Last month, Gavriella Schuster discussed the features you will see in the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) 2009 R2 and today I’m pleased to announce its availability! Over on the MDOP Team blog, Ran Oelgiesser provided details about what you can expect with the latest release and today he shares some of the customer and partner feedback, so below I’ll just touch on the highlights.

If you’re not using MDOP, we recommend you take another look because it can provide immediate savings with little IT investment, especially when integrated into your Windows 7 plans. For example:

• By using Application Virtualization, you can optimize your Windows 7 deployment by reducing PC provisioning time, simplifying application delivery and update, and increasing productivity with user roaming
• You can enhance your Windows 7 manageability by addressing common system/application failures (with DEM), repairing unbootable PCs (with DaRT), and controlling Group Policy change (with AGPM).

If you are an MDOP customer, you can now download MDOP 2009 R2 through Microsoft Volume Licensing Site (MVLS).  If you want to evaluate MDOP 2009 R2, the MDOP software is available at MSDN and TechNet (in accordance with your MSDN or TechNet agreements, except for AIS).

Beyond MDOP 2009 R2, the MDOP roadmap includes:

1. Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V) V 1.0 SP1 – This updated tool will support Windows 7 and enable enterprise deployment of virtual Windows XP environments to support incompatible applications. A Beta version of MED-V 1.0 SP1 will be available by the end of 2009 and final release is scheduled for the first quarter of calendar year 2010.
2. Asset Inventory Service (AIS) 2.0 – AIS 2.0 can track your existing assets to improve Windows 7 deployment planning and will have a series of enhancements that customers have requested: Enhanced hardware inventory, new Silverlight-based user interface, scale to 100,000 PCs, improved volume license reconciliation and ability to track virtual applications. The AIS 2.0 beta is now available (registration closes by October 24th) and the final release will be available in H2 CY2010.

Encouraging feedback

Already MDOP has been licensed for over 21 million desktops worldwide and more customers are looking forward to MDOP 2009 R2 and Windows 7! Below are a few quotes from some of our top customers who are seeing real and immediate value with MDOP:

BMW completed a proof of concept of application delivery with Application Virtualization. “We expect cost savings on desktop support once we start deploying App-V with Windows 7,” said Mr. Bernhard Huber, Head of IT Workplace Systems at BMW. “We are also considering AGPM [Advanced Group Policy Management] and MED-V [Enterprise Desktop Virtualization] at a later stage of Windows 7 deployment.”

Heinz Koehler, VP of Infrastructure for E.O.N., Power and Gas Company with 85,000 desktops that are being upgraded to Windows 7, talks about MDOP: “We also expect to use App-V to help reduce the packaging and testing costs of applications and use MED-V to help resolve any application compatibility issues.”

“…MDOP, specifically App-V, has been a hidden gem our customers have found to help them quickly deploy, and then easily manage and maintain their applications in an efficient manner.  In an economy when they are being asked to do more with less, the timing couldn’t have been better for MDOP 2009 R2 to help our clients meet their IT initiatives…,” said Rand Morimoto, President of Convergent Computing.

In addition, Answers Research recently surveyed 1000 IT pros across five countries (commissioned by Microsoft) and we found out that:

• 66% of MDOP customers deployed three or more of the MDOP products
• 52% of them deployed MDOP across more than half of their PCs
• 94% of MDOP customers said they would recommend MDOP to a colleague
• When comparing MDOP and non-MDOP customers, customer satisfaction with Software Assurance increases by 25%

To sum up, MDOP 2009 R2 is available today and it’s there to help you save money and reduce complexity, especially with your Windows 7 deployment. We look forward to hearing your thoughts on this new release!

Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2009, the industry's largest and most important annual gathering of CIOs and their senior IT leaders is taking place this week in Orlando, Florida.

During this year’s event, which will focus on how business technology can help customers return to growth by balancing cost optimization and risk mitigation, Microsoft will be helping customers to understand how they can realize the benefits of Windows 7 through the following activities and sessions:

Windows 7 Early Adopter Customer Panel: Tuesday, October 20th, 2009   12:30PM - 1:30PM ET (Moderated by Michael A. Silver - Gartner)

A panel of Windows 7 early adopters will discuss Windows 7 planning, deployment tips and rollout plans. During the panel, attendees will share their experience on planning for a successful deployment and the immediate results they received deploying Windows 7. Featured Gartner Research VP & Distinguished Analyst Michael Silver will facilitate the panel discussion. Please visit Gartner.com for a replay of this webcast on October 22nd.

Windows 7 Unplugged-- Tips From Microsoft's CIO Office: Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 2:00Pm - 2:20PM ET (Rick Merrifield - Microsoft)

In this interactive session, the Chief Architect in Microsoft’s IT department will share insider tips on how to plan, pilot and rollout Windows 7. Learn how your organization can benefit from applying the Windows Optimized Desktop to increase end user productivity, enhance security and reduce costs by automating IT management.

Windows Optimized Desktop-- Windows 7 and Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack: Wednesday, October 21st  3:30PM -4:30pm ET (Gavriella Schuster - Microsoft)

The Windows Optimized Desktop is designed to help with today’s imminent IT challenges while ensuring your future success. Come learn how Microsoft Windows 7 and the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack 2009 R2 together provide better user productivity, stronger data protection, security and PC management and automation improvements that can help you  save costs and improve IT efficiency.

Mastermind Keynote with Stephen Elop, President, Microsoft Business Division Thursday,  October 22nd 11:00am - 11:45am (Moderated by Neil MacDonald and Brian Gammage - Gartner)

Gartner analysts Neil MacDonald and Brian Gammage will moderate an interview with Stephen on a variety of topics top of mind for Symposium attendees. As president of the Microsoft Business Division, Stephen oversees the Information Worker, Microsoft Business Solutions and Unified Communications Groups here at Microsoft and is a member of the company's senior leadership team that sets overall strategy and direction for the company.

Windows 7 Hand On Labs— Monday, October 19th - Thursday,  October 22nd Various times (Various presenters)

30 minute, proctor led, interactive sessions where attendees can experience the following features of Windows 7: Windows 7 UI features, Internet Explorer 8 & Web Slices, Problem Steps Recorder, Med-V (using Internet Explorer to launch a Med-V web site), and using BitLocker which will include a 1GB key drive to activate BitLocker as a giveaway, with pre-loaded content including the current product guide and the Microsoft Optimized Desktop datasheet.

We are all experiencing the results of the economic “reset”. Companies and consumers are scaling back spending to lower levels despite modest signs of growth. However, we are all recognizing that you cannot simply save your way to success. Costs savings are critical but not enough. In response to this, businesses are emphasizing efficiency which includes trimming costs but also involves increasing productivity and innovation for sustained growth. Microsoft is calling this the New Efficiency.

As mentioned last week by Stephen Rose, Microsoft is hosting a special VIP Business Leadership Roundtable event on September 29, 2009 in San Francisco from 9 to 10:30am Pacific to discuss the New Efficiency and other relevant trends.

Attendees are encouraged to join in on the conversation with our CEO Steve Ballmer and co-host Robert Youngjohns as they discuss major trends in the workplace and the role of technology in driving growth and competitive advantage during this economic reset. Steve and Robert will be joined by a panel of early adopter customers representing key industries like automotive, hospitality, transportation and IT. Attendees will get a close look at how real companies are justifying IT investments across the desktop, server, and network and beyond. The event will be broadcast live over the web and listeners will be able to submit questions to Steve Ballmer and the rest of the panel.

Add the event to your calendar and watch it live here at www.TheNewEfficiency.com.

Things are heating up as we ramp up for Windows 7’s launch on October 22nd!

As you already know, on August 7th we made Windows 7 RTM available to our Volume License (VL) customers who have Software Assurance (SA). Windows Server customers are able to download 2008 R2 as of August 14th and on September 1st, we announced VL customers without SA are able to purchase Windows 7 through Volume Licensing. With this broad availability to our business customers, I want to share TCO (“total cost of ownership”) data from early adopters, some feedback from enterprise customers, and advanced companion tools and applications to enable the best experience as businesses deploy Windows 7. We have a lot going on, so read on for all the details.

To support early migration to Windows 7, today we announced on the MDOP Team Blog that we will be releasing Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) 2009 R2 in late October 2009, which I’ll also talk more about in a bit.

Deployments are happening right now and your company can begin deployment as well! Several of our early adopters are already having great success with Windows 7. I thought I would share some of the TCO findings from studies of three enterprise customer deployments. Customers involved in the studies were:

• Baker Tilly (Professional Services - UK): 2,200 users
• City of Miami (Local Government - US): 2,235 users
• Getronics (IT Services - Netherlands): 14,300 users

Some of the key TCO findings from the studies include:

• Direct cost savings of IT labor dedicated to PC management are expected to be in the range of $89-160 per PC annually. That means IT Pros are saving up to two hours per desktop annually. For companies with several thousand PCs, this frees up a lot of valuable time, allowing IT departments to focus on more mission critical efforts and support their business more efficiently.
• Overall, the $70-$160 in savings per PC annually represents reduction of IT labor costs ranging from a 10-20%. For example, Baker Tilly has been able to re-focus their IT force on strategic projects and estimates they’ll save 18% on PC management costs.
• Companies are realizing power savings with Windows 7 that add to the direct savings in IT Labor. For example, the City of Miami estimates their expected power savings alone ($54 per PC per year) justifies their Windows 7 deployment.
• City of Miami also expects to save big on service desk costs. Previously, the city IT staff had to physically travel to the PC user’s location to resolve support issues. Windows 7 has advanced capabilities such as Remote Desktop, which now help the IT staff to diagnose and resolve issues remotely, saving both travel time and end-user downtime. Built-in features like the Problem Steps Recorder (PSR) have been described as a “nugget of gold in the operating system.” Specifically, PSR helps users communicate problems to the service desk, reducing the need to dispatch technicians to user locations by as much as 90%.

These TCO studies represent a few of our Windows 7 customers. You can find out more by reading the full TCO studies. Here is what other early deploying customers are saying about savings and overall value:

Gokboru Kilic, Client Systems Professional, Turkcell:

We expect support costs to drop by 20 percent with Windows 7.

Andreas Viehauser, Head of Client and Software Management, Raiffeisen Informatik:

We are able to deploy to different computer devices using the same image file—helping reduce deployment time by 60 percent. What used to take three and a half hours now takes as little as one hour.

Miguel Lopez, Project Manager, F. Hoffman LaRoche:

With Group Policies and Windows 7, we’ll have more granular control over our computers and can more easily enforce how we govern our IT environment.

Henk Siereveld, Global IT Director, Bugaboo:

Our users love Windows 7. It provides an easier way of working, the interface is attractive, and it offers more functionality than our prior operating systems.

Mark McBeth, Vice President of IT, Starwood Hotels & Resorts:

From an IT perspective, we’ve received positive feedback on the performance and stability. For us, those are the very first things we look for in an OS for Sheraton.

John McConeghey, IT Manager, Pella

We opted to roll out Windows Server 2008 R2 in tandem with Windows 7 because there are synergies that we gain by deploying the two products together.

Similarly, customers who have deployed App-V from MDOP are also seeing significant savings. Our recent App-V Cost Reduction Study shows Microsoft App-V is THE desktop virtualization product that delivers immediate savings on the desktop. App-V is estimated to provide an annual savings of $156 in hard costs and $125 in user productivity, yielding a total savings of up to $280 per PC annually. 

We are happy to see so much excitement from early Windows 7 adopters, showing the real value Windows 7 provides enterprises. We recently asked Forrester to take a closer look at a broad set of enterprise customers to understand the real challenges of enterprises today and what is most important to them. Forrester surveyed over 318 senior IT decision makers and C- level IT executives in the US, Germany and Japan, with 78% of the respondent companies having over 500 PCs.

Key findings from their survey include:

• For 87% of companies, controlling costs is a critically or very important business priority.
• For 84% of companies, improving employee productivity is a critically or very important business priority.
• For 54% of companies, improving employee mobility is a critically or very important business priority.
• For 86% of companies, security is a critically or very important technology initiative.

As such - mobility, employee productivity and security requirements are surfacing as central challenges to the customer’s experience:

These companies support on average 174 Branch offices each; with only 38% of employees on average working in HQ; with 20% of the branch office workers dissatisfied with their access to corporate data.

• 68% of the companies struggle with the inability to manage PCs when those are not physically connected to the corporate network.
• 10% of the helpdesk calls are VPN-related.
• 23% of the helpdesk calls being related to users needing to install applications to do work and 14% of helpdesk calls are caused by users corrupting their systems by installing unauthorized software – overall an industry concern over malware management.

The study confirmed the real challenges of enterprises today which increase companies’ costs each year. With Windows 7 and MDOP, we developed Windows Optimized Desktop to target challenges to help address the customer’s most critical needs. It’s important to note that customers who deploy Windows 7 and MDOP with their existing server infrastructure will be able to expect significant value, user productivity, stronger data protection, and security and PC management. They can also expect automation improvements that can help them save costs and improve efficiency. The great news for customers here is that they do not have big dependencies on other deployment initiatives before they can realize the benefits of their Windows 7 deployment. However, if customers choose to deploy Windows Server 2008 R2 with Windows 7, they can expect even greater cost savings, reduced complexity and increased user productivity.

We also continue to innovate on MDOP to ensure it serves as a valuable enabler to the deployment and management of Windows 7. As I already mentioned, we’ll be releasing MDOP 2009 R2 in late October. MDOP 2009 R2 will add Windows 7 support for all of the tools except MED-V, which will support Windows 7 in the first quarter of calendar year 2010 via MED-V 1.0 SP1. I recommend reading the MDOP Team Blog for more information on MDOP 2009 R2.

Furthering our efforts help companies deploy Windows 7, we recently announced the availability of the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2010. MDT 2010 is optimized to support Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 deployments, and has built-in capabilities to support customers migrating from Windows XP to Windows 7.

With the release of both MDOP 2009 R2 and MDT 2010, and other resources available on the TechNet and Springboard websites, customers can feel confident about the deployment support available for Window 7.

Now is the time to begin testing and deploying Windows 7 with MDOP and Windows Server 2008 R2!

Last month we made Windows 7 available to customers with Software Assurance and to MSDN and TechNet Subscribers. Today I am happy to announce two more ways for businesses to get Windows 7 for their deployment and evaluation.

Volume License Availability, at a Discount
Starting today, businesses can order upgrades to Windows 7 from a Microsoft Volume License Reseller. This option is for businesses that don’t already have Windows Software Assurance and want to upgrade their existing business PCs to Windows 7. There are two editions of Windows 7 available through Volume Licensing:

• Windows 7 Professional: Designed for small and midsize organizations, Windows 7 Professional provides a PC experience you can count on, helps you get more done, and helps safeguard your work. Today, we are also starting a 15% discount on Windows 7 Professional upgrade licenses that will run until February 28, 2010. Contact your Microsoft reseller to take advantage of this offer and confirm availability in your area (discount is offered on Microsoft pricing to its channel partners; pricing offered by partners may vary).
• Windows 7 Enterprise: If you have an active Software Assurance agreement or purchase one with your Windows 7 Professional upgrade licenses or new PCs with Windows 7 Professional, you can deploy Windows 7 Enterprise. Designed for enterprises and businesses that want to optimize their desktop IT infrastructure, Windows 7 Enterprise will help make users productive anywhere, enhance security and control, and streamline PC management.

Windows 7 will run on most PCs businesses have today. More information on tools to help with your upgrade to Windows 7 is available at www.windows.com/business/upgrade. Additionally, we recommend that customers with Software Assurance purchase the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) to aid in their enterprise OS management. The MDOP subscription currently includes six technologies that help reduce the TCO of a Windows 7 desktop. MDOP simplifies application deployment and lifecycle management and provides a solution for resolving application incompatibility through virtualization. MDOP also increases IT responsiveness and user uptime through robust diagnostics and monitoring capabilities, and increases IT control by providing asset tracking and group policy change management.

Keep in mind that Windows Volume Licensing upgrades are only available for PCs that already have a qualifying Operating System, such as Windows Vista Business or Windows XP Professional. For a list of qualified versions of Windows 7 operating system licenses, download the Windows 7 and Optimized Desktop Volume Licensing Guide available on http://www.microsoft.com/windows/enterprise/how-to-buy.aspx.

Windows 7 Enterprise 90-Day Trial
If you are an IT Pro who does not have a Software Assurance Volume Licensing agreement and are not an MSDN/TechNet subscriber, you can download the Windows 7 Enterprise 90-Day Trial. This is something many of you have asked for as a means to continue evaluating Windows 7 in your environment prior to deployment, and I am pleased to announce that you can download it starting today from the from the Springboard Series site on TechNet. Read all the details about this trial edition in Stephen Rose’s post.

Businesses now have access to multiple resources they can use to plan their deployment or begin upgrading their PCs to Windows 7. Beginning October 22, 2009 all customers will be able to purchase new PCs with Windows 7.

RSA is here again, and presents a great opportunity to discuss the security in Windows 7: specifically how certain features in the OS address key security-related enterprise scenarios. In today’s economic times, businesses and their shareholders need to know that when they make an investment in a product, they are doing so responsibly and securely, and the investment is sound. Windows 7 is this sound investment: it includes features that allow workers to work anywhere, while leaving IT Pros confident that business-related data and content are secure.

The world has changed a great deal in the last decade. Information workers interact with their computers in new ways and have incorporated technology into everything they do, as a result the security landscape has greatly evolved. For example, in 2001, mobile and wireless workers weren’t impacting IT decision making; today, they make up more than a quarter of the workforce. In 2008, laptops made up more than half of all devices purchased in the enterprise. With Windows Vista, we made significant investments to address many of these security concerns and developed the most secure OS to date. With Windows 7, we are carrying forward that investment.

When we began developing for Windows 7, we decided to approach our security feature enhancements in terms of user type and scenarios. We looked at a few types of workers - the mobile worker on the go, the remote worker in a branch office, the IT Pro and the security expert. All have unique needs, pain points, and styles of work - and we’re addressing each in Windows 7.

Consider being a mobile worker. The challenge for you is connectivity and access. Meanwhile, your IT Pro at the office is worried about balancing those with data protection and network security. With Windows 7, we focused on a few key features to address this scenario, and to build confidence in enterprises trying to get the most out of a mobile workforce.

• DirectAccess lets mobile workers connect quickly and securely to a corporate network over any Internet connection, without having to manually access their virtual private network. IT can leverage DirectAccess to manage the Group Policy settings and deliver updates to mobile computers, even if the user is not logged on.
• BitLocker, introduced in Windows Vista, now allows end users to right-click on a drive to quickly enable it, making it more intuitive and easier to use.
• BitLocker To Go now extends support of BitLocker drive encryption to USB removable storage devices – like our mobile worker’s flash drive (see this Springboard Series Video). Theft and loss of proprietary data from mobile devices is a great expense for businesses. However, the loss of integrity is even harder to recover.

The remote worker scenario has similar challenges to the mobile worker, but requires ease of access on a more regular basis. According to a recent study, 91% of employees work away from the corporate headquarters, with the bulk of these working in branch offices. These workers often face difficulties and long wait times accessing information off the corporate drive. With this pain point in mind, we introduced BranchCache, which lets users access information more quickly. For IT Pros, this means the assurance that branch machines maintain the same security protocols as the home office.

For home-use scenarios, employees expect the same level of connectivity and access they would have in the office. In Windows Vista, the firewall policy was based on the type of network connection established – such as Home or Work. This created an obstacle when workers logged on at home, using a Home connection and virtual private networking (VPN), because firewall settings were not set up appropriately for this scenario. So we made changes. With Windows 7, enterprises will be able to simplify their connectivity and security policies by maintaining a single set of rules for both remote clients and clients physically connected to the corporate network.

And businesses will have confidence that all remote users – whether branch office or mobile - will benefit from key improvements in IE8, including protection against XSS threats, identity theft, and new types of phishing attacks like Clickjacking. I think the work we did in IE 8 really helps put people in control of their online safety and privacy.

Finally, let’s take a look at issues people face when trying to manage these environments. Not surprisingly, IT Pros and security experts have daunting missions: they enable secure access to data for mobile, remote and local users; keep systems up to date; and track accessed data– all while attempting to drive new value for the business - it’s enough to cause IT Pro insomnia. As such, we continue to develop a range of security solutions to address evolving IT needs.

Some key examples of user scenarios empowering technology:

• AppLocker: We received feedback that workers today put software from home on their PCS, download applications from the Internet, and access programs through email. As a result, there’s a higher difficulty ensuring PCs in the enterprise environment are running only approved, licensed software. AppLocker solves this issue; it’s an administered mechanism that allows a business’ security expert to specify what is allowed to run on each user’s PC.
• Network Access Protection: This allows IT Pros to create solutions to validate computers that connect to their network and limit the access or communication of noncompliant computers.
• Microsoft Asset Inventory Service: Part of Microsoft Desktop Optimization, complements the OS security and compliance technologies by allowing our IT Pro a comprehensive view of the enterprise desktop software environment.
• User Account Control: We heard loud and clear that end-users wanted fewer UAC prompts and more control over what items they are prompted for, but we know IT Pros still need control over what’s installed or run on a machine. As a result, in Windows 7, we made specific changes to enhance the user experience, while still ensuring the same level of security.

The enterprise security features we’re discussing today are the product of hard engineering work coupled with an understanding of our customers and the security landscape. It’s important to keep in mind that some of these features only work when partnered with Windows Server; for an optimal experience, we recommend businesses use Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 together upon their availability.

We recognize the enterprise customer for Windows has evolved dramatically over the years and we’ve created solutions to address the needs of varying enterprise scenarios. It’s important to note our work is never finished! We are constantly hearing from our customers about ways to make their machines more secure and productive in their environments. We continue to listen to this feedback and apply it to our technologies. It’s our goal to build technology that lets businesses prosper in a consistently changing security landscape.