Microsoft pitches cloud

On Monday, the software maker is set to launch a beta for Windows Intune, a service that uses the cloud to offer management, patching, and antivirus capabilities for a company's PCs. When it launches in final form, the Intune service will also include upgrade rights for a company to move its PCs to the enterprise edition of Windows 7. It will also include the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack, a collection of asset management, virtualization, and other services that typically are only available for large businesses that have a Software Assurance contract with Microsoft.

Sandrine Skinner, a director in Microsoft's Windows unit, said that Windows Intune is aimed at companies that have up to 500 PCs that are looking to manage their machines with just a small IT staff.
One of the key features of the service is its ability to schedule and manage updates of Windows and other Microsoft software, a capability that in the past required Windows Server Update Services or another management tool.
"We're removing the need to have such a server," Skinner said. Although the Intune service can manage updates to Microsoft software, it can't update third-party software, nor can it handle the initial deployment and installation of programs.
A single Silverlight-based Web console can show an overview of a company's entire fleet of PCs, showing which machines do and don't have the latest updates as well as any issues with malware.

The beta for the online services part of Intune will start this week, Skinner said, with Microsoft aiming to sign up about 1,000 businesses, all in North America. Customers will get a free trial of the online tools, but not the Windows 7 upgrade rights or the desktop optimization pack.