The New Desktop: Vista and Virtualization--A free One Day Seminar

Find out how to effectively plan your desktop infrastructure!

With the desktop issues you're currently facing -- from deciding whether to deploy Microsoft's Vista operating system to evaluating the emergence of virtualization technology -- you have some tough choices to make. And picking the right path to take in order to avoid wasted time, money and countless late-night headaches is essential. We're here to help.

Attend this FREE one-day seminar and benefit from proven desktop management expertise delivered by two of the world's leading IT experts and best-selling authors, Mark Minasi and Barb Goldworm. You’ll get unbiased insights within a unique 2-track format with sessions focused on both Vista adoption and desktop and application virtualization.

Attendance is limited to ensure an effective learning experience, abundant peer networking, and access to our speakers. Reserve your free seat today by completing our quick online registration form or call Annabelle Bozin at 508-621-5530.

Track One: Vista Adoption: When, how and what changed?

Session 1: Vista, Take Two: Vista Service Pack 1
Session 2: Desktop Security
Session 3: New Deployment and Management Tools

Track Two: Desktop and Application Virtualization: What it is, what it's not and why IT managers should care

Session 1: Desktop Virtualization Overview: Can you get there from here?
Session 2: The Playing Field
Session 3: Virtualization Match Games

Track One: Vista Adoption: When, how and what changed?

Microsoft reengineered desktop management and security in its next generation Vista operating system and, in doing so, created a host of administrative challenges for IT managers along with some innovative technologies and deployment tools. During this track, independent expert Mark Minasi -- author of Administering Vista Security: The Big Surprises and Mastering Vista Business -- shows you how to prepare for Vista deployment using his trademark wit and wisdom gained from 23 years in the trenches of Windows IT.

Whether you are deploying soon or are still in the planning stages, attend to find out what you need to know about key migration issues such as licensing and application compatibility. And get time-saving tips about the Windows Automated Installation Kit and learn the pluses and minuses of new desktop security technologies like the controversial User Account Control and Windows Integrity Control that protects systems from rootkits.

Session 1: Vista, Take Two: Vista Service Pack 1

Vista’s finally got its very own service pack, Vista SP1! Is it the fix for Vista’s woes? What’s in it… and how much fun will it be to deploy? This opening talk explains in detail what SP1 does for Vista and, in a few cases, what it does to Vista. You’ll learn what SP1 does to speed up Vista, what new features it exposes and what new annoyances it introduces.

You’ll learn about:

Vista SP1’s deployment tools
SP1-related changes to Vista’s deployment tools
What SP1 speeds up on Vista
How to clean up SP1’s mess after installing
What SP1 takes away
Improvements to BitLocker and Terminal Services from SP1

Session 2: Desktop Security

With the arrival of Vista, the phrase "Windows security" becomes just a bit less oxymoronic. In addition to tightening up existing security, Vista adds some completely new security mechanisms, some of which are so subtle -- but important -- that even an experienced IT manager may not know that they exist. In this session, find out a few of the most (and least) important Vista innovations for improving desktop security.

You’ll learn about:

How User Account Control (UAC) works under the hood in Vista and Server 2008
Solving legacy application compatibility with UAC-aware manifests
Understanding Windows Integrity Control, the "stealth" security tool to defend against rootkits
Vista and Server 2008's new services architecture
Vista's new services architecture
BitLocker
Anti-malware limitations of Vista and Server 2008
64-bit gotchas
Network Access Protection/Network Access Control

Session 3: New Deployment and Management Tools

While some of the management applications that IT managers and administrators will see in Vista are largely unchanged from the familiar XP tools, there are quite a number that are either all-new or radically different. Picking through Vista to find and evaluate those tools can be quite time-consuming. Attend this session and learn what comes in the box and what doesn’t.

You’ll learn about:

Windows Automated Installation Kit and Vista Business Desktop Deployment tools including ImageX, Windows PE, Windows System Image Manager, Windows Image (WIM) files
Vista and Server 2008's all-new Event Viewer
Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack
New Group Policy tools in Vista and Server 2008
Task Scheduler
Reliability Monitor
bcdedit, the new boot.ini
Network tools
Vista scripting and Powershell

Track Two: Desktop and Application Virtualization: What it is, what it's not and why IT managers should care

Virtualization technologies have the potential to help IT professionals bring new order to the long-standing chaos of enterprise desktop management. But what does desktop virtualization really mean? More importantly, how can your IT organization leverage it to deal with the unrelenting daily demands of provisioning, administering, securing and supporting hundreds and thousands of corporate desktops? During this track, industry analyst and virtualization expert Barb Goldworm of Focus Consulting parses the current state of desktop virtualization, application virtualization and streaming, and the evolution of thin client computing, and offers road maps for IT managers developing strategies for the future.

Session 1: Desktop Virtualization Overview: Can you get there from here?

Barb will define terms, describe real-world scenarios that desktop virtualization can and can’t address, and separate vendor hype from reality.

She will address questions such as:

What does it mean to virtualize desktops and applications?
Why are IT managers looking to virtualization to solve their desktop management pain?
Can virtualization give users online and offline access to applications, the appropriate OS, user’s personal settings, and user data, anywhere, anytime, from any device?
Will the user experience offered for different delivery models and devices be acceptable or be a barrier to success?
How can you centrally manage operating system and application software versions, patches, user settings and security?
What are the up front costs and hidden costs such as storage, data center resource consumption and training? Can you quantify savings in dollars?
How do you identify different use cases across your organization and determine which technologies and solutions are best suited to address which use cases?

Session 2: The Playing Field

Barb will discuss the various types of solutions and the players who are bringing these solutions to the marketplace.

Technologies include:

Terminal Services/thin client computing - the evolution of server-based computing
Desktop virtualization and how it relates to server virtualization
Server-hosted virtual desktops, client-hosted virtual desktops and managed client-hosted desktops
Application virtualization and streaming
OS streaming
And blade and workstation PCs

Session 3: Virtualization Match Games

In this final session, Barb will explore different types of user requirements and use cases, as well as the desktop administration issues that IT managers hope to solve with virtualization technology.

She will play match-up, connecting different use cases with the most appropriate virtualization solutions, and discuss how the various solutions help address management issues including:

Provisioning
Performance
User experience
Security
Licensing
Disaster Recovery
Networking
And storage

Don't miss out! Attendance is free but limited to a select group of qualified IT professionals. Reserve your seat online today or by calling Annabelle Bozin at 508-621-5530.

Click here to register.

Complete this web registration to reserve your seat today or call or email Annabelle Bozin at 508-621-5530.

Giveaways

Attend this free seminar for the chance to win a GPS and other prizes!

You can also enter to win a copy of one of Mark Minasi's latest books, Administering Windows Vista Security: The Big Surprises and Mastering Windows Vista Business.