System Center Essentials just got better and faster: The new improvements include up to 70 percent less memory consumption, faster console, support for workgroup joined computers, SNMP v1 devices, improved setup, new update approvals rules, enhanced third-party update experience, and support for Windows Server 2008. Download the trial or update your existing Essentials server.

Read Ovum's white paper on how IT management integration is driving mid-market business value. By using Essentials 2007, Ovum concludes, that a typical mid-sized IT group can realize as much as a 35 percent overall productivity improvement in IT staff activity.

To find community and support resources to help you get the most out of Essentials 2007, use the managed forums, visit the product blogs, or read the Knowledge Base articles.

Tim Vander Kooi, a systems administrator at Explorer Pipeline in Tulsa, Okla., says he didn't realize how hard life was before he had Microsoft System Center Essentials (SCE) in place to manage his 32 servers and 250 PCs.