterprise desktop environments. It renders many labor-intensive and complex processes obsolete. Now, desktop management and support are simple, automated, and fast—and very cost-effective. The Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack includes four key technologies: Microsoft SoftGrid, which dynamically delivers the virtualized application solution; Microsoft Asset Inventory Service, which translates software inventory into business intelligence; Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset, powerful tools that accelerate desktop repair, recovery, and troubleshooting of unbootable Windows machines; and Microsoft Advanced Group Policy Management, which enhances group policy through change management tools. Together, they help you: Take control of the desktop
Ease change management and roll backs, enhance group policy management, reduce downtime, and provide end users with on-demand access to applications for which they are assigned—all through centralized management.
Accelerate desktop deployment, management, and responsiveness
Simplify and increase the speed of desktop deployments and migrations with application virtualization and streaming. This reduces end-user downtime and eliminates the need for installations and rigorous compatibility testing, decreasing costs and increasing IT agility. Transform software into centrally managed services
Build the foundation for a dynamic infrastructure through a virtual IT environment where applications can be delivered and managed as on-demand virtual services.
View demo of Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack View case studies that show how customers have improved PC manageability with Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack technologies. To effectively serve organizations of all sizes, Windows Vista is available in two versions: Windows Vista Enterprise and Windows Vista Business. Windows Vista Business can help you reduce IT costs while increasing the impact your people have on producing business results. Windows Vista Enterprise includes all the features available in Windows Vista Business, with additional capabilities designed to help reduce the cost and complexity of deploying and managing corporate PCs. It provides higher levels of data protection, easier application management, and improved standardization for global operations. Windows Vista Enterprise also offers stronger data protection for a growing, mobile workforce, including more protection of sensitive data in the event a mobile PC is lost or stolen. Learn more about Windows Vista Enterprise and how to implement it in your business through Software Assurance, which provides access to exclusive tools and services designed to maximize your software investment. The Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack can extend the value of Windows Vista by transforming the way you manage enterprise desktop environments. It will enable you to better control the desktop, accelerate and simplify desktop deployments and management, reduce IT management costs, and enable you to provide highly responsive service. Learn how it can help your business. In today's digital world, critical business information is often a target for theft and misuse. And, as new government regulations require businesses to operate with more transparency, competitors may have greater access your intellectual property. Windows Vista provides multiple layers of protection to help your company address the increasing risk and expense associated with information security and regulatory compliance, such as the protection of customer data, and with compliance of corporate policies. Security threats to critical information present one of the biggest challenges for companies that take advantage of today's IT technologies. Windows Vista is designed to help organizations overcome risks with a highly stable platform that provides maximum security. One reason is the way the operating system takes full advantage of new security certification requirements and standards. The result: A more protected platform raises the bar for security.  The Security Development Lifecycle helps ensure Windows Vista is engineered with the highest security standards. Criminals are becoming more sophisticated in their attempts to steal information. Windows Vista employs new measures for safeguarding your organization's data from external threats, helping to prevent you from losing money or sensitive company information. Wireless security enhancements for your mobile workforce and features designed to keep computers safer when employees use the Internet help protect your company from various types of threats.  Features such as User Account Control help enhance the security of your systems—which reduces the possibility of loss and increases the opportunity for gain. Giving employees more access to computer settings and IT-specific information can make your network vulnerable. Windows Vista allows you to have more control over what individuals can and cannot do, while still giving them with the tools they need to access information and be productive. Financial loss resulting from missing or unauthorized access to data is a central concern for companies. Windows Vista features technology and tools that help keep your data secure. For example, security settings can be easily tailored to provide custom levels of protection specific to types of business information. And, Windows Vista Enterprise provides advanced levels of data protection with BitLocker Drive Encryption that specifically address risks associated with mobile PCs.  Group Policy features, such as the ability to block USB device installation, give organizations greater control over sensitive information. Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset, part of the optional subscription to the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack, extends the security benefits of Windows Vista with powerful tools that help recover PCs that have become unusable and easily identify root causes of system and network issues. Rogue applications and improperly configured software can hinder security and result in unnecessary costs and labor for your IT organization. With the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack, you can bring these security risks under control and reduce costs and labor expenses. It lets you identify applications and installations that are contrary to your corporate policies, and track real-time application usage so you can determine how applications are or are not being used for license compliance. In addition, centralized administration of application permissions and group policies, combined with policy-based management of application deployments and upgrades, gives you the extra control needed to improve the security and reduce the risks associated with enterprise desktop environments. Meeting the growing demands placed on your information technology (IT) systems doesn't have to add expense. Designed to be more manageable, reliable, and cost-effective, Windows Vista drives IT efficiencies with new technology and tools that help optimize your desktop infrastructure and lower IT costs. Deploying an operating system throughout your company can be an expensive, labor-intensive task. If your IT department is working with older operating systems, they must repeat similar processes for each type of computer, and in each language used, within your company. Now, with Windows Vista, your IT team can use one standard OS image for deploying new desktops, regardless of the hardware type or language. This not only reduces costs, but frees up time for your IT staff to focus on strategic initiatives and new technologies.  Being able to use a standard image to deploy systems reduces IT overhead. With an optional subscription to the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack, Software Assurance customers can reduce IT costs even further. Microsoft SoftGrid Application Virtualization, a key component of the Desktop Optimization Pack, transforms applications into virtualized, network-available services. It enables you to deliver software that does not need to be installed, which minimizes application conflicts. SoftGrid lowers application management costs considerably by reducing—and often eliminating—many of the traditional, tedious, and costly steps needed to deploy applications, such as compatibility testing and installation. Updating computer configurations can be costly and time consuming. Windows Vista includes improved technologies to simplify remote management of PCs. It also helps keep PCs in their desired configuration by preventing users from making unauthorized changes. Remote monitoring is also enhanced, allowing IT administrators to keep better track of the PCs they manage. With Windows Vista, it's easier to keep computers configured in a consistent way and efficiently trouble-shoot problems.  With automatic features such as the Windows Network Diagnostics Tool, it's much easier to troubleshoot PC problems. Microsoft Advanced Group Policy Management, part of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack, also helps administrators gain better control over the desktop. Its change management and role-based delegation capabilities for group policy objects (GPOs) make it much easier to create templates, manage group policies, and minimize the chance of conflicting or improperly configured GPOs. Support costs increase when users lack the proper tools and information to address problems with their PCs. Windows Vista helps people resolve problems themselves, decreasing their reliance on the helpdesk. It also includes features that enhance the helpdesk's ability to troubleshoot and solve issues in less time.  IT Professionals can better manage your organization's PCs with tools such as the Reliability Monitor. In addition, with SoftGrid, included in the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack, IT administrators can reduce call volume for application-related problems, which can cut helpdesk costs by up to 30 percent. Because applications are not installed (and therefore, do not conflict with each other) many common application issues are eliminated. The Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack also includes Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset, which can save significant time in repairing and troubleshooting common PC problems. With this toolset, IT managers can recover failed systems whenever the need arises, providing end users with faster, more accurate resolutions and minimizing downtime. The quantity of data is exploding and the need to access and manage it is becoming more complex. It is becoming increasingly difficult and time consuming for the people in your organization to find and use information effectively. Companies are also more complex, doing more with less, and facing even more intense competition. As a consequence, businesses demand search and information management tools that enable their employees to be more productive, make better business decisions, and achieve greater business results. Windows Vista empowers your people with responsive, reliable tools to help them efficiently find and use the right information at the right time. Information management is a critical operation for business success. The time people spend searching for the right information—and inadvertently duplicating data that's already available—weakens productivity and diverts valuable resources away from driving innovation or customer connection. Windows Vista helps organizations effectively manage complex data collections and provides new search capabilities so that users can quickly find almost anything on their computer or company servers.  Windows Vista helps you find exactly what you're looking for fast. Easily referencing information outside your company's intranet is essential to keep your people informed, engaged, and productive. Windows Vista makes it easier to locate information on the web with advanced browsing capabilities and dynamic new tools that make using the Internet a more secure and richer experience.  Your employees can navigate the Web faster with features such as Quick Tabs in Internet Explorer 7. Juggling large workloads, tight deadlines, and volumes of information can make it increasingly difficult for your people to deliver useful results. The powerful and intuitive Windows Vista environment can help because it is easier to navigate than previous releases of Windows. And new tools help users find the right information with greater ease, speed—and results.  The Aero interface and features such as Windows Flip 3D make it easier to focus on a single task, even while working on several things at once. Poor PC performance can lead to decreased employee productivity and increased IT labor costs. Windows Vista delivers exceptional performance, reliability, and responsiveness that reduces downtime and enhances employee productivity.  Windows Vista offers increased PC performance with features such as ReadyBoost. With an increasing number of mobile and remote workers, a challenge for many of today's organizations is how to provide effective technology tools to maximize the productivity of mobile workers while maintaining a high level of security for critical company information. Windows Vista can enable your mobile workforce with highly secure and seamless ways to access and exchange information. Windows Vista provides solutions that can be scaled and adapted to a business using a mobile workforce to meet changing customer demands. Enhanced mobility features help your mobile workforce be more productive, and ultimately can create a competitive advantage for your business while helping contain IT costs.  Mobile workers can rapidly adapt to different locations with features such as Windows Mobility Center. When employees travel or work remotely they often have difficulties collaborating with colleagues, responding to critical e-mails, and resolving business issues. Windows Vista is designed to connect people, improve collaboration, and enhance customer contacts with secure access to people, groups, and to the latest, most relevant information.  Features such as Windows Meeting Space, which enables the use of ad hoc networks, help mobile workers collaborate more efficiently. Features such as Windows Meeting Space, which enables the use of ad hoc networks, help mobile workers collaborate more efficiently. Additionally, with the optional subscription to Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack, your users can have anywhere, anytime access to licensed applications through Microsoft SoftGrid. With an increasing number of mobile and at-home employees, it becomes more difficult to maintain network security and the confidentiality of your information. Windows Vista provides the latest wireless security protocols and improved layers of protection that safeguard your network and provide secure remote access to documents and programs.  Protect data stored on your mobile PC from unauthorized access with enhanced security features like BitLocker Drive Encryption. It can be expensive and time consuming to support and manage technology for workers who travel, telecommute, or work in remote locations. As a mobile workforce becomes more common for many organizations, Windows Vista can help your business reduce the time and expense associated with managing mobile PCs or other portable devices linked to a central network.  It's easier for mobile workers to troubleshoot, diagnose, and resolve common computer issues with features such as Disk Diagnostics. Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack for Software AssuranceThe Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack for Software Assurance extends the value of Windows Vista Enterprise by reducing application deployment costs, enabling delivery of applications as services, and allowing for better enterprise desktop management.
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