AutoProf Releases Tool for Enterprise-Wide Desktop Management

AutoProf has announced the release of Policy Maker Professional, a desktop configuration and management system that extends the capabilities of Windows-based Group Policy so that businesses can better manage user desktops and Active Directory throughout their enterprise architecture.

Policy Maker allows organizations to perform policy-based management of Active Directory environments without having to resort to agents and services commonly found in other desktop management applications. The software includes eleven new Group Policy Extensions, including the ability to manage TCP/IP and shared printer connections; network drive mappings; Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer, and third-party application preferences; Microsoft Outlook profiles; and environment variables, among others. It integrates with Microsoft's Group Policy Object Editor, Microsoft's Resultant Set of Policy (RSoP), and supports all Group Policy processing modes and options.

"Group Policy, and products that maximize its potential, is the manner in which companies need to approach desktop management for today's advanced Windows environments," said Jerry Honeycutt, a desktop management consultant and author of over 25 books on the Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office product families, in a statement. "AutoProf's Policy Maker will assist customers along this path by empowering them to manage their desktops in ways that aren't possible with Group Policy alone."

Policy Maker supports Windows 2000, XP, and 2003 Server and all versions of Outlook, Office, and Internet Explorer. It is available immediately, and is licensed on a per-seat basis.