Oct 15, 2010 12:36 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft has launched the final version of System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R3, making the bits available for customers via a trial release.

System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R3 Evaluation is now live on the Microsoft Download Center, and customers need only register in order to access the download.

System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R3 is the successor of R2, and is designed to bring to the table enhanced management capabilities for businesses.

According to Microsoft, the R3 release of Configuration Manager can be deployed by organizations of all sizes requiring advanced control and insight into their infrastructure.

System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R3 is capable of helping IT professionals administer not only servers and desktops, but also additional devices, with the management solution spanning across physical, virtual and distributed environments.

There are three main improvements that Microsoft chooses to highlight in System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R3 RTM, including Centralized Power Management, Mobile Device Management and enhanced scalability and performance.

Customers that will decide to take advantage of the R3 release, will also be able to leverage the upcoming Forefront Endpoint Protection 2010, the software giant said,

Essentially, with System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R3 and Forefront Endpoint Protection 2010, the Redmond company is offering customers a comprehensive set of offerings that blend endpoint security into endpoint management.

A member of the System Center team detailed the new enhancements delivered in the R3 version of Configuration Manager:

“- Centralized Power Management - Configuration Manager R3 lets IT organizations centrally manage the power settings of Windows 7, Vista and XP computers, helping reduce energy consumption and costs.

You can plan and apply a power management policy for high and low PC usage periods, monitor user activity to avoid any productivity interruptions and correct non-compliance.

Detailed reports of trends and settings help you make smart power management choices, and also validate Green IT projects with summaries of power, money and CO2 savings.

- Mobile Device Management - Configuration Manager R3 includes licenses for the popular System Center Mobile Device Manager, so you can run comprehensive asset inventories, deploy software, manage settings and enforce password policies for Widows phones.

- Enhanced Scalability and Performance - Configuration Manager R3 is more scalable than ever, increasing the number of supported clients to 300,000 per site.

R3 is also more efficient in the way it communicates with Active Directory, helping you discover user or machine changes more quickly and allowing custom queries to define user, system or group attributes.”

System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R3 RTM  is available for download here.