14 DAY TRIAL // Customers interested in testing a range of System Center and Forefront solutions from Microsoft can now apply to the company’s Community Evaluation Program. The System Center Community Evaluation Program is live on Microsoft Connect, with the software giant having already started to accept applications, according to a member of the System Center team.
Early adopters can express their interest in test driving multiple products, including: Configuration Manager, Forefront Identity Manager, Operations Manager, Orchestrator and Virtual Machine Manager.
“The program is designed to provide IT professionals a structured approach to evaluating System Center and Forefront products before their final release,” the Redmond company said.
“Members of this program are able to evaluate early versions of products with guidance from the product team and by sharing of experiences and best practices among a community of peers.”
Microsoft is inviting all early adopters looking to test upcoming System Center and Forefront releases to head over to the Community Evaluation Program on Connect. The advice is for customers to keep coming back to the page as the testing programs will evolve in time.
Under Upcoming Programs, the software giant mentioned Data Protection Manager 2012 Beta.
However, there already are a range of programs for which customers can already sign up, including Configuration Manager 2012 Beta 2, al Machine Manager 2012 Beta, Forefront Identity Manager 2010 R2, Orchestrator 2012 Beta and Operations Manager 2012 Beta.
Some of the testing programs mentioned above have already started, while other will make their debut in the coming months, July 2011 the latest.
“After you have applied and been accepted to a program, you will be invited to a product specific site on Connect. It is important to note that although a program may have started in the past, applicants will continue to be accepted and simply asked to catch up on the materials that have been previously published,” Microsoft added.