News

Windows Intune Update Due in Mid-October

Release for systems management and security tool earlier than expected.

• By Scott Bekker
• 09/06/2011

An update to Microsoft's Windows Intune cloud service for systems management is due next month.

The October 17 release date, announced in a blog post by the director of product management for Windows Intune, Alex Heaton, is earlier than expected; Microsoft had previously promised only that the update would arrive before the year-end.

Windows Intune offers systems management and security for business versions of Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7, as well as upgrade rights to Windows 7 Enterprise, at a list price of $11 per user per month. A $1-per-month option adds access to the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP).

The launch follows by seven months the initial release of Windows Intune. As a Web service, Windows Intune will be automatically upgraded for existing customers within a few weeks of the October 17 release. The beta service, which started in July at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference, will expire on Nov. 17. There is no upgrade path from the beta to the general release; beta users must remove the client software and restore computers to their pre-beta state, Heaton wrote.

Software distribution is the key feature of the new release. "With this release, administrators can deploy most Microsoft and third-party updates or applications to PCs nearly anywhere over the Internet," according to Heaton, though the software distribution does not include Windows.

Other new features include the ability for IT to perform remote tasks, such as full scan, quick scan, update malware definition and restart; the ability of IT pros and partners to give select users or customers read-only access to the administration console; and report enhancements.

Customers of Windows Intune will be using another Microsoft cloud service under the hood. The October release of Windows Intune will use Microsoft Azure for software distribution. When administrators load software distribution packages, Windows Intune will leverage Microsoft's Azure infrastructure to stage them and distribute them to client systems.