Windows Deployment Stuff : MAP

Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 3.2 RTM Released

Jason Stiff — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 01:54:39 GMT

Many of our customers do not know what computers are in their IT environment or what applications have been deployed. The Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit 3.2 makes it easier for customers and partners to quickly identify what servers, workstations, and network devices are in their IT environment. MAP also provides specific and actionable IT proposals and reports to help customers get the most value out of Microsoft products and infrastructure. Over 500,000 Microsoft customers and partners have already used MAP and its prior versions including Costco Wholesale Corporation, Continental Airlines, and Banque de Luxembourg.

Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit

The Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP)Toolkit is a scalable and agent-less assessment platform designed to make it easier for our customers to adopt the latest Microsoft technologies. In this latest version, MAP has expanded its assessment capabilities to include SQL Server 2008, Security Assessment Proposal, Forefront/NAP migration, Microsoft Online Services, as well as providing a Power Savings assessment to help your customers “go green.”

In summary, MAP Toolkit 3.2 assessment areas now include:

SQL Server 2008 Migration Proposals and Reports (NEW!)
Security Assessment Proposal (NEW!)
Forefront/NAP Readiness Proposals (NEW!)
Microsoft Online Services Migration Surveys, Proposals, and Reports (NEW!)
Power Savings Proposals (NEW!)
Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5 Migration Proposals and Reports (NEW!)
Server Migration Reports and Proposals (Windows Server 2008 and “virtualized guests by hosts” reporting) (NEW!)
Server Consolidation Reports and Proposals (Virtual Server 2005 R2 and Hyper-V)
Desktop Security Assessment to determine if desktops have anti-virus and anti-malware programs installed and up-to-date, or if the Windows Firewall is turned on
Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007 Hardware Assessment Reports and Proposal

Toolkit Features

The Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit performs key functions that include hardware and device inventory, compatibility analysis, and readiness reporting.

MAP utilizes an enterprise-scale, agent-less architecture that enables users to inventory their servers, desktops, applications, and network devices without installing any software agents on each machine being assessed. This tool has the ability to discover all computers within Active Directory, and most importantly, non-IT managed machines such as workgroup members.
Additionally, MAP can generate localized desktop readiness reports in seven languages including North American English, German, French, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Benefits to Customers and Partners

Fast and Agent-less. MAP provides secure network-wide assessment of environments of up to 100,000 computers in a matter of hours instead of days, all without deploying any software agents on each inventoried machine.
Saves Pre-Sales and Planning Time. For most IT consultants and Microsoft Partners, a detailed network inventory and assessment of servers and desktops often takes days of manual labour. With MAP, they can now drastically reduce the time it takes for the same inventory to a matter of hours; allowing them more time to focus their efforts on critical pre-sales engagement tasks. For IT professionals, MAP can significantly reduce the time it takes to gather the information necessary to make the business case for client and server migration, as well as for their upcoming virtualization projects.
Actionable Recommendations and Reporting. MAP offers valuable inventory and readiness assessment reports with specific upgrade recommendations and virtualization candidate reports that make it easier for IT migration and deployment projects to get off the ground and running.
Coverage from Desktops to Servers. MAP provides technology assessment and planning recommendations for many Microsoft desktop and server products including SQL Server 2008, Forefront/NAP, Microsoft Online Services, Windows Server 2008, Hyper-V, Virtual Server 2005 R2, Windows Vista, 2007 Microsoft Office, Microsoft Application Virtualization (or App-V), System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2007, and more.

Next Steps

Download Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 3.2 (RTM Bits)

Learn more about MAP on TechNet or Microsoft Partner Program Portal

Read Hyper-V/MAP Toolkit Case Studies: See how Costco Wholesale Corporation, Continental Airlines, and Banque de Luxembourg benefitted from using the MAP Toolkit

Read the MAP Team Blog

Listen to TechNet webcasts on MAP

Join the TechNet Forum Community for MAP

Use MAP together with the Integrated Virtualization ROI Tool

MAP is a member of the family of Server, Desktop, and Virtualization Solution Accelerators.

Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 3.2 Release for Beta!

Jason Stiff — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 00:39:59 GMT

Many of our customers do not know what computers are in their IT environment or what applications have been deployed. The Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit 3.2 Beta makes it easier for customers and partners to quickly identify what servers, workstations, and network devices are in their IT environment. MAP also provides specific and actionable IT proposals and reports to help customers get the most value out of Microsoft products and infrastructure. Over 500,000 Microsoft customers and partners have already used MAP and its prior versions including Costco Wholesale Corporation, Continental Airlines, and Banque de Luxembourg.

Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit

The Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit is a scalable and agent-less assessment platform designed to make it easier for our customers to adopt the latest Microsoft technologies. In this latest version, MAP has expanded its assessment capabilities to include SQL Server 2008, Security Assessment Proposal, Forefront/NAP migration, Microsoft Online Services, as well as providing a Power Savings assessment to help your customers “go green.”
In summary, MAP 3.2 assessment areas now include:

SQL Server 2008 Migration Proposals and Reports (NEW!)
Security Assessment Proposal (NEW!)
Forefront/NAP Readiness Proposals (NEW!)
Microsoft Online Services Migration Surveys, Proposals, and Reports (NEW!)
Power Savings Proposals (NEW!)
Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5 Migration Proposals and Reports (NEW!)
Server Migration Reports and Proposals (Windows Server 2008 and “virtualized guests by hosts” reporting) (NEW!)
Server Consolidation Reports and Proposals (Virtual Server 2005 R2 and Hyper-V)
Desktop Security Assessment to determine if desktops have anti-virus and anti-malware programs installed and up-to-date, or if the Windows Firewall is turned on
Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007 Hardware Assessment Reports and Proposal

Toolkit Features

The Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit performs key functions that include hardware and device inventory, compatibility analysis, and readiness reporting.

Benefits to Customers and Partners

Fast and Agent-less. MAP provides secure network-wide assessment of environments of up to 100,000 computers in a matter of hours instead of days, all without deploying any software agents on each inventoried machine.
Saves Pre-Sales and Planning Time. For most IT consultants and Microsoft Partners, a detailed network inventory and assessment of servers and desktops often takes days of manual labour. With MAP, they can now drastically reduce the time it takes for the same inventory to a matter of hours; allowing them more time to focus their efforts on critical pre-sales engagement tasks. For IT professionals, MAP can significantly reduce the time it takes to gather the information necessary to make the business case for client and server migration, as well as for their upcoming virtualization projects.
Actionable Recommendations and Reporting. MAP offers valuable inventory and readiness assessment reports with specific upgrade recommendations and virtualization candidate reports that make it easier for IT migration and deployment projects to get off the ground and running.
Coverage from Desktops to Servers. MAP provides technology assessment and planning recommendations for many Microsoft desktop and server products including SQL Server 2008, Forefront/NAP, Microsoft Online Services, Windows Server 2008, Hyper-V, Virtual Server 2005 R2, Windows Vista, 2007 Microsoft Office, Microsoft Application Virtualization (or App-V), System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2007, and more.

Next Steps

Download Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 3.2 BETA and give us your feedback (Live ID login and registration required)

Learn more about MAP on TechNet

For Technical Feedback on MAP 3.2 Beta, please contact us at MAPSBETA@microsoft.com

Read MAP Toolkit Case Studies: See how Costco Wholesale Corporation, Continental Airlines, and Banque de Luxembourg benefitted from using the MAP Toolkit

Read the MAP Team Blog

Listen to TechNet webcasts on MAP

Join the TechNet Forum Community for MAP

MAP is a member of the family of Server, Desktop, and Virtualization Solution Accelerators.

Microsoft Assessment and Planning Solution Accelerator is RTM

Jason Stiff — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 03:28:09 GMT

Assess Infrastructure Readiness for OS Migration and Virtualization with the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Solution Accelerator!

No IT project can be successful unless the specific network environment is well understood. To help IT professionals and Microsoft Partners solve common migration issues and assist them in planning their virtualization efforts, the Microsoft Solution Accelerators team is proud to announce the release of the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Solution Accelerator in support of the Windows Server 2008 Launch Wave.

The Microsoft Assessment and Planning Solution Accelerator (or MAP) is the next-generation version of the agent-less assessment platform from Microsoft. In this new version, MAP has an improved user interface and expanded its capabilities into areas of server migration and virtualization assessments while retaining all of the features found in its predecessor – the Windows Vista Hardware Assessment (WVHA) tool. Assessment areas covered in MAP include:

• Server Migration Reports and Proposals (Windows Server 2008)

• Server Consolidation Reports and Proposals (Virtual Server 2005 R2 and Hyper-V soon)

• Application Virtualization Assessment Reports (Microsoft Application Virtualization, formerly SoftGrid)

• Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007 Hardware Assessment Reports and Proposals

The Microsoft Assessment and Planning Solution Accelerator performs three key functions - including hardware and device inventory, compatibility analysis, and readiness reporting.

MAP is based upon an agent-less infrastructure scanning technology that allows users to conduct a network inventory of their servers, desktops, applications, and devices - all without installing any software agents on each machine being assessed. This tool has the ability to discover machines within Active-Directory managed domains and forests as well as workgroups.

With the new user interface and enterprise-scale inventory engine, users can generate multiple technology migration reports and proposals for their OS migration and virtualization projects in a matter of hours.

Additionally, MAP can generate localized desktop readiness reports in 7 languages including N. American English, German, French, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Fast and Zero-Touch. Microsoft Assessment and Planning Solution Accelerator provides secure network-wide assessment of a typical environment in a matter of hours instead of days, all without the deployment of any software agents on each inventoried machines.

Saves Pre-Sales and Planning Time. For most IT consultants and Microsoft Partners, a detailed network inventory and assessment of servers and desktops would typically take days of manual labor. With MAP, they can now drastically reduce the time it takes for the same inventory to a matter of hours; allowing them more time to focus their efforts on critical pre-sales engagement tasks. For IT professionals, it significantly reduces the time it takes to gather the information to make the business case for client and server migration as well as for their upcoming virtualization projects.

Actionable Recommendations and Reporting. MAP offers valuable inventory and readiness assessment reports with specific upgrade recommendations and virtualization candidate reports that make it easier for IT migration and deployment projects to get off the ground and running.

From Desktops to Servers. MAP provides technology assessment and planning recommendations for many Microsoft products including Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Hyper-V, Virtual Server 2005 R2, Microsoft Application Virtualization (SoftGrid), Terminal Services, System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2007, and more.

Try the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Solution Accelerator today!

· Download Microsoft Assessment and Planning Solution Accelerator

· Listen to TechNet webcasts

· Read Team Blog

· Join the TechNet Forum Community

· MAP is a member of a rich family of Server and Virtualization Solution Accelerators.