With the advent of Windows Vista at the end of 2006/the beginning of 2007, Microsoft has started pouring a consistent amount of efforts into enabling optimized desktops. Throughout 2007, and after the introduction of Windows Vista Service Pack 1, the Redmond company continued to fine tune a set of offerings bundled together under the umbrella of Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) for Software Assurance customers. The Microsoft Management Summit (MMS) in Las Vegas was the stage where the software giant stressed its constant commitment to both optimized Vista desktops and virtualization.

"The combination of MDOP and Windows Vista gives customers the tools they need to support more flexible work environments for their users, while making it easier and more efficient to manage and maintain their networks. This is the concept we refer to as the optimized desktop, and many of our customers have the tools to realize the benefits today. We're responding to the enthusiasm our customers have shown for these products by continuing to improve upon them and roll out new updates in real time", revealed Shanen Boettcher, General Manager of Windows Product Management for the enterprise.

In this regard, Boettcher informed that the Redmond company is preparing the Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5 Release Candidate 1 for delivery no later than June 2008. Microsoft's Software Assurance customers will have access to the tool via Connect. According to Boettcher, the inherent benefits associated with virtualization are increasingly making sense to customers, with Microsoft Application Virtualization Beta counting in excess of 7,000 downloads.

Following the availability of Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5 RC1, the Redmond company will move on by offering Asset Inventory Service (AIS) 1.5 as well as Advanced Group Policy Management (AGPM) 3.0 in the third quarter of this year. "AIS 1.5 will add license reconciliation, System Center Configuration Manager integration and scalability enhancements. AGPM 3.0 will provide Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008 support (x86 and x64), globalization, more flexible security, enhanced reporting and an enhanced UI", Boettcher added.

But as Microsoft's focus is no longer limited to the U.S. market, the company now plans to introduce support for additional languages in MDOP. Boettcher enumerated no less than 10 localized languages for MDOP including Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.

"We plan to release localized versions of Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset (DaRT) 6.0 and Desktop Error Monitoring (DEM) 3.0 SP1 in ten languages in Q3 2008. AGPM and Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5 will follow toward the end of 2008", Boettcher said.