Got MDOP?

Today?s post is from AJ Smith, MDOP Product Manager

Each time I go to the home improvement store, I look at the multifunction tools?you know, the all-in-one tools that have a screwdriver, pliers, a bottle opener, and everything else attached. It?s a strange obsession that I?m sure a therapist would be eager to analyze.

When I see something really new and cool, I buy it, take it home, and marvel at my latest find for a few brief minutes before tossing it in the multifunction-tool drawer. Yes, I have a drawer for these tools.

The problem with my multifunction-tool drawer is that I quickly forget about it. The next time some minor home repair is necessary, I scramble around looking for a screw driver or pliers or some other tool that the kids have long ago absconded with.

So why am I divulging this to you? Besides my rather witty attempt at self-effacing humor, I?m telling you this story because many of you have a terrific multifunction tool available to you?bought and paid for?but you?ve forgotten about it or never realized you had it. Of course, the multifunction tool I?m talking about is the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack, or MDOP.

MDOP contains six tools:

• Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V)
• Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V)
• Microsoft Advanced Group Policy Management (AGPM)
• Microsoft Desktop Error Monitoring (DEM)
• Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset (DaRT)
• Microsoft Asset Inventory Service (AIS)
• Another product, Microsoft BitLocker Administration and Monitoring (MBAM) will be available in the 3^rd quarter of 2011.

MDOP can help make desktop deployment and management easier. Yes, it can save your organization a lot of money. That?s great, but it can also save you a lot of time and reduce your frustration. For a more detailed look at the IT pro pain points that MDOP can reduce, see the article Ten IT Pro Pain Points Simplified by Using MDOP on TechNet.

As I mentioned earlier, many of you already have access to MDOP but haven?t deployed it. So, how do you know if you do indeed have MDOP? Your first clue will be if your organization is using any of the tools listed above. For example, if your organization is using App-V on your desktops, you have MDOP and are free to use the rest of the tools. Why not use AGPM to manage Group Policy? And why not use DaRT to help troubleshoot PCs quicker? Many of the tools are very easy to deploy and to start using immediately, so it seems like a waste not to take advantage of them if you already own them.

If your organization isn?t currently using any of the MDOP products, there?s still a good chance that MDOP is installed but you simply aren?t using what you already own! We have anecdotal evidence that a number of organizations have licensed MDOP but aren?t yet deploying any of the tools it contains. In this case, the only way to know for sure is by asking your purchasing department to see whether it has licensed MDOP. Additionally, if you have access, you can check the Volume Licensing Service Center.

If you fail to dig up an MDOP license, then you can request that your management add MDOP to your organization?s Enterprise Agreement. It costs approximately $10 per desktop per year, or less, to take advantage of everything MDOP has to offer. You can find proof of the value of MDOP on the MDOP Product Site The ROI calculator on the right side of the page is useful. Additionally, the MDOP Web site provides links for evaluating and purchasing MDOP. If you want to explore technical overviews, guidance on how to deploy and utilize MDOP technologies, and other resources for IT pros, check out the MDOP Resource Zone on TechNet.

For now, I?m off to the multifunction-tool drawer to dust off some old tools and see what I have. Therapy will follow. I encourage you to dust off MDOP and check it out for yourself. It?s available to MSDN and TechNet subscribers to download and evaluate in test labs. It?s one thing for me to preach the virtues of MDOP, but there is no substitute for seeing it yourself. I?m convinced that you?ll have the same ?Oh! Wow!? reaction that many IT pros have when they try out MDOP for the first time.

Abbie Cornish Krista Allen Hayden Panettiere Jules Asner Whitney Able