Microsoft Releases New Vista Deployment Tools

Microsoft is issuing a series of six Vista deployment tools this week that the vendor says will help companies accelerate the implementation process while removing much of the complexity and cost associated with migrating to the new operating system.

Microsoft is issuing a series of six Vista deployment tools this week that the vendor says will help companies accelerate the implementation process while removing much of the complexity and cost associated with migrating to the new operating system.

Microsoft says the new software will help businesses through every stage of deployment, from the assessment phase to planning, testing and implementation. The vendor is hoping the new tools encourage more businesses to make the move to Vista, which thus far has reported somewhat lackluster implementation numbers on both the corporate and the consumer sides.

The tools include Windows Vista Hardware Assessment 1.0, which helps companies make better decisions about which of their current hardware systems can make the migration to Vista.The vendor is also offering Solution Accelerator Business Desktop Deployment (BDD) 2007, which is actually a combination of software tools and instructions that can be used to expedite Vista deployment using things like single-image engineering and remote deployment capabilities. BDD 2007 tools work with other deployment tools and Microsoft products including Systems Management Server.

Microsoft also introduced Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) 5.0, which helps minimize expenses associated with application compatibility with Vista.

Additionally, the vendor is issuing tools that let companies use volume activation technologies to implement and manage the activation process of multiple Windows Vista PCs. The company is also offering Key Management Service (KMS) for Windows 2003 and Virtual PC 2007, which let you run multiple operating systems simultaneously on a single PC to create a manageable virtualized Vista environment.

The new deployment tools are available immediately from Microsoft's site.