Microsoft has announced the debut of the beta program for the Windows Vista Hardware Assessment 2.0. Currently Microsoft is shipping version 1.0 of Windows Vista Hardware Assessment, a three core component (Hardware Inventory, Compatibility Analysis and Readiness Reporting) tool designed to assess the Windows Vista readiness of computers across a network.

Baldwin Ng, Sr. Product Manager, Windows Vista Hardware Assessment Solution Accelerator announced that the Windows Vista Hardware Assessment v2.0 Beta Program is open for registration and that testers are welcomed to participate. According to Baldwin Ng, version 2.0 of the Vista Hardware Assessment tool will deliver a range of new features including OU-targeting, machine names import, localized UI/readiness reports.

"For those of you who are not familiar with Windows Vista Hardware Assessment, it is basically a network-wide PC readiness assessment tool that helps organizations understand their readiness to migrate to Windows Vista. It provides organization-wide reports on hardware compatibility, device compatibility, upgrade recommendations and more. The coolest part is that this tool does not require any software agents to be installed on individual computers," Ng explained.

IT Pro Evangelist, Chris Avis has managed to sit down with Baldwin Ng and do an interview about the Windows Vista Hardware Assessment tool. The interview is available via Windows Vista Hardware Assessment, and users can tune in and listen to it here.

Functionality details about the Windows Vista Hardware Assessment tool are covered, with the discussion focusing on how WVHA connects remotely to PCs on a network, evaluates the hardware and device compatibility with Microsoft's latest operating system, and generates reports with the conclusions of the analysis and with upgrade recommendations.