Solutions for Dynamic Desktops

Traditional, virtualized, or remote desktop delivery methods. Applications can be deployed to client computers by using traditional deployment methods with the tools and processes already familiar to IT personnel. Alternatively, IT pros can deploy virtualized applications to increase the efficiency of application deployments and reduce or eliminate runtime conflicts. Finally, IT pros can incorporate remote desktop environments that allow users to run their applications and access their data from any location.

Consistent management process. Regardless of the delivery method, IT pros can manage all applications by using the same tools they use for managing traditional software while maintaining the unique and dynamic properties of the virtualized desktops or streamed applications. They can inventory and report on all packages and applications as well as their use. These applications can all be deployed and managed by using policies configured to meet the needs of the organization.

Run applications anywhere at any time. This solution allows users to run their applications while connected directly to the organization’s intranet, remotely to the organization’s intranet, or disconnected from the organization’s intranet. IT pros can separate the users’ personalized information from the operating system so that they can run their applications from any traditional, virtual, or remote application environment. Users can cache streamed virtualized applications locally so that they can run their applications, even when not connected to the organization’s intranet. This flexibility allows users to be productive anywhere, anytime.

Streamline deployment processes. IT pros can streamline Windows client deployments by assessing, evaluating, and monitoring the health of physical assets and their topology before deployment to help plan and prepare the infrastructure for large-scale data transfers. IT pros can use the delivery option that best meets the needs for that user or target group of users, supporting even the most distributed organizations and including removable media to support offline or low-bandwidth environments.

Reduce deployment complexity. The new Windows Imaging Format (WIM) image standard allows IT pros to create fewer operating system images while reducing the core operating system image size. IT pros can further reduce the complexity of their images by separating applications, device drivers, and software updates from core operating system images at deployment time using dynamic layering of task sequence–driven installations. IT pros can further streamline the experience and bandwidth requirements by natively deploying virtualized applications.

Retain current user information. During the deployment of any new operating system, retaining the existing user profiles, user configuration settings, and locally stored application data is paramount. This information is encrypted and securely saved during the migration process, and then is restored to the newly deployed Windows client operating system, minimizing users’ learning curve and helping them to be productive faster in their new desktop environment.

Minimize application-compatibility issues. IT can prepare, deploy, and manage applications through traditional packaging tools or virtualize them to avoid application-compatibility issues and reduce regression testing time. The Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) can help IT pros analyze the impact of operating system upgrades and prioritize application-compatibility testing efforts. Or, IT pros can use application virtualization to help resolve application-compatibility challenges without re-engineering existing or custom applications or undergoing extensive debugging and regression testing.

Ensure security configuration compliance. IT helps protect the integrity of the enterprise network by enforcing software and hardware compliance on client computers. IT can also help ensure that systems maintain compliance with security configuration policies—like encryption of the hard disk volumes for portable computers—by assessing systems for compliance with configuration baselines.

Provide continuous network protection. IT can provide continuous network protection with quarantine support for both perimeter and online systems to better ensure that whenever or however systems connect to the organization‘s network, they meet the security configuration policy definitions and spend minimal time in quarantine. IT can stay apprised of the current state of risk by automatically and systematically assessing vulnerabilities to discover the need for updates and can report on recommended actions across the distributed enterprise. This solution integrates with Microsoft Forefront™ to identify the need for anti-malware and antivirus signatures as well as firewalls.

Protect access to the entire intranet. IT can enable the secure access that the expanding enterprise requires, regardless of whether users are accessing the organization’s intranet by wired access, wireless access, or remote-access connections. IT can deliver updates over the Internet to help enable geographically dispersed users who rarely connect to the corporate network to securely receive software updates and other management services more frequently, keeping users productive and helping reduce the time spent in quarantine.

Configuration controls and reporting. This solution creates, maintains, and reports configuration controls to help enforce client computer compliance. IT pros can use desired configuration management to discover unintended configuration changes and to ensure a desired configuration state for all components of the client computers. Included in this solution are dashboards and reports that provide visibility into the status of compliance with configuration controls to support compliance efforts. IT can use Microsoft and third-party best practice configuration knowledge to define best practices, help avoid common configuration errors, and manage systems in the context of regulatory requirements such as HIPAA, SOX, or FISMA compliance.

Centralized audit of system security. This solution gathers and reports security-related events to help secure Windows-based computers in the organization’s data centers. Auditors and security offices can use the reports to assess compliance, including user access audit, account lockouts, privilege changes, asset inventory, and other regulatory compliance requirements. This helps protect the organization through strong authentication and protection from malware and viruses on Windows-based computers.

Continuous configuration compliance auditing. This solution continuously evaluates the desired desktop configuration by defining a baseline that contains the configuration items IT wants to monitor and rules that define the compliance required. Multiple baselines can be assigned to any collection of computers, which provides a high level of configuration control. Up to four levels of severity can be used to prioritize non-compliance. If a computer is non-compliant, IT can automatically bring the computer back into compliance by deploying software to or running scripts on the computer.

Proactive end-to-end monitoring. IT pros can monitor applications and all the dependent systems and services from the client computer to gain the actual user perspective and experience on availability and performance. IT can establish configuration baselines for client computers, and then be notified if the computer configuration deviates from the established baseline. Automated collection of application failures at the client computer allows IT pros to identify the impact, root cause, and resolution for these failures by using agentless exception monitoring.

Monitor individual or groups of client computers. This solution allows IT to monitor specific mission-critical client computers or a group of mission-critical client computers as a unit. Monitoring a group of mission-critical client computers provides a consolidated view of collective system health to help notify support teams when client issues are affecting a large number of users. This allows IT to efficiently report on the status of configuration compliance, individual and collective system health, and other business-critical metrics to proactively identify trends and correct problems.