Dell Software announces Microsoft solutions

As part of its continued commitment to helping customers get the most from their Microsoft investments, Dell has expanded its portfolio of systems and information management solutions to ensure optimal visibility, availability and performance, while reducing costs, complexity and risk.

“Our goal is to empower Dell customers to do more with their technology investments ??? and get more out of their IT deployments ??? so they can reap bigger business benefits,” said Michael Tweddle, director of product management for Windows Management at Dell Software. “This underlying focus rings especially true when it comes to providing organisations with solutions that enable them to get the most from Microsoft’s latest innovations so they can maximise bottom-line results.”

Building on a legacy of Microsoft migration, management and monitoring leadership, Dell Software is releasing a host of new solutions in conjunction with Microsoft TechEd, including:
· Enhancements to Dell KACE K2000 deployment appliances, which make it easier to migrate multi-OS environments
· A new release of MessageStats Business Insights, which extends Microsoft’s Exchange 2013 DLP reporting to organisations using on-premises Exchange 2013
· The latest release of Spotlight for SQL Server Enterprise, which delivers expanded support for a host of mobile devices to ensure anytime, anywhere visibility into the health and performance of SQL Server environments
· Spotlight Project Lucy, a new cloud-based set of productivity tools that enable SQL Server users to obtain a free system health check

Accelerate Migrations with Platform-Agnostic, Multi-OS Deployment Tools
For organisations striving to accelerate their Windows 7 and Windows 8 migration strategies, the PC deployment process can be tedious and complicated. However, with the Dell KACE K2000 Deployment Appliance, companies can streamline deployment by making the move from Windows XP to Windows 7 or Windows 8 function more like an in-place upgrade, rather than a clean install. The K2000 captures user state, deploys the OS, and then restores a user state model from a single tool that eases the transition from Windows XP to Windows 8.

The K2000, which addresses inventory assessment, OS and application provisioning, and migration and recovery, now also supports fully-integrated Native Imaging for Windows and Macintosh environments. By supporting unified industry-standard imaging for Windows WIM and Mac OSX ASR formats, the K2000 makes it much easier for customers to execute a multi-OS hardware management and enablement strategy.

Additionally, extended driver-feed support further streamlines OS deployments by enabling administrators to slipstream drivers into scripted installs, K-images and Native Images. With the K2000, drivers are downloaded and installed automatically as a post-installation task. An added benefit is the elimination of having to redo gold master images when a new computer model has been introduced into the environment.

Manage Email with Greater Control over Sensitive Information
Reinforcing Dell’s heritage as an industry-leader in email migration and management, the company’s new MessageStats Business Insights 7.2 extends reporting for Microsoft’s new data loss prevention (DLP) features to organisations using on-premises Exchange 2013. While the new DLP features in Exchange 2013 enable organisations to control the flow of sensitive information, only DLP reporting for Exchange Online was provided, until now.

With this latest release of MessageStats Business Insights, DLP reporting is available for on-premises Exchange deployments, complementing Exchange Online reporting capabilities and providing customers with an extra measure of protection. The solution provides reporting on high-severity violations and the number of DLP violations over time, while enabling administrators to drill into specifics including severity, violation date and the policy that triggered the violation. Searches can be refined and reports customised to deliver more granular results, making it easier for organisations to take corrective action. MessageStats Business Insights 7.2 with DLP reporting is currently available as a beta and will be generally available in July.

Anytime, Anywhere SQL Server Monitoring with Expanded Mobile Support
With the release of Spotlight for SQL Server Enterprise 9.5, DBAs now can monitor the health and performance of their SQL Server environments anytime, anywhere, from any device, thanks to newly added support for a host of mobile applications. The new release features a Windows 8 mobile app, which allows customers to view their performance heat map and receive alerts directly from their Windows phones and tablets. Version 9.5 also delivers similar support for Android phones, as well as expanded iOS support. In addition, the latest release features Spotlight Express, a new browser-based edition that lets users run the product from literally any connected browser, anywhere in the world.

Free SQL Server System Health Checks with Spotlight Project Lucy
Expanding on its commitment to the SQL Server community, Dell Software formally introduces Spotlight Project Lucy, an Azure-based set of productivity tools that enable SQL Server users to get a full performance and system health check free of charge. With Spotlight Project Lucy, users can upload their data online and receive a diagnosis outlining areas of concern with regard to overall system health, as well as suggested remedies for existing or potential performance issues This free offering also gives users the ability to benchmark the performance of their system against the entire population of Spotlight Project Lucy users, providing a point of comparison that DBAs long have lacked.

Delivering Complete and Connected Software Solutions
Dell Software empowers organisations of all sizes to experience Dell’s “Power to Do More” by delivering scalable yet simple-to-use solutions that can increase productivity, responsiveness and efficiency. Dell Software is uniquely positioned to address today’s most pressing business and IT challenges with holistic, connected software offerings across five core solution areas, encompassing data center and cloud management, information management, mobile workforce management, security and data protection. This software, when combined with Dell hardware and services, helps customers simplify IT, mitigate risk and accelerate business results.