It’s been a very exciting several of months for us here at Microsoft, and for many of our customers and partners, sharing the excitement of Windows 7. Since its release to manufacturing in July, through this week at TechEd Europe, we’ve had a lot of Windows 7 and MDOP activities, including countless in-person launch events held around the world. We’ve also had an estimated one in two IT Professionals worldwide try Windows 7, we’ve seen hundreds of community led events, and millions of you have visited us on the Springboard Series on TechNet to get information, tools and guidance for migrating to Windows 7.

I have personally visited 12 countries in the last 2 months and had the chance to speak with many customers and partners to learn about your experiences with Windows 7. Several themes are consistent. You tell me your users are incredibly excited about the performance and productivity improvements of Windows 7 and your IT organizations are seeing great value in the enhanced security and management. I am hearing how you can both pull cost out of your organization and provide greater productivity to your users. It is very encouraging to hear this positive impact you’re seeing with Windows 7 in your organization.

You heard from some of our customers during the TechEd keynote, and we thought you might like to hear the experiences of several other customers that we have worked with and how they realized and quantified significant cost savings. We have also included some useful guidance below to help you with your deployment planning

• International energy company Statoil is deploying Windows 7 along with Windows Server 2008 R2 to provide their travelling employees with seamless access, improve information access in their branch offices, and further enhance their IT security. By using DirectAccess, BranchCache, and BitLocker, Statoil is able to provide their users with mobile and remote access as well as the satisfaction that their data is protected. Check out this Q&A with Statoil for more on their Windows 7 deployment.
• F. Hoffmann-La Roche, a Switzerland-based healthcare company, is working towards their goal of deploying Windows 7 to 5,000 of their PCs to take advantage of BitLocker’s ability to protect data stored on hard drives as well as removable USB sticks. Roche is working closely with Microsoft Services to plan and deploy their new Active Directory infrastructure as well as their Group Policy management rollout.
• The Ministry of Defense in the Netherlands is working to upgrade 50,000 of their PCs to Windows 7 through 2010. By starting their application compatibility testing early – on Windows Vista last year – they were able to get a jump start on their Windows 7 deployment plans and begin their pilot of 200 users, who have expressed excitement over the enhanced user interface and their ease of data access wherever they are.

You can hear from more customers during our live monthly Webcasts on the Windows Enterprise website. For more information specifically on cost savings early Windows 7 adopters have experienced, visit the following total cost of ownership studies:

• Getronics is seeing direct IT labor savings of $111 per PC per year
• Baker Tilly is reducing their IT labor costs by $191 per PC per year
• City of Miami is reducing their IT labor costs by $148 per PC per year

So how can we help your organization realize the benefits of Windows 7? Microsoft has an extensive set of partners that are trained and ready to help you with your deployment planning and migration to Windows 7 - since January this year we have trained more than 110K partner individuals on Windows 7 worldwide. These partners can help you assess your readiness for a Windows 7 migration, they are able to help you develop a deployment plan and can provide services to assist you in the deployment, migration and ongoing management and support of your environment.

Additionally, Microsoft Services has consultants and support professionals in 82 countries to help you out. They offer specialized services based on best practices developed in coordination with product groups and early adopter customers to help you test your applications and jumpstart your deployment, including:

• Desktop Planning and Deployment services, which provide a framework for planning and deployment of Windows 7 operating system and desktop applications. It includes planning and architecture design, proof of concept, and pilot deployment that determines the optimal way to deploy Windows 7 and Microsoft Office based on customer business requirements and organizational readiness.
• Microsoft Services Desktop Application Compatibility offering provides an end-to-end application compatibility solution to ensure that business applications and data can be used more effectively in the new desktop environment with Windows 7, Internet Explorer 8 and the latest version of Microsoft Office.
• Desktop Image Engineering creates a standardized corporate desktop image that takes into account hardware, security, performance and localization requirements, in addition to applications, deployment and management. Consultants also give your team guidance on future maintenance and change management.
• Desktop Deployment Jumpstart helps you understand the costs of developing an enterprise-capable desktop, including a current state assessment, gathering requirements, and a gap analysis against a Microsoft referent deployment solution architecture.

What are YOUR next steps? Here’s some deployment planning guidance which might help you:

• If your organization is still running Windows 2000, we recommend that you begin your application testing on Windows 7 and begin your deployment planning.
  • If you’ve already started a migration to Windows Vista, continue that deployment, as it will help you get ready for Windows 7 when the time is right for you.
• If your organization is on Windows XP, we recommend that you also begin your application compatibility testing on Windows 7 and begin your deployment planning.
  • If you’ve already started a migration to Windows Vista, continue that deployment, as it will help you get ready for Windows 7 when the time is right for you.
  • If you’re in the early stages of planning a Windows Vista deployment, we recommend that you test your applications and infrastructure on Windows 7 and our advice is to change to Windows 7.
• If you have just deployed Windows Vista, we recommend that you begin evaluating Windows 7, and consider Windows 7 as you refresh your hardware or deploy it to the users who’d benefit the most from its features.
• Don’t have access to Windows 7 Enterprise edition? If you’re an IT professional and don’t already have access to Windows 7 Enterprise edition, you can download the 90 day evaluation SKU here. This will allow you to begin testing the final released code with your hardware and application portfolio.
• Already running Windows 7? Tell us what you think! You can join the conversation at www.talkingaboutwindows.com.

Today at TechEd Europe 2009, one of our Windows 7 enterprise customers, Petter Wersland, Lead Architect at Statoil, participated in a panel discussion with Stephen Elop, President of Microsoft’s Business Division as a part of the keynote presentation. We caught up with Petter Wersland just before this appearance to get more information on their Windows 7 deployment.

Rich Reynolds: Tell me about Statoil and your role at the company.

Petter Wersland: Statoil is an international energy company based in Stavanger, Norway. We operate in 40 countries with 30,000 employees with an additional 10,000 consultants. With roughly 40,000 desktops under management, we have a significant IT team.

I’m the lead advisor within the IT infrastructure area covering the Windows ecosystem and storage solutions. I’ve been at the company since 1991, covering several positions in IT and Windows infrastructure.

We’re moving from Windows XP to Windows 7 and are looking forward to using the new functionality introduced in Windows 7. We’re preparing a rollout that includes a hardware replacement of most of the PCs in the entire company.

Rich Reynolds: How are you driving productivity in the organization? What results are you seeing with Windows 7?

Petter Wersland: We’re expecting productivity gains with Windows 7 and Unified Communication. The efficiencies we expect include enhancing the end users’ ability to collaborate across the organization and across borders. With Windows 7 we’re seeing three really great benefits: enhanced IT security, faster file access for traveling users within the company, and improved remote connectivity from Internet. For security, we’re implementing the Standard User security level and BitLocker for drive encryption. Because of these features, we’ll be able to eliminate the encryption software we currently use and expect to save $330,000 based on our current number of portable computers.

For our increasingly mobile workforce, we’re taking advantage of DirectAccess. With DirectAccess the users will have a seamless access to corporate services whether the users are connected to the corporate network or connected to Internet. We can therefore eliminate VPN for most users. Also the client management tool we use, System Center Configuration Manager, can maintain the PCs with updates and security patching while they are outside the corporate network.

We’re also hearing from employees that Windows 7 just makes their PCs snappier and more responsive– especially for laptop users. Employees who are already on Windows 7 are telling us that it is easier to move between meetings and start and stop laptops.

Rich Reynolds: What advice would you give to IT Pros?

Petter Wersland: I recommend IT professionals educate themselves on the enterprise functionality in Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 and other Microsoft products. Features like DirectAccess, BranchCache, App Locker and other security features are important tools for implementation of Windows and can really benefit your organization.

Rich Reynolds: How do you approach getting approval on new projects? Any lessons learned?

Petter Wersland: In these economic times it is hard to get approval and it takes time for a significant project like this. We have noticed financial restrictions on new projects and in some cases projects have been postponed, but we’re balancing that with investments for the future of our IT infrastructure. For example, the PC replacements we are planning company-wide were originally scheduled for this year, but now we have postponed them to next year. When moving to a new version of the Operating System, you’ll need to plan time for application testing. We have about 1000 applications we support on the Windows Client and all of them needed to go through a formal testing process.

Last month, Gavriella Schuster discussed the features you will see in the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) 2009 R2 and today I’m pleased to announce its availability! Over on the MDOP Team blog, Ran Oelgiesser provided details about what you can expect with the latest release and today he shares some of the customer and partner feedback, so below I’ll just touch on the highlights.

If you’re not using MDOP, we recommend you take another look because it can provide immediate savings with little IT investment, especially when integrated into your Windows 7 plans. For example:

• By using Application Virtualization, you can optimize your Windows 7 deployment by reducing PC provisioning time, simplifying application delivery and update, and increasing productivity with user roaming
• You can enhance your Windows 7 manageability by addressing common system/application failures (with DEM), repairing unbootable PCs (with DaRT), and controlling Group Policy change (with AGPM).

If you are an MDOP customer, you can now download MDOP 2009 R2 through Microsoft Volume Licensing Site (MVLS).  If you want to evaluate MDOP 2009 R2, the MDOP software is available at MSDN and TechNet (in accordance with your MSDN or TechNet agreements, except for AIS).

Beyond MDOP 2009 R2, the MDOP roadmap includes:

1. Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V) V 1.0 SP1 – This updated tool will support Windows 7 and enable enterprise deployment of virtual Windows XP environments to support incompatible applications. A Beta version of MED-V 1.0 SP1 will be available by the end of 2009 and final release is scheduled for the first quarter of calendar year 2010.
2. Asset Inventory Service (AIS) 2.0 – AIS 2.0 can track your existing assets to improve Windows 7 deployment planning and will have a series of enhancements that customers have requested: Enhanced hardware inventory, new Silverlight-based user interface, scale to 100,000 PCs, improved volume license reconciliation and ability to track virtual applications. The AIS 2.0 beta is now available (registration closes by October 24th) and the final release will be available in H2 CY2010.

Encouraging feedback

Already MDOP has been licensed for over 21 million desktops worldwide and more customers are looking forward to MDOP 2009 R2 and Windows 7! Below are a few quotes from some of our top customers who are seeing real and immediate value with MDOP:

BMW completed a proof of concept of application delivery with Application Virtualization. “We expect cost savings on desktop support once we start deploying App-V with Windows 7,” said Mr. Bernhard Huber, Head of IT Workplace Systems at BMW. “We are also considering AGPM [Advanced Group Policy Management] and MED-V [Enterprise Desktop Virtualization] at a later stage of Windows 7 deployment.”

Heinz Koehler, VP of Infrastructure for E.O.N., Power and Gas Company with 85,000 desktops that are being upgraded to Windows 7, talks about MDOP: “We also expect to use App-V to help reduce the packaging and testing costs of applications and use MED-V to help resolve any application compatibility issues.”

“…MDOP, specifically App-V, has been a hidden gem our customers have found to help them quickly deploy, and then easily manage and maintain their applications in an efficient manner.  In an economy when they are being asked to do more with less, the timing couldn’t have been better for MDOP 2009 R2 to help our clients meet their IT initiatives…,” said Rand Morimoto, President of Convergent Computing.

In addition, Answers Research recently surveyed 1000 IT pros across five countries (commissioned by Microsoft) and we found out that:

• 66% of MDOP customers deployed three or more of the MDOP products
• 52% of them deployed MDOP across more than half of their PCs
• 94% of MDOP customers said they would recommend MDOP to a colleague
• When comparing MDOP and non-MDOP customers, customer satisfaction with Software Assurance increases by 25%

To sum up, MDOP 2009 R2 is available today and it’s there to help you save money and reduce complexity, especially with your Windows 7 deployment. We look forward to hearing your thoughts on this new release!

As you already know, on August 7th we made Windows 7 RTM available to our Volume License (VL) customers who have Software Assurance (SA). Windows Server customers are able to download 2008 R2 as of August 14th and on September 1st, we announced VL customers without SA are able to purchase Windows 7 through Volume Licensing. With this broad availability to our business customers, I want to share TCO (“total cost of ownership”) data from early adopters, some feedback from enterprise customers, and advanced companion tools and applications to enable the best experience as businesses deploy Windows 7. We have a lot going on, so read on for all the details.

To support early migration to Windows 7, today we announced on the MDOP Team Blog that we will be releasing Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) 2009 R2 in late October 2009, which I’ll also talk more about in a bit.

Deployments are happening right now and your company can begin deployment as well! Several of our early adopters are already having great success with Windows 7. I thought I would share some of the TCO findings from studies of three enterprise customer deployments. Customers involved in the studies were:

• Baker Tilly (Professional Services - UK): 2,200 users
• City of Miami (Local Government - US): 2,235 users
• Getronics (IT Services - Netherlands): 14,300 users

Some of the key TCO findings from the studies include:

• Direct cost savings of IT labor dedicated to PC management are expected to be in the range of $89-160 per PC annually. That means IT Pros are saving up to two hours per desktop annually. For companies with several thousand PCs, this frees up a lot of valuable time, allowing IT departments to focus on more mission critical efforts and support their business more efficiently.
• Overall, the $70-$160 in savings per PC annually represents reduction of IT labor costs ranging from a 10-20%. For example, Baker Tilly has been able to re-focus their IT force on strategic projects and estimates they’ll save 18% on PC management costs.
• Companies are realizing power savings with Windows 7 that add to the direct savings in IT Labor. For example, the City of Miami estimates their expected power savings alone ($54 per PC per year) justifies their Windows 7 deployment.
• City of Miami also expects to save big on service desk costs. Previously, the city IT staff had to physically travel to the PC user’s location to resolve support issues. Windows 7 has advanced capabilities such as Remote Desktop, which now help the IT staff to diagnose and resolve issues remotely, saving both travel time and end-user downtime. Built-in features like the Problem Steps Recorder (PSR) have been described as a “nugget of gold in the operating system.” Specifically, PSR helps users communicate problems to the service desk, reducing the need to dispatch technicians to user locations by as much as 90%.

These TCO studies represent a few of our Windows 7 customers. You can find out more by reading the full TCO studies. Here is what other early deploying customers are saying about savings and overall value:

Gokboru Kilic, Client Systems Professional, Turkcell:

We expect support costs to drop by 20 percent with Windows 7.

Andreas Viehauser, Head of Client and Software Management, Raiffeisen Informatik:

We are able to deploy to different computer devices using the same image file—helping reduce deployment time by 60 percent. What used to take three and a half hours now takes as little as one hour.

Miguel Lopez, Project Manager, F. Hoffman LaRoche:

With Group Policies and Windows 7, we’ll have more granular control over our computers and can more easily enforce how we govern our IT environment.

Henk Siereveld, Global IT Director, Bugaboo:

Our users love Windows 7. It provides an easier way of working, the interface is attractive, and it offers more functionality than our prior operating systems.

From an IT perspective, we’ve received positive feedback on the performance and stability. For us, those are the very first things we look for in an OS for Sheraton.

John McConeghey, IT Manager, Pella

We opted to roll out Windows Server 2008 R2 in tandem with Windows 7 because there are synergies that we gain by deploying the two products together.

Similarly, customers who have deployed App-V from MDOP are also seeing significant savings. Our recent App-V Cost Reduction Study shows Microsoft App-V is THE desktop virtualization product that delivers immediate savings on the desktop. App-V is estimated to provide an annual savings of $156 in hard costs and $125 in user productivity, yielding a total savings of up to $280 per PC annually. 

We are happy to see so much excitement from early Windows 7 adopters, showing the real value Windows 7 provides enterprises. We recently asked Forrester to take a closer look at a broad set of enterprise customers to understand the real challenges of enterprises today and what is most important to them. Forrester surveyed over 318 senior IT decision makers and C- level IT executives in the US, Germany and Japan, with 78% of the respondent companies having over 500 PCs.

Key findings from their survey include:

• For 87% of companies, controlling costs is a critically or very important business priority.
• For 84% of companies, improving employee productivity is a critically or very important business priority.
• For 54% of companies, improving employee mobility is a critically or very important business priority.
• For 86% of companies, security is a critically or very important technology initiative.

As such - mobility, employee productivity and security requirements are surfacing as central challenges to the customer’s experience:

These companies support on average 174 Branch offices each; with only 38% of employees on average working in HQ; with 20% of the branch office workers dissatisfied with their access to corporate data.

• 68% of the companies struggle with the inability to manage PCs when those are not physically connected to the corporate network.
• 10% of the helpdesk calls are VPN-related.
• 23% of the helpdesk calls being related to users needing to install applications to do work and 14% of helpdesk calls are caused by users corrupting their systems by installing unauthorized software – overall an industry concern over malware management.

The study confirmed the real challenges of enterprises today which increase companies’ costs each year. With Windows 7 and MDOP, we developed Windows Optimized Desktop to target challenges to help address the customer’s most critical needs. It’s important to note that customers who deploy Windows 7 and MDOP with their existing server infrastructure will be able to expect significant value, user productivity, stronger data protection, and security and PC management. They can also expect automation improvements that can help them save costs and improve efficiency. The great news for customers here is that they do not have big dependencies on other deployment initiatives before they can realize the benefits of their Windows 7 deployment. However, if customers choose to deploy Windows Server 2008 R2 with Windows 7, they can expect even greater cost savings, reduced complexity and increased user productivity.

We also continue to innovate on MDOP to ensure it serves as a valuable enabler to the deployment and management of Windows 7. As I already mentioned, we’ll be releasing MDOP 2009 R2 in late October. MDOP 2009 R2 will add Windows 7 support for all of the tools except MED-V, which will support Windows 7 in the first quarter of calendar year 2010 via MED-V 1.0 SP1. I recommend reading the MDOP Team Blog for more information on MDOP 2009 R2.

Furthering our efforts help companies deploy Windows 7, we recently announced the availability of the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2010. MDT 2010 is optimized to support Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 deployments, and has built-in capabilities to support customers migrating from Windows XP to Windows 7.

With the release of both MDOP 2009 R2 and MDT 2010, and other resources available on the TechNet and Springboard websites, customers can feel confident about the deployment support available for Window 7.

Now is the time to begin testing and deploying Windows 7 with MDOP and Windows Server 2008 R2!

Last month we made Windows 7 available to customers with Software Assurance and to MSDN and TechNet Subscribers. Today I am happy to announce two more ways for businesses to get Windows 7 for their deployment and evaluation.

Volume License Availability, at a Discount
Starting today, businesses can order upgrades to Windows 7 from a Microsoft Volume License Reseller. This option is for businesses that don’t already have Windows Software Assurance and want to upgrade their existing business PCs to Windows 7. There are two editions of Windows 7 available through Volume Licensing:

• Windows 7 Professional: Designed for small and midsize organizations, Windows 7 Professional provides a PC experience you can count on, helps you get more done, and helps safeguard your work. Today, we are also starting a 15% discount on Windows 7 Professional upgrade licenses that will run until February 28, 2010. Contact your Microsoft reseller to take advantage of this offer and confirm availability in your area (discount is offered on Microsoft pricing to its channel partners; pricing offered by partners may vary).
• Windows 7 Enterprise: If you have an active Software Assurance agreement or purchase one with your Windows 7 Professional upgrade licenses or new PCs with Windows 7 Professional, you can deploy Windows 7 Enterprise. Designed for enterprises and businesses that want to optimize their desktop IT infrastructure, Windows 7 Enterprise will help make users productive anywhere, enhance security and control, and streamline PC management.

Windows 7 will run on most PCs businesses have today. More information on tools to help with your upgrade to Windows 7 is available at www.windows.com/business/upgrade. Additionally, we recommend that customers with Software Assurance purchase the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) to aid in their enterprise OS management. The MDOP subscription currently includes six technologies that help reduce the TCO of a Windows 7 desktop. MDOP simplifies application deployment and lifecycle management and provides a solution for resolving application incompatibility through virtualization. MDOP also increases IT responsiveness and user uptime through robust diagnostics and monitoring capabilities, and increases IT control by providing asset tracking and group policy change management.

Keep in mind that Windows Volume Licensing upgrades are only available for PCs that already have a qualifying Operating System, such as Windows Vista Business or Windows XP Professional. For a list of qualified versions of Windows 7 operating system licenses, download the Windows 7 and Optimized Desktop Volume Licensing Guide available on http://www.microsoft.com/windows/enterprise/how-to-buy.aspx.

Windows 7 Enterprise 90-Day Trial
If you are an IT Pro who does not have a Software Assurance Volume Licensing agreement and are not an MSDN/TechNet subscriber, you can download the Windows 7 Enterprise 90-Day Trial. This is something many of you have asked for as a means to continue evaluating Windows 7 in your environment prior to deployment, and I am pleased to announce that you can download it starting today from the from the Springboard Series site on TechNet. Read all the details about this trial edition in Stephen Rose’s post.

Businesses now have access to multiple resources they can use to plan their deployment or begin upgrading their PCs to Windows 7. Beginning October 22, 2009 all customers will be able to purchase new PCs with Windows 7.

As we’ve been saying for a while, we continue hearing feedback from our customers that they are excited to test and deploy Windows 7. Baker Tilly, an accountancy firm in the UK, has taken this to the next level and has already completed deploying Windows 7 across their infrastructure. I chatted with Simon Harding-Rolls, Director of IT at Baker Tilly, to get more information on their Windows 7 deployment.

Rich Reynolds: What operating system was Baker Tilly using before their Windows 7 deployment?

Simon Harding-Rolls: Windows XP. This formed the basis of what we called "Standard Build 4" which was deployed to all desktops and laptops used throughout the firm. 

We have a policy to standardise and commoditise the provision of IT as much as possible hence the imaginatively named "Standard Build."

Rich Reynolds: Why did Baker Tilly choose to deploy Windows 7?

Simon Harding-Rolls: We needed to change, feeling that there was little more business benefit we could squeeze out of XP. After evaluating the beta versions of Windows 7 we found it to be robust, compatible with the vast majority of our applications and delivering greater performance. This was the platform we needed for (an also imaginatively named) "Standard Build 5."

Rich Reynolds: How many seats of Windows 7 did you deploy?

Simon Harding-Rolls: We have deployed to 2,318 seats over some 30 sites.

Rich Reynolds: When did you complete your deployment?

Simon Harding-Rolls: Deployment was organised by site with the last being "hit" on 17th July.

Rich Reynolds: What version of Windows 7 are you running? Assuming you’re using Windows 7 RC, when will you upgrade to the final version of Windows 7?

Simon Harding-Rolls: We have based our "Standard Build 5" on the Enterprise Edition of Windows 7 and deployed using build number 7201. This contains a number of improvements on the standard RC and was released just in time for us to deploy - but only just! A little midnight oil was required to assimilate it into our build and complete our regression testing. We plan to deploy the final version of Windows 7 during November at the same time we are rolling out Windows Server 2008 R2.

Rich Reynolds: How long did it take you to deploy Windows 7?

Simon Harding-Rolls: We deployed the system to the first site on 22nd June, so the whole task took exactly four weeks.  All the work was done outside of normal office hours so as to minimise the disruption to our users. About three hours of evening effort was required for a site of about 100 users.

Rich Reynolds: I believe Baker Tilly has a strong partnership with Dell; how did this partnership enhance your Windows 7 deployment experience? 

Simon Harding-Rolls: Our relationship with Dell was absolutely crucial in that it gave us access to the technical resources and knowledge we needed to ensure the project's success.

Rich Reynolds: What steps did you take before deploying Windows 7? Any application compatibility testing? Did you have an IT Solutions provider help outline your deployment process?

Simon Harding-Rolls: Preparation started in February and involved detailed planning, prioritising which benefits we were attempting to realise for our users, developing test builds, deploying these to a selection of users representative of the different disciplines within the firm as well as our own formal testing.  Application testing started early by completing the tests and developing regression test plans under Vista. These were then ported to the release candidate when it became available.  We have a long tradition of "self sufficiency" and therefore did not employ an "IT Solutions Provider.”

Rich Reynolds: Did you use any tools to help deploy Windows 7 across your infrastructure?

Simon Harding-Rolls: CA's Unicenter, which we have used for many years.

Rich Reynolds: Did you encounter any issues with your Windows 7 deployment? How did you overcome them?

Simon Harding-Rolls: We didn't hit any significant issues during the deployment itself. This was almost entirely down to the amount of testing we had performed prior to pressing the "green button.” Prior to the deployment there were, as you would expect, a number of issues particularly with the early builds of Windows 7: functionality not behaving quite as expected and some application compatibility issues. The former were overcome with assistance from Dell and Microsoft and the latter issues have mostly been resolved in more recent builds of Windows 7. Where this has not proved possible in the time allowed, we have deployed Terminal Server based solutions as a temporary measure to cover a couple of apps whilst the suppliers are making their software fully compatible.

Rich Reynolds: What benefits are you expecting from Windows 7? Cost savings? Energy efficiencies?

Simon Harding-Rolls: While there will be cost and energy savings, these are not our prime drivers. Windows 7 delivers greater performance and flexibility to our users. That means they can do more, wherever and whenever is most appropriate to meet the needs of our clients.

Rich Reynolds: Have you seen any benefits from your Windows 7 deployment already?

Simon Harding-Rolls: Thus far we have received over 300 emails from users. Over 70% have mentioned improved performance. That's without any prompting!

Rich Reynolds: Are there specific features you expect may save your company money?

Simon Harding-Rolls: We will be deploying DirectAccess, BitLocker and BranchCache later this year. Again, rather than pure cost saving, we will be looking to maximise the performance and flexibility of the system for our users enabling them to be more responsive to our clients' needs.

Rich Reynolds: What is your favourite Windows 7 feature?

Simon Harding-Rolls: As a partner: more productive members of staff. As Director of IT: a system that is manageable. As a user: I just love the uncluttered task bar!

Rich Reynolds: Are you using Windows Server 2008 or planning to migrate to Windows Server 2008 R2?

Simon Harding-Rolls: We are currently using both 2008 and 2008 R2 for specific production tasks. We plan to standardise our estate on R2 with the migration projects currently in development / testing with deployment planned for November.

Rich Reynolds: Are you using Internet Explorer 8?

Simon Harding-Rolls: Yes - and the users love it, both for its speed and tabbed browsing.

Rich Reynolds: What advice would you give to another corporation looking to move to Windows 7?

Simon Harding-Rolls: I'd love to say "go for it,” but every corporation's needs will be different as will their resources. For us, having seen the results of our initial evaluation, the decision was a no-brainer. In our case, programme and project risk was identified as coming from the scale of the enterprise and NOT from the fact that we were deploying new or "bleeding edge" technology.  If you do "go for it,” at the risk of stating the obvious: plan, develop, test, test again and DON’T take steps that are too big – it’s just like climbing Everest really!

Rich Reynolds: Thanks for your time, Simon!

To the other Windows 7 early adopters out there: leave a comment and let us know how you’re deployment is going. We love hearing from you and would be happy to share your story.

Hi, I’m Rich Reynolds and I am the General Manager for the Windows Commercial Marketing organization. I lead the team that drives the marketing efforts for Windows for our business customers across the Enterprise, Mid-Market and Small Business segments, along with IT Pro community engagement.

More than a week ago we shipped the Windows 7 Release Candidate to IT pros and developers, and have been taking in lots of great feedback since then. Our number one priority all along has been to deliver a well-planned, high-quality Windows release that delivers what our business customers want. The team and I have been focused on identifying and building a product that addresses our customers’ needs, and based on customer feedback, we believe we’re on the right track.

Today my boss, Bill Veghte, announced our plans to accelerate the timeframe for making Windows 7 available at retail to all customers in time for the holiday shopping season. With Windows 7 coming soon, I encourage you to download and test the Windows 7 Release Candidate in your environment and let us know your feedback. I talk to customers every day, and I wanted to share a few themes are coming through loud and clear.

Customers are telling us they worry about costs, keeping up with compliance requirements, and about the demands that mobility trends put on their infrastructure as they try to balance users’ productivity with the need to maintain efficiency and security. At its most basic level, they expect an operating system that works great. For an enterprise that means it delivers advanced security and data protection, is easy to deploy and manage, and introduces innovation to make people more productive while also retaining compatibility with hundreds or even thousands of business-critical third-party and LOB applications. Of course, these economic conditions bring unique challenges as well – such as tight budgets, and the need to be as efficient as possible.

From the initial planning of Windows 7 through to delivery of the Release Candidate, we have been deeply engaged with partners and early adopter customers to ensure we are listening to your needs and delivering a high quality product. We are working with early adopters that represent a range of global industries. These include Del Monte, BAA, Transelectrica, Continental Airlines, Pella Corporation, Bombardier Aerospace, the City of Miami, and T-Systems (Deutsche Telekom’s corporate customer unit). Partners like Intel, Dimension Data and Getronics have also helped us develop Windows 7 for their customers and also plan to deploy in their own corporate environments. Overall, we’re hearing good things. Here are a few examples:

• Headquartered in Montreal, Canada, Bombardier Aerospace designs and manufactures products in the aerospace and rail transportation sectors. They’re very interested in MDOP and BitLocker – here’s what their CTO, Pietro Greco, has to say: “We are interested in Windows 7 for its enhanced security and improved manageability which will allow us to create a more productive and efficient environment.”
• Pella Corporation, based in Iowa, designs, manufactures and installs windows and doors. They’re moving from Windows XP to Windows 7. Here’s what Jim Thomas, director of IT Operations and Infrastructure, has to say – early in the process – about their deployment: “From initial testing of Windows 7 in our environment, we’ve already uncovered reasons to believe our investments in time and resources for Windows 7 will be worth it.”
• Continental Airlines’ Managing Director, Global Infrastructure, Eric Craig says: “Continental depends upon technology, but we’re not a technology company, we’re an airline.  If my team can provide an easily managed, low cost, and functionally rich infrastructure, then Continental can focus its technology resources on business specific services.  We do this with the most modern Windows environment.”
• The City of Miami is putting Windows 7 through its paces. Like many of our customers, they like the manageability and security features. They recently held a technology day, where they demoed Windows 7 and Manuel A. Diaz, the Mayor of Miami’s question was “How soon can I get it on my desktop?” We hope that’s what a lot of people will be saying soon!

We’re encouraged by the customer and partner feedback we’re receiving and will continue to work hard to deliver a very high quality product that meets our customers demanding business needs.

More customer insight can be found at our Talking About Windows site. Check it out to hear the back stories from the engineers who developed Windows 7, and the early adoption experiences from IT professionals like you. It’s a place for you to find out more about Windows 7, join the conversation and ask questions. We’d love to hear your feedback.

To give you a sense for some of the features are customers are excited about – a customer in the manufacturing industry in Europe was particularly interested in the DirectAccess capability (also delivered via Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, with IPsec and IPv6 implementation). This technology allows users to access corporate resources from the road without having to start a VPN connection. Coupled with Federated Search capability, this customer saw the opportunity to provide easier access to the information that their people need from wherever they are, while at the same time offsetting costs associated with their existing VPN solution today.

From a technology perspective, BranchCache is also getting a lot of attention. A few weeks ago I talked to a big US retailer and they were thrilled about BranchCache. This capability, delivered by Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, allows the caching of frequently accessed data locally in a branch office. This reduces user wait time, saves network bandwidth, and reduces the need for servers in multiple branch offices. They liked the idea of their employees spending less time in the office and more time serving customers on the store floor.

And almost universally, business customers are excited about the BitLocker To Go capability. This not only allows users to easily encrypt the USB drives, it also provides an ability to enforce encryption on removable storage devices. A European bank was telling me how excited they are about this capability to protect their data, and they saw the opportunity to offset costs associated with their existing encryption solution.

I’m anxious to hear about your experiences using Windows 7. As you try it out, chime in below and let us know what you think. For business customers who have not yet started, I recommend you download and test the Windows 7 Release Candidate. The final version is coming soon and we want you not only to be excited about it, but prepared. At this site you’ll be able to download the Release Candidate and take advantage of a whole host of tools and guidance for IT Professionals to help you prepare. We look forward to your feedback.

The PressPass Q&A we posted today addressed a number of questions around Windows XP Mode. I wanted to clarify in more detail the differences between Windows XP Mode and MED-V and how specifically MED-V v2, a component of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP), adds management to Windows XP Mode.

The main facts:

Windows XP Mode is specifically designed to help small-business users to run their Windows XP applications on their Windows 7 desktop.

• Windows XP Mode is available for Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Ultimate and Windows 7 Enterprise customers.
• Windows XP Mode combines Windows Virtual PC and a pre-installed virtual Windows XP environment to allow users run many older applications.
• Windows Virtual PC will enable users to launch virtual applications seamlessly from the Windows 7 Start menu.
• Windows Virtual PC includes support for USB devices and is based on a new core that includes multi-threading support.

Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V) is designed for IT Professionals.

• MED-V enables Virtual PC deployment in larger organizations.
• MED-V provides centralized management, policy-based provisioning and virtual image delivery to reduce the cost of Virtual PC deployment.
• MED-V v1 builds on Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 to help enterprises with their upgrade to Windows Vista when applications are not yet compatible.
• MED-V v2 will add support for Windows 7 (both 32 bit and 64bit) and Windows Virtual PC.
• MED-V v2 beta will be available within 90 days of Windows 7 GA.

How MED-V adds management to Windows XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC?

To provide a managed, scalable solution for running virtual Windows XP applications, MED-V addresses many of the IT challenges around deployment and management including:

Deployment – deliver virtual Windows images and customize per user and device settings

• Automate first-time virtual PC setup based on an IT customized script – including assignment of a unique computer name, joining to AD domain
  (for instance: assign the virtual PC a name that is derived from the physical device name or the username to simplify identification and management)
• Adjust virtual PC memory allocation based on available RAM on host, so that the virtual PC does not take significant resources from the user

Provisioning – define which applications and websites are available to different users

• Assign virtual PC images according to users and groups
• Define which Windows XP applications will be available to the user through the start menu
• Define which websites (e.g. internal sites that requires a previous version of Internet Explorer) are redirected automatically to Windows XP

Control – assign and expire usage permissions and Virtual PC settings

• Control the network settings of the Virtual PC (e.g. whether it connects through NAT or DHCP, whether its DNS is synchronized with host)
• Authenticate user before granting access to the Virtual PC
• Set expiration date, after which the Virtual PC is not accessible to the end user

Maintenance and Support - update images, monitor users and remotely troubleshoot

• Update images using TrimTransfer network image delivery – update a master Virtual PC image, and MED-V will automatically distribute and apply the changes to all endpoints
• Centralized database aggregates events from all users, and provides troubleshooting information on malfunctioning virtual PCs
• Administrator diagnostics mode allows faster resolution of Virtual PC issues

Run on multiple platforms – MED-V will work on both Windows 7 and Windows Vista.

Which customers should use Windows XP Mode standalone?

Windows XP Mode standalone is suitable for small and medium business users, who are able to set their XP applications themselves and may or may not have IT Professional staff. Each PC has its own virtual Windows XP environment that is controlled and managed by the end user. Windows XP Mode standalone is not designed for large, centrally managed deployments that have widely deployed business applications that require Windows XP.

So in summary MED-V builds on top of Windows Virtual PC and adds important management capabilities.

Windows XP Mode is specifically designed to help small businesses move to Windows 7. Windows XP Mode provides you with the flexibility to run many older productivity applications on a Windows 7 based PC.

All you need to do is to install suitable applications directly in Windows XP Mode which is a virtual Windows XP environment running under Windows Virtual PC. The applications will be published to the Windows 7 desktop and then you can run them directly from Windows 7.

Windows XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC are best experienced on your new Windows 7 PC. We will be soon releasing the beta of Windows XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC for Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate.

RSA is here again, and presents a great opportunity to discuss the security in Windows 7: specifically how certain features in the OS address key security-related enterprise scenarios. In today’s economic times, businesses and their shareholders need to know that when they make an investment in a product, they are doing so responsibly and securely, and the investment is sound. Windows 7 is this sound investment: it includes features that allow workers to work anywhere, while leaving IT Pros confident that business-related data and content are secure.

The world has changed a great deal in the last decade. Information workers interact with their computers in new ways and have incorporated technology into everything they do, as a result the security landscape has greatly evolved. For example, in 2001, mobile and wireless workers weren’t impacting IT decision making; today, they make up more than a quarter of the workforce. In 2008, laptops made up more than half of all devices purchased in the enterprise. With Windows Vista, we made significant investments to address many of these security concerns and developed the most secure OS to date. With Windows 7, we are carrying forward that investment.

When we began developing for Windows 7, we decided to approach our security feature enhancements in terms of user type and scenarios. We looked at a few types of workers - the mobile worker on the go, the remote worker in a branch office, the IT Pro and the security expert. All have unique needs, pain points, and styles of work - and we’re addressing each in Windows 7.

Consider being a mobile worker. The challenge for you is connectivity and access. Meanwhile, your IT Pro at the office is worried about balancing those with data protection and network security. With Windows 7, we focused on a few key features to address this scenario, and to build confidence in enterprises trying to get the most out of a mobile workforce.

• DirectAccess lets mobile workers connect quickly and securely to a corporate network over any Internet connection, without having to manually access their virtual private network. IT can leverage DirectAccess to manage the Group Policy settings and deliver updates to mobile computers, even if the user is not logged on.
• BitLocker, introduced in Windows Vista, now allows end users to right-click on a drive to quickly enable it, making it more intuitive and easier to use.
• BitLocker To Go now extends support of BitLocker drive encryption to USB removable storage devices – like our mobile worker’s flash drive (see this Springboard Series Video). Theft and loss of proprietary data from mobile devices is a great expense for businesses. However, the loss of integrity is even harder to recover.

The remote worker scenario has similar challenges to the mobile worker, but requires ease of access on a more regular basis. According to a recent study, 91% of employees work away from the corporate headquarters, with the bulk of these working in branch offices. These workers often face difficulties and long wait times accessing information off the corporate drive. With this pain point in mind, we introduced BranchCache, which lets users access information more quickly. For IT Pros, this means the assurance that branch machines maintain the same security protocols as the home office.

For home-use scenarios, employees expect the same level of connectivity and access they would have in the office. In Windows Vista, the firewall policy was based on the type of network connection established – such as Home or Work. This created an obstacle when workers logged on at home, using a Home connection and virtual private networking (VPN), because firewall settings were not set up appropriately for this scenario. So we made changes. With Windows 7, enterprises will be able to simplify their connectivity and security policies by maintaining a single set of rules for both remote clients and clients physically connected to the corporate network.

And businesses will have confidence that all remote users – whether branch office or mobile - will benefit from key improvements in IE8, including protection against XSS threats, identity theft, and new types of phishing attacks like Clickjacking. I think the work we did in IE 8 really helps put people in control of their online safety and privacy.

Finally, let’s take a look at issues people face when trying to manage these environments. Not surprisingly, IT Pros and security experts have daunting missions: they enable secure access to data for mobile, remote and local users; keep systems up to date; and track accessed data– all while attempting to drive new value for the business - it’s enough to cause IT Pro insomnia. As such, we continue to develop a range of security solutions to address evolving IT needs.

Some key examples of user scenarios empowering technology:

• AppLocker: We received feedback that workers today put software from home on their PCS, download applications from the Internet, and access programs through email. As a result, there’s a higher difficulty ensuring PCs in the enterprise environment are running only approved, licensed software. AppLocker solves this issue; it’s an administered mechanism that allows a business’ security expert to specify what is allowed to run on each user’s PC.
• Network Access Protection: This allows IT Pros to create solutions to validate computers that connect to their network and limit the access or communication of noncompliant computers.
• Microsoft Asset Inventory Service: Part of Microsoft Desktop Optimization, complements the OS security and compliance technologies by allowing our IT Pro a comprehensive view of the enterprise desktop software environment.
• User Account Control: We heard loud and clear that end-users wanted fewer UAC prompts and more control over what items they are prompted for, but we know IT Pros still need control over what’s installed or run on a machine. As a result, in Windows 7, we made specific changes to enhance the user experience, while still ensuring the same level of security.

The enterprise security features we’re discussing today are the product of hard engineering work coupled with an understanding of our customers and the security landscape. It’s important to keep in mind that some of these features only work when partnered with Windows Server; for an optimal experience, we recommend businesses use Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 together upon their availability.

We recognize the enterprise customer for Windows has evolved dramatically over the years and we’ve created solutions to address the needs of varying enterprise scenarios. It’s important to note our work is never finished! We are constantly hearing from our customers about ways to make their machines more secure and productive in their environments. We continue to listen to this feedback and apply it to our technologies. It’s our goal to build technology that lets businesses prosper in a consistently changing security landscape.

Today we are announcing the availability of Microsoft’s updated Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack – MDOP 2009. MDOP 2009 includes updates to Microsoft Application Virtualization and Asset Inventory Services, as well as the first included release of Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization.  Additionally, MDOP 2009 still includes Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset, Microsoft Advanced Group Policy Management, and Microsoft System Center Desktop Error Monitoring.

For more information on MDOP 2009, check out this blog post on the MDOP blog.

There’s been a lot of talk in the community about what Windows 7 offers consumers. Today, I’d like to highlight the enterprise value of the product and how it reflects what customers and partners told us enterprises need most.

With Windows Vista, we learned a lot about how involved our customers and partners like to be in the development of an OS – in a nutshell, early and often. With Windows 7, we changed the way we developed the Windows OS in order to be more responsive to that feedback. As such, early on we identified three main principles to our new process:

• Planning: Our team spent six months on planning Windows 7 in a “vision phase.” We analyzed trends and customer needs before building features. We also focused more on end-to-end business scenarios, rather than solely on features and technologies.
• Predictability: We committed to giving our customers and partners a timeframe for our release and stuck to it. We remain on track to ship Windows 7 within three years of the Windows Vista release. We also only shared information about Windows 7 when we had a higher degree of certainty which has resulted in minimal changes from earlier disclosures.
• Early Ecosystem Engagement: We engaged with partners during the early stages of Windows 7 development, rather than waiting for the traditional beta timeframe. This has allowed for a more seamless experience and greater compatibility in all areas.

There are three key areas we look at in our development process: industry trends, in-depth discussions with top customers and partners, and extensive quantitative customer research.

I won’t go into details except to remind you of trends with the most significant impact on IT today: costs, consumerization, reducing carbon footprint, contingency planning and compliance. As a result of the continued economic deterioration, most businesses are thinking about cost. IT is under pressure to deliver efficiencies in their environments and greater ROI on technology expenses – we recognize this through personal experience and input from our customers and partners.

We spent a great deal of time talking and engaging with our customers and partners in order to really understand what’s on their mind. Knowing where their challenges lie and what tools they need to be successful helps us deliver an OS that meets their needs and is a valuable investment, which is critical when IT budgets are tighter than ever.

This engagement came in two forms – qualitative and quantitative.

Our qualitative outreach consisted of over 100 of our top customers through five programmatic engagement vehicles:

• Desktop Advisory Council: Twenty-seven active IT leaders across a variety of industries including some of the world’s largest manufacturers, banks, insurers, telecoms, energy companies and professional services firms. We used their input for overall direction and feature decisions.
• OEM Engagement: Leading manufacturers from around the world. This gave us an opportunity to inform and set direction, while receiving their feedback.
• Ecosystem Engagement: Members of the Windows Ecosystem Readiness Program received access to builds and toolkits for Windows 7. They also gained access to Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 labs for partners.
• Technology Adoption Program: Strictly engineering-focused, customers in TAP committed a large investment of their time and resources in test deployments of Beta and pre-Beta code. Their help enables us to validate features in real-world situations, produce bugs and generate feedback.
• First Wave Program: Customers who are already in progress with deploying Windows 7 Beta in their environment. This group provides real time feedback on their experience deploying Windows 7 Beta and helps us see what an enterprise deployment looks like.

For our Quantitative Research, we engaged extensively with almost 4000 customers in developing and emerging markets. This research surfaced the top areas of concern: Risk Management, Compliance and Mobility. Key findings included:

• 56% said they needed help protecting corporate data on laptops. This validated our decision to include BitLocker in Windows 7 Enterprise, and to extend its capabilities to the portable hard drives that can be just as dangerous and more loosely monitored than laptops.
• 61% expressed a deep concern about ensuring their users install and use only authorized applications (for fear of security breaches from unauthorized applications). This helped prioritize our plan to develop AppLocker.
• 49% wanted to make it easier for remote workers to access corporate resources, bubbling a plan up for Direct Access capabilities.

So how did this affect Windows 7?

Windows 7 Enterprise mirrors what we learned during our planning and research phase and resulted in three big areas of investment:

• Making users Productive Anywhere is a focus on the mobile user community and empowering users with seamless access: We built technologies into Windows 7 such as BranchCache, Direct Access, Federated Search, and Enterprise Search Scopes to enable users to access to their data and applications anywhere and anytime.
• Improving Security and Control is a focus on protecting data, enabling compliance and giving IT better control: With this in mind we designed BitLocker To Go, which protects data stored on portable media, such as USB drives. This enables IT to only allow authorized users to read data or portable media, even if the media is lost or stolen. Additionally, AppLocker provides a mechanism for administrators to specify via Group Policy exactly what is allowed to run on their systems.
• Streamlining PC Management is a continued focus to drive the cost of managing a Windows environment down: Windows 7 makes managing and deploying desktops, laptops and virtual environments much easier. IT Pros can use the same tools and skills they use today with Windows Vista for Windows 7. New scripting and automation capabilities through Windows PowerShell 2.0 help reduce the costs of managing and troubleshooting PCs.

And we’re not finished! Research on Windows 7 overall continues today as we receive feedback from our Beta testers. We’ve received over 500,000 Send Feedback reports on Windows 7 Beta. Thanks to our dedicated customers, we have hundreds of fixes in the pipeline. This is a testament to how we’re taking your feedback and inputting it directly into Windows 7.

With Windows 7, we’ve advanced our vision for an Optimized Desktop to allow administrators the ability to balance flexibility and control in helping end-users work better in their environments. Windows 7 Enterprise, along with Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP), delivers Microsoft Windows Optimized Desktop vision to customers: it gives users anytime, anywhere access to information they need to get their work done; while providing tools for IT to support their business securely, protect corporate data, achieve cost efficiencies, and take advantage of the virtualization trends in the client computing arena.

To summarize, customers tell us the economy is bringing new levels of scrutiny to how they manage costs, mitigate risks and make their people more productive with less. We get it. Windows 7 Enterprise is about helping both IT Pros and end users manage an intensifying – and often opposing – confluence of pressures.

Throughout the Windows 7 development process, we’ve been committed to creating an OS that is designed for the way people actually work. We’re convinced Windows 7 has an exciting and powerful offering for our business customers, but we want to hear from you. If you are one of our enterprise customers considering Windows 7, our guidance to you is to start testing and planning now and send us your feedback. If you haven’t been considering Windows 7, we think there are compelling reasons for you to take another look.

You may have caught Brandon’s post last week looking at our SKU strategy for Windows 7. In addition to the guidance we provided earlier today for commercial customers looking at deploying Windows Vista, I want to also take a closer look at Windows 7 Enterprise specifically and what it means for our largest commercial customers.

Windows 7 Enterprise edition is designed to address the needs of our enterprise customers who have needs around advanced data protection, enabling user productivity and streamlining their PC management. Windows 7 Enterprise is part of the Windows Optimized Desktop offering, which also includes the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) tools and will only be available to customers with Microsoft Software Assurance on their Windows client licenses.

If you are an enterprise customer with Software Assurance on your existing Windows licenses when Windows 7 is released, then you automatically get the rights to deploy Windows 7 Enterprise to PCs in your environment. Additionally, customers who buy Windows 7 Professional and add Software Assurance will also have rights to deploy the Enterprise edition.

For our enterprise customers, we’re especially excited about the following Windows 7 Enterprise features that deliver greater efficiency and cost savings:

• DirectAccess: Windows 7, along with the network technologies in Windows Server 2008 R2, provides this network technology that enables the user to seamlessly access corporate network resources when on the Internet, without having to create a VPN connection.
• BranchCache: Windows 7 together with Windows Server 2008 R2 offers an alternative to alleviate the problems of slow connectivity, delivering increased network responsiveness of applications and giving users in remote offices an experience more like working in the head office. When BranchCache is enabled, a copy of data accessed from an intranet web site or a file server is cached locally within a branch office.
• Enterprise Search Scopes: allows IT administrators to populate links to the commonly used internal sites -- for example, SharePoint sites – to the Windows Explorer UI or to the Start menu or in Windows 7, using Group Policy. These links simplify access to the target internal data sources on the network for business users.
• BitLocker & BitLocker To Go: protect data on PCs and removable drives, with manageability to enforce encryption and backup of recovery keys. Windows 7 extends BitLocker protection to USB storage devices while making the original functionality even easier to use. Note: BitLocker for PCs and BitLocker To Go for removal hard drives such as external USB drives.
• AppLocker: is a flexible, easy-to-use mechanism that enables IT professionals to specify exactly what is allowed to run on user desktops. It restricts unauthorized software while allowing applications, installation programs, and scripts that users need.
• Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Optimizations: delivers desktop functionality in Windows 7 using virtual machines hosted on servers—a solution known as Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI). VDI enables users to access their desktops remotely as well as the ability to reuse virtual machine (VHD) images to boot a physical PC. Windows 7 provides for better user experience in VDI scenarios, with better graphics, audio and local device support.
• Multi Lingual User Interface: the Language Packs in Windows 7 Enterprise enable you to support up to 36 different languages using a single Windows master image, rather than creating a separate image for each language used in the organization.

Other benefits to Windows 7 Enterprise include:

• Subsystem for UNIX-based Applications (SUA)
• License rights to run up to four additional copies of Windows in virtual machines
• License rights for network booting of Windows

Because each high edition SKU is a superset of the previous SKU, Windows 7 Enterprise includes all end user features available in Windows 7 Professional, as well as the DVD Playback Codec and Windows Media Center.

More information about Windows 7 Enterprise is available at: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/enterprise/products/windows-7-enterprise.aspx

Windows 7 Enterprise is another example of Microsoft’s commitment to delivering continual innovation to enterprise customers through Software Assurance. While we expect these features will be of greatest interest to our enterprise customers, any Windows client Software Assurance customer will have the rights to deploy the Enterprise edition. We look forward to sharing more information about Windows 7 Enterprise and what it has to offer our business customers.

Hi, I’m Gavriella; welcome to the new Windows for your Business Blog.

Let me introduce myself: I’m a member of the Windows Product Management team and have been at Microsoft for 13 years. For the last two and a half, I’ve been focused on product management for MDOP (Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack). In my new role as Senior Director, I’m leading Product Management for Windows Client, including the Windows OS, the MDOP products, and the client virtualization strategy for our commercial customers. For us that means all customers from small businesses through large enterprises. My team and I are focused on helping optimize the desktop experience for our business customers - we focus on enabling end-user productivity and reducing desktop administration overhead.

Moving forward, the Windows for Your Business Blog will focus on Windows for our commercial customers, and today I want to specifically talk about what we’re doing to help those customers with their deployments and reducing IT costs.

With the current state of the economy, I understand that many companies are scrutinizing IT budgets and doing some “belt-tightening.” The customers I have spoken to most recently are also looking for technology that will lead to greater efficiency and cost savings to help them shift costs out of the organization, as well as align with business needs. I think customers are recognizing that this economic downturn is not a short term penny-pinching exercise. Instead, we’re all looking for strategies to weather this economic storm. In order to do this, we will need to make fundamental changes that reduce operating margins for the long term.

I also know that the reality of customers’ deployment projects will typically take them 12-18 months of planning and testing before operating system deployments can begin. Application testing and migration readiness typically takes a significant portion of this time. It also takes time for companies to standardize hardware, certify operating system images, select deployment tools and methods, as well as train end-users and IT for the new operating system.

With this demand on time, plus the strains from today’s economy, our customers are under a lot of pressure.

As a first step, we recommend our customers assess their environment to be in a better position to decide what OS they need to deploy:

1. Take an inventory of how many applications you manage in your current enterprise environment – here is guidance that can help.

2. Talk to your application vendors to find out how long they intend to provide support for their application running in Windows XP and when they plan to support their application running in Windows 7.

3. This will help you assess the maximum length of time that you have to move from Windows XP to Windows 7.

• Then you should assess the level of application compatibility that your applications have with Windows 7 (we recommend you test your applications against Windows Vista as there will be a high degree of compatibility between Windows 7 and Windows Vista) – this will help you assess how many of your applications will need to be upgraded, remediated or replaced in order to work in your new operating environment.
• If you test your applications against the Windows 7 Beta, we recommend that for the mainstream OS deployment, you later test applications against the RTM (Release-to-Manufacturing) release.
• Here is guidance and documentation on performing your application compatibility testing: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc507853.aspx.

4. Then you should assess the hardware compatibility in your environment (and what it will be in the 12-18 months that it might take for you to complete the deployment of the new OS).

• Here is guidance and documentation on performing your hardware assessment: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/solutionaccelerators/hardwareassessment/wv/default.mspx.

5. Additionally, here are other useful steps to consider as you are assessing for OS deployment: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc749165.aspx.

Having this information about your environment will help you identify any blocking issues that you need to address in your OS migration and what your timelines might look like in reality.

We recommend you use what you are running today to make the right decision for your business.

• If you are running Windows 2000 in your environment: Migrate your Windows 2000 PCs to Windows Vista as soon as possible. Extended support for Windows 2000 ends Q2 2010, and as an commerical customer, you may soon find your business’s critical applications are unsupported.
• If you are in the process of planning or deploying Windows Vista: Continue your Windows Vista SP1 deployment. If you’re really in the early stages or just starting on Windows Vista, plan to test and deploy Windows Vista SP2 (on target to RTM Q2 2009). Moving onto Windows Vista now will allow for an easier transition to Windows 7 in the future due to the high degree of compatibility.
• If you are on Windows XP now and are undecided about which OS to move to: Make sure you taken into consideration the risk of skipping Windows Vista, which I am discussing below. And know that deploying Windows Vista now will make the future transition to Windows 7 easier.
• If you are on Windows XP now and are waiting for Windows 7: Make sure you take into consideration the risks of skipping Windows Vista, and plan on starting an early evaluation of Windows 7 for your company using the beta that’s available now. Testing and remediating applications on Windows Vista will ease your Windows 7 deployment due to the high degree of compatibility.

We know some of our customers are considering waiting for Windows 7 instead of deploying Windows Vista today. We want these customers to understand the following considerations, so they are not surprised later on:

• You may find your company in situations where applications are no longer supported on Windows XP and not yet supported on Windows 7.
• You will want to take time to evaluate Windows 7 just as you evaluate any new operating system for your environment prior to deployment (see deployment realities above). As Windows 7 is planned to be released in about 3 years after Windows Vista, the total period that many customers will likely be waiting prior to deploying Windows 7 in their environment will likely be in the range of 5 years after Windows Vista release.

Regardless of which OS you plan to deploy or are running today, consider deploying the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) which is part of the Windows Optimized Desktop, so that you can implement cost saving best practices. The Windows Optimized Desktop is the combination of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) and the Windows OS (Windows Vista Enterprise or Windows 7 Enterprise). MDOP offers Software Assurance customers advanced tools to provide immediate ROI through software asset management, help desk management, application management and group policy management.

We expect deployment and application migration from Windows XP to Windows 7 to be similar in effort to going from Windows XP to Windows Vista. As I mentioned above, there is a great deal of compatibility between both Windows Vista and Windows 7, as we are not introducing any major architectural changes. Our customers who focus efforts in getting their applications to work on Windows Vista will ease future migration to Windows 7 and help accelerate their Windows 7 deployment.

Customers who are in the process of deploying Windows Vista or who are considering a deployment to Windows Vista will find their investment in the deployment not only pays off in the value they’ll receive today, but will also put them in a much better place to take advantage of the benefits of Windows 7 moving forward.

We hope this guidance will help you, our business customers, make informed decisions on your Windows deployment plans going forward.