Windows 7 SoftGrid app-virtualization Another way

MDOP,Office 2007 Pro Plus, the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack, may be the fastest-selling-ever Volume Licensing item from Microsoft,Windows 7 Product Key, based on the company. Because Microsoft launched MDOP six months ago, clients have bought two million licenses for MDOP.MDOP is made up of various several tools and technologies, all of which are created becoming enhanced and taken care of by Microsoft’s System Center team: SoftGrid application virtualization, diagnostics and recovery toolset, advanced group-policy management, an inventory-asset service and desktop error-monitoring capabilities. (As reader Ryan McCarthy with SoftChoice Corp. correctly noted, Microsoft acquired, not built, these technologies: SoftGrid from Softricity; Asset Inventory from AssetMetrix; Advanced Group Policy from Desktop Standard; and Diagnostic Toolset from Winternals.)If I were to guess which of these might be most enticing to clients,Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007, I’d say SoftGrid might be the biggest carrot. And if it’s not yet the crown jewel of MDOP, I’d predict it might be by the time Microsoft issues its next MDOP refresh.(Keep in mind that the only way buyers currently can get MDOP and SoftGrid is to sign up for Software Assurance, Microsoft’s annuity-maintenance licensing program. Based on early information on Microsoft’s plans for Windows 7, it sounds like the Redmondians plan to continue to offer existing and forthcoming MDOP services as carrots/sticks to get more folks to sign up for Software Assurance.)SoftGrid — technology Microsoft acquired when it purchased Softricity in early 2006 — lets users run applications without actually installing them on a local machine. This allows companies who want to make available a single image of Office or even a custom line-of-business application to multiple users to push it out to them without having to touch each desktop. It also will aid companies in deploying application patches, as only the changed/updated bits will undoubtedly be streamed to users’ desktops (rather than all of the bits, including those which haven’t changed), she said.“SoftGrid just pull (the bits) which can be needed,” said Gavriella Schuster, Senior Director of Item Management of the Desktop Optimization Pack team.”IT doesn’t have to do all the regression testing it normally does. It doesn’t need to check in advance for potential application conflicts and crashes. It’s especially good for users with lots of custom company applications.”SoftGrid also allows users to work offline, given that the bits that are installed on a user’s desktop remain there,Office Home And Stude/nt 2010, Schuster noted, even when the machine is disconnected from the corporate network.SoftGrid application virtualization “version 1″ (which is part of the current MDOP) allows users to stream applications to any desktop inside their firewall,Office 2010 Product Key, Schuster explained. But the next version will allow users to stream any application that can be virtualized to their desktops or the Web, she said.(Applications that cannot be virtualized are anything with a boot-time install, like virus-scan software, Schuster said.)Is this the way Microsoft will offer medium- to large-size businesses Office as a “service”? Instead of fielding a Web-based version of Office, why not just convince users to stream it using SoftGrid?Schuster wasn’t willing or able to talk about Microsoft’s competitive positioning plans.“MDOP turns a desktop into a set of dynamically delivered services,” is as far as Schuster would go.Where do you think Microsoft is going with SoftGrid? Is streaming Office via SoftGrid Microsoft’s answer for enterprise clients looking at Google Docs & Spreadsheets? (With a hosted or at least ad-funded version of Microsoft Works becoming Microsoft’s competitor to Google Docs & Spreadsheets for individuals and small businesses?)