Microsoft System Center Essentials 2010 Beta Available

Microsoft pointed out that the public Beta of System Center Essentials 2010 is in fact the full release of the next generation of SCE. Made available for download at the end of the past month, System Center Essentials 2010 is designed as the successor of SCE 2007 version, and takes management capabilities for midsized businesses a step further. In this context, the Redmond company has underlined the intimate connection between Microsoft System Center Essentials 2010 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V, when it comes down to administrative tasks.

“For those of you who were with us for the release of System Center Essentials 2007 a little over two years ago, you know that this is Microsoft’s IT management solution specifically designed for midsized businesses. From one console, SCE allows you to monitor and manage your servers, clients, hardware, software, and IT services,” revealed David Mills, senior product manager.

Mills notes that Microsoft has been hard at work collecting feedback from existing SCE customers over the past couple of years. The input related to System Center Essentials 2007 helped the software giant better tailor the 2010 version specifically to customer needs. In this regard, Microsoft has worked not only on the evolution of existing features but also on streamlining the management process of virtualizing server workloads. Customers running up to 500 PCs and no more than 30 servers should download and test Microsoft System Center Essentials 2010 Beta in order to understand just how much the solution simplifies management within their environments.

According to Mills, the Redmond company has “Integrated server virtualization management support, built on VMM 2008 R2 technology, including easy template-based creation of new virtual servers and live migration. Adjusted licensing limits to allow for management of virtual servers. Rewritten setup for an easier, intuitive installation. Built-in automatic Microsoft Update subscription maintenance. Provided flexible computer grouping. [And] added additional software distribution target criteria.”

System Center Essentials 2010 is available for download here.