Deployment to a new operating system has always been a challenge to most IT managers. Much more with Windows Vista where the new operating system requires higher hardware specifications and compatibility issue is a major concern. Planning has been seen as a critical ingredient for successful Vista deployment. Businesses planning for Windows Vista deployment need to grasp on how the process can be made more reliable and repeatable. While many are already ensuring that the necessary skills are in place both for technical team and end-users support team prior to beginning deployment, they will still encounter barriers. These include:
- Application compatibility. Vista still doesn’t support a significant number of applications and some applications are critical to business operation.
- Driver issues. Many hardware manufacturers haven’t yet released drivers that support Vista.
- Desktop hardware. To achieve acceptable performance, the desktop requires more horsepower and memory than the existing units.
Accelerating the Windows Vista rollout will require these three barriers to be addressed. Fortunately, there are a number of tools that make migration much easier for business. Some of which can downloaded for free from the Microsoft site. These include:
- Windows Vista Hardware Assessment 1.0. The hardware assessment tool is a major time saver as the wizard inventories all PCs on a network without installing any software agents. Comprehensive reports are then generated, detailing each computer’s compatibility with Vista and giving upgrade recommendations.
- Microsoft ACT 5.0. The Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) 5.0 helps SMEs analyze a portfolio of applications, evaluate the impact of switching to VISTA, and centrally manage configuration settings. The tool ensures their applications are compatible with VISTA by recommending ways to resolve conflicts.
- USMT 3.0. The User State Migration Tool (USMT) 3.0 provides a way to migrate user files and setting during deployments of both Windows XP and Vista. The tool is handy for migration task as it provides encryption and compression, as well.
- Windows Easy Transfer. Windows Easy Transfer is targeted for large-scale migrations that switch several users at once. The tool moves files and settings from a PC running Win2000/XP/Vista to one running Vista. Everything from user accounts and files to photos and music can be transferred, as well as Internet settings, email messages, contact lists, and application settings..
- Microsoft Solution Accelerator For BDD 2007. The accelerator is a set of guidelines and tools that small to midsized businesses can use to deploy both Windows Vista and Office 2007 for desktops. This particular pack contains bundle of tools focusing on user-state migration, remote deployment, and integration with other Microsoft applications.
For any organization considering their plans for Vista, I personally recommend that they test applications and peripheral devices, and work with vendors to ensure support of all business-critical applications.
Deployment to Vista is inevitable less your organization be caught with a desktop environment that’s no longer fully supported by Microsoft.
Source:
VISTA.BLORGE.com » Blog Archive » Planning: A critical ingredient to successful Windows Vista deployment
02-May-2007, 02:14 AM
Planning: A critical ingredient to successful Windows Vista deployment
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