14 DAY TRIAL // A new public development milestone of Windows Intune is now available, and the good news is that Microsoft has broadened the Beta testing process considerably. Today is the start of Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC), marked by yet another step forward in the evolution of software giant’s investments in the Cloud. In this regard, the size of the Beta testing pool for Windows Intune Beta 2 has increased tenfold. Whereas Windows Intune Beta 1 was offered to just over 1,000 partners and customers, the company is now ready to accept in excess of 10,000 Beta 2 accounts.
Windows Intune is a comprehensive Cloud-based PC management and security offering, a marriage of both cloud services and IT infrastructure solutions. Customers and IT partners got a first taste of the solution almost three months ago in April 2010, and from the get go, Windows Intune generated strong interest. In fact, Microsoft closed Beta 1 after less than 24 hours, after all the Beta spots were filled.
As of July 12th, 2010, customers and partners can sign up for one of the 10,000 accounts available, each representing 5 – 25 seats. And while Beta 1 was only offered in US, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico, the second Beta Build has been expanded to additional markets, including US, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, France, Germany, Ireland, Spain, UK, and Italy.
“The goal of this beta is to gather the feedback we need to ensure a quality final release—so we ask that you only sign up for this beta if you are able to test it on at least five PCs . If you just want to take a look, you can check out our videos on the Windows Intune site. To sign up for the beta or watch the videos, please visit the experience Windows Intune page,” emphasized Alex Heaton, Group Product Manager for Windows Intune at Microsoft.
In addition to a range of enhancements and bug fixes specific to the development process moving forward, Windows Intune Beta 2 also brings to the table an important new feature. Microsoft has responded to feedback from partners that required a way for them to manage PCs belonging not to them, but running in their customers’ infrastructures. With the new Multi-Account Console, IT solution providers can manage multiple accounts while doing so from a central Web-based console.
“From the account selection screen, partners will have an aggregate view of the environments they manage, so they can easily monitor the status and health of client PCs, including Agent Health, Alerts, Anti-Malware, and Updates. Partners can change the filter to view by health status, so customers in need of urgent assistance will rise to the top of the list. This addition makes the experience simple for partners to scale and will hopefully save them time, and ultimately money,” Heaton explained.
The introduction of Multi-Account Console in Windows Intune is an excellent move from Microsoft, and positions the Cloud offering in such a manner that partners can generate more business by selling customer assistance and management services. Of course, the best thing about Windows Intune is the fact that the solution runs in the Cloud, and neither partners nor customers have to worry about any investments in infrastructure.
