Testers Wanted for Beta of Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit vNext

It’s been just a month since the release of the previous version of the Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit, but the company is already looking for early adopters to test the next iteration of the solution.

Microsoft’s Mike Briggs revealed that the software giant is ready to start selecting Beta testers for MAP Toolkit vNext, and invited customers looking to get a taste of v6.0’s successor to signup via Microsoft Connect.

“Users like you make all the difference in the quality of our products. The Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit Team will soon start recruiting Beta participants for our next version’s Beta program,” Briggs said.

“We’re currently recruiting users of Forefront Endpoint Protection 2010. We of course welcome anybody who is interested in the MAP product.”

Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 6.0 was released to manufacturing in mid-July 2011, designed to streamline migration processes to more of the software giant’s technologies than ever before, from Windows 7 and IE9 to office 365.

The Redmond company is already hard at work on MAP Toolkit 6.0’s successor, and this is a great chance for customers to not only test the new Beta but also provide feedback that can influende the development process.

“We really look forward to having you involved in our Beta program and hearing your thoughts on the features we’ve added,” Briggs added.

“As a way of saying thank you there will be prizes. We don’t have all the details yet but in the past we gave away prizes such as Xbox 360s, Kinect for Xbox, and Zune media Players to a randomly selected subset of participants.”

Customers with Microsoft Connect accounts need to search for the “Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit" and join the testing program. They’ll subsequently receive notifications to test the next iteration of MAP Toolkit, although the Redmond company has not said when exactly this will happen.

Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit 6.0 RTM is available for download here.