14 DAY TRIAL // With the first Beta for Windows 7 Service Pack 1 expected by the end of the next month, and with the full upgrade planned for delivery by the end of 2010, there’s no better time to start migration planning and piloting the operating system. Since May 2010, Microsoft has been offering a collection of resources designed to streamline Windows 7 testing. Customers get to download the Self-Service Proof of Concept (PoC) Jumpstart Kit, or tap a Microsoft partner for the evolution of their desktop environments with new products including Windows 7 Enterprise, Office 2010 Professional Plus, Microsoft App-V, and Internet Explorer 8.
Customers can download the Next-Generation Optimized Desktop-Jumpstart Offerings Presentation from the Redmond company. The resource was set up to get partners to demo “the benefits of the next-generation optimized desktop, including Windows 7 Enterprise, Microsoft Office 2010, and the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP). This presentation provides a high-level overview of two Jumpstart offerings that help you easily introduce this concept to your customers,” the software giant noted.
Of course, the resources are much more consistent than the presentation alone, as it is the case with the Proof-of-Concept Jumpstart offer. “In this 10-day engagement you deliver a sample Windows 7 Enterprise operating system, Internet Explorer 8, Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V), and Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010 to a customer in a controlled environment,” Microsoft explained.
According to the software giant, there are eight focus points with the Windows 7 PoC for partners. They need to make the value proposition as clear as possible, provide the economic justification, and perform hardware assessment, application compatibility, image engineering, PoC deployment, PoC testing, and a final review.
Then, there’s the alternative of the Production Pilot Jumpstart Offer. “Over 10 weeks, you will deliver Windows 7 Enterprise, Internet Explorer 8, App-V, and Office Professional Plus 2010 to a customer with 1,000 PCs in a production environment,” the Redmond company stated. Customers opting for the Windows 7 Production Pilot can access deployment programs from Microsoft Services or Microsoft Partners. This is of course, much more than just a PoC, it is a large-scale testing effort designed for enterprise customers. For the Pilot stage, customers can be helped by either a Microsoft Partner or the Microsoft Consulting Services.
“The core production pilot typically includes: Comprehensive workshops that cover the overall deployment approach, application compatibility, image engineering, and application virtualization using App-V. Detailed design and deployment-plan documentation. Application-compatibility assessment and remediation of key applications. Image engineering and deployment. App-V sequencing and deployment. Budget estimate for full-production deployment. End-user training plan,” Microsoft stated.
Of course, there is also the option of the Proof of Concept Jumpstart Kit v1.1, for companies that are “self-suficient,” so to speak.
Proof of Concept Jumpstart Kit v1.0 is available for download here.
Microsoft Windows 7 90-Day Eval VHD is available for download here.
Another Windows 7 RTM Enterprise 90-Day Evaluation is available for download here.