WINDOWS, EXCHANGE SERVER, & SHAREPOINT CONNECTIONS, FALL 2008

[11/13/2008]

Connections 2008: MTM Software and SysCompare
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Despite the size and reach of mega-vendors like Microsoft, IBM, VMware, and Symantec, the IT industry is filled with thousands of small, independent vendors that provide innovative solutions to annoying IT problems.

Such is the case with MTM Software and their SysCompare family of products. If you've ever needed to compare system configurations between desktop and server PCs, SysCompare may be worth a look.

I met with MTM Software at Connections 2008, and spent a few minutes discussing the product with Mark B. Cooper, the company's president and CTO. According to Cooper, SysCompare is the first family of products to "dynamically scan and report on the software and hardware differences between Windows PCs."

Cooper explained that SysCompare supports an unlimited number of clients and servers, and automatically detects and reports on configuration differences between them. The tool reports on a wide variety of system configuration information, including device driver versions, system hardware components (including BIOS and memory details), printers, OS properties, installed patches and hot fixes, and dozens of other criteria. The screenshot below displays the SysCompare Pro hotfix comparison screen.

We're planning a full review of SysCompare Pro for a future issue of Windows IT Pro, and we'll post the review online first.


- posted by Jeff James

[11/12/2008]

Win Connections Products: StackSafe Test Center
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I spoke with Jonah Paransky, VP of StackSafe, out on the vendor show floor at the fall Win Connections 2008 conference. The StackSafe appliance and software enables Windows IT Pros to test an application in a virtualized environment before rolling it out in a production environment.

The tools in StackSafe are designed specifically for IT Pros, who typically have to use test tools that aren't well suited to them, Paransky noted. Test tools usually run on the application as it's being developed and don't always take into consideration the problems the app will encounter in everyday use.

Check out the podcast where Paransky gets into the nitty-gritty of how this product works.

At the Connections conference StackSafe announced a new customer, Hearst Corporation, will be using StackSafe for email application testing.

For more on using virtualization for testing production software see Michael Otey's article Using Virtualization to Test SQL Server Express and Alan Sugano's article Server Virtualization Basics.


- posted by Sheila Molnar

[11/11/2008]

Connections 2008: Opening Keynote
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Several editors from Windows IT Pro and SQL Server Magazine are attending the WinConnections and DevConnections shows in Las Vegas this week. Both events are being held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, and both run from November 10th to November 13th.

The opening keynote for both events was held last night, and consisted of two parts. D. Britt Johnson, product unit manager for data programmability tools at Microsoft, began with a discussion called "SQL Server 2008 - What's in it For You?". The second half of the keynote was headlined by Steve Riley, Senior Security Strategy at Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing Group. Steve's portion of the keynote was entitled "How IT Will Change in the Next 10 Years - And Why Should You Care."

Johnson's discussion highlighted several of the most significant new features of SQL Server 2008, including new geospatial mapping features and the ability to quickly implement data-driven processes that could be of use to small businesses. Microsoft's Gert Drapers and Goldie Chaudri demonstrated how those features could be combined to generate actionable business intelligence for a hypothetical coffee shop.

Steve Riley's discussion was more strategic and forward-looking, and highlighted the big changes business IT will see over the coming decade. From the rise of social networking to the consumerization of IT, Riley argued that a whole host of changes will impact how businesses deploy and use technology. Some of the discussion veered into the impractical, but Riley's thought-provoking presentation gave attendees plenty of things to think about.

Keep checking our DevConnections and WinConnections blogs for ongoing news, blog posts, and photo galleries from the show.

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