Use Proven O/S Deployment Automation to Simplify Migration from XP/Vista to Windows 7
Many businesses are facing the dilemma of tackling an O/S migration from Windows XP (or Windows Vista) to Windows 7. Migration to a Windows 7 client computing environment is now an acceptable standard corporate model for client PC management in the business enterprise workspace. Windows 7 specifically targets the emerging requirements of many enterprises. Enterprises value their data; and among many feature enhancements, Windows 7 allows system administrators to leverage Advanced Data Protection, which spans from information stored on the PC to the removable drives. Windows 7 is also very popular due to its performance tuning and strong remote productivity features. Most people have heard or experienced the less-than-stellar performance Windows Vista exhibited, but the remote features may bear a little closer look. Windows 7’s “DirectAccess” feature allows users to access enterprise data without the requirements of a VPN connection. Having relatively secure access like this while eliminating a lot of the hassles and overhead of a VPN connection can be very handy to say the least. How will it be received? Time will tell. One thing is certain, these and numerous other reasons stage Windows 7 as a smart way for enterprises to become faster and more efficient in their endeavors.
Many business enterprises who are now jumping on the Windows 7 bandwagon will spend a lot of project-associated effort and expense, only to still have a substantial amount of end user down-time. If this describes the likely condition of your organization, you will be pleased to know that there is a proven and reliable solution that can take a big chunk of the pain away. There is a technology that can significantly reduce end user down-time and the over-all time it takes to pull off the migration. So let the automation begin!
DeployExpert, or "DX" by Altrinsic Solutions effectively integrates with both Microsoft SCCM and Symantec SMP/Altiris architectures. It is built from the ground up to process optimize and automate O/S migration by automating hardware information gathering, neatly organizing your zillions of systems into hardware platform objects, creating the required image deployment jobs/task sequences, collections/filters, packages and drivers to hardware platform category mapping. Whew, that’s a mouth-full, but this software really does herd quite a few OS deployment cats! DX can even automatically fetch the required drivers for a system type, and that includes drivers for 3rd-party peripheral devices!
DeployExpert is fairly easy to into your Microsoft or Symantec systems management environment. It takes about 10-15 minutes to install and perform basic configuration, and then whatever time is required in your environment to wait for the (enhanced) hardware inventory results to roll in so you can continue the configuration process. Once implemented, DX is everything that is needed to design, implement and support a holistic Hardware Independent Deployment or HID imaging process – that actually works. I like that much better than being given a box full of tools that have the "theoretical potential" to field a working process. Big difference! DX is also an equally powerful solution for the daily, Windows 7 and Windows server OS’s deployment that happen after the migration project concludes. It’s also equally adept at handling your XP/2003 deployments as long as that is an organizational concern.
DeployExpert has numerous benefits that make O/S migrations dependable. Reduction of project time-lines and end user down-time are only some of the process and technical improvements that can be provided by DeployExpert. DeployExpert offers many benefits; some of which are below:
1. DX auto-fetches required (yes, including 3rd party) hardware device drivers for your managed PC platforms. This is done inherently within the product by leveraging DeployExpert’s ability to leverage the Symantec/Microsoft platform’s client-server management agent reach to take a sample driver set from each of its analyzed classes. The driver pack is automatically uploaded to the DX server and made available to the systems management platform OS (and PXE!!) process to support deployments. You can also easily integrated vendor-downloaded driver packs whether they are apps or plug and play ready drivers.
2. Regardless of your platform, DX’s analytics engine is the foundation to a comprehensive OS deployment strategy that doesn’t leave a lot of missing driver messes for your helpdesk techs (or worse – your end users) to clean up after systems are imaged.
3. Because DX shows both hardware classes and member systems, AND color codes them to show if the driver repository has all drivers necessary to deploy a given mode/class, it helps both identify and avoid deployment failures before they even happen. Just think of how you will miss all the irate-user emails about how long their system was out of action!
4. DX can also assist is supporting Lifecycle Management as you identify and handle newly introduced system types. Remember, the purchasing, deploying and supporting new models isn’t going to stop just because there is a big migration project going on. DX makes new platforms very easy to support so that activity doesn’t have to be a speed-bump in your migration.
5. The bottom line is that DX significantly reduces the overhead and process clutter of maintaining a standard core image for your enterprise.
For a proven O/S migration experience, allowing businesses of many sizes to have the benefits of Windows 7 client computing, choose DeployExpert as your partner for efficiency, manageability and success!
