System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008 is a flexible, comprehensive solution that addresses the needs of an organization's mobile workforce through security management, device management and a Mobile VPN. Mobile Device Manager sets up single-point access to line-of-business (LOB) applications and corporate data on Windows Mobile devices. It is designed to enable efficient control of Windows Mobile devices and to provide reliable, low-cost, and consistent manageability that works well with your existing Microsoft infrastructure. By helping to provide more secure access to the corporate network, Mobile Device Manager helps to address IT professionals' evolving needs around security and management while connecting end users to the information they need wherever and whenever.

It follows general licensing rules described in Server/Client Access License (CAL) section in Microsoft Licensing Product Use Rights. Mobile Device Manager requires server licenses for all servers and CALs for all applicable users or devices. Mobile Device Manager pricing details will be announced in early March.

For More Information

According to Microsoft's timeline, XP is on its way to becoming an ex-operating system.

It will take most organizations somewhere between 12-24 months to plan and execute a successful Windows Vista® migration. This means that even if you started today, it is not unlikely that you'd be looking at Q210 for completion.

If you've been putting off migrating to Windows Vista and are missing the advantages of enhanced security, exceptional mobility and a feature-rich GUI, it is important to note that after June 30, 2008, many hardware vendors will no longer direct load Microsoft® Windows® XP on new machines; and mainstream support for Windows XP will end April 14, 2009.

The clock is ticking- so make sure you appropriate this time to plan and prevent a "rushed" migration, which can result in substantial costs and operational issues - both well above standard migration scenarios.

What has to be considered is not just your perspective on Windows Vista, but also the shorter term outlook for Windows XP and how that impacts your decisions.

Find out how En Pointe can help with your Vista Migration MSTeam@enpointe.com

The approaching death of Windows XP may upset you, but it shouldn't come as a surprise. Microsoft Corp.'s product life-cycle guidelines have foretold the fate of XP since 2001.

Microsoft has already made changes in its timetables. Last year, the company extended the sales life cycle -- the time during which PC manufacturers and system builders could sell computers with XP installed -- to June 30, 2008. It will stop selling XP altogether on Jan. 31, 2009. And it extended the mainstream support period for XP to April 14, 2009 The result of all this tweaking is that Microsoft will stop selling XP long before it stops supporting it. You may be able to run XP for as long as you want, but before too long you may not be able to buy a legitimate copy of XP to run.

XP timeline
June 30, 2008
PC manufacturers and system builders stop selling computers with XP installed.

Jan. 31, 2009
Microsoft stops selling XP altogether.

April 14, 2009
Mainstream support (free live support and warranty support) ends. Free maintenance is limited to security fixes.

April 8, 2014
All support for XP ends.

Volume Activation 2.0 (VA 2.0), first implemented with Windows Vista Volume License (VL) editions, now applies to Windows Server 2008. VA 2.0 is designed to automate and manage the activation process while addressing the piracy and product key management problems associated with VLKs issued for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. VA 2.0 is very similar for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista; however there are several changes for Windows Server 2008 that are important for you.

Summary of Changes in VA 2.0 for Windows Server 2008

• Existing Windows Vista KMS Keys support activation of Windows Vista volume editions only
• Windows Vista KMS will not activate Windows Server 2008
• MAK and KMS Keys are grouped by server edition (see table below for details)
• To activate Windows Server 2008 using MAK, the corresponding group MAK key must be used
• (After Server RTM) the KMS host on Windows Server 2008 can activate both Windows Vista and other Windows Server 2008 editions (based on the KMS key)
• KMS activation minimum policy requires 5 KMS clients for Windows Server 2008 activation; 25 KMS clients are still required for Windows Vista activation. (see below for details on policy changes)
• VAMT and KMS for Windows Server 2003 will require an update when Windows Server 2008 is released
• Existing KMS host(s) will need to be activated with the new key(s)

Product Groupings
To simplify volume activation across the variety of Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 editions, Microsoft has introduced the concept of Volume Edition Product Groups. KMS and MAK keys apply to product groups rather than being edition-specific. This greatly simplifies key management by reducing the number of possible keys. The following table illustrates the Volume Product Groups, MAK and KMS keys, and the Windows volume editions that can be activated by each.

Volume Product Group	Windows Editions	MAK	Windows product editions activated by this MAK	KMS Key	Windows product editions activated by this KMS
Vista VL	Windows Vista Business Windows Vista Enterprise	MAK	Windows Vista Business Windows Vista Enterprise	KMS	Windows Vista Business Windows Vista Enterprise
Server Group A	Windows Web Server 2008	MAK_A	Windows Web Server 2008	KMS_A	Windows Web Server 2008 Vista VL
Server Group B	Windows Server 2008 Standard Windows Server 2008 Standard without Hyper-VTM Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Windows Server 2008 Enterprise without Hyper-VTM	MAK_B	Windows Server 2008 Standard Windows Server 2008 Standard without Hyper-VTM Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Windows Server 2008 Enterprise without Hyper-VTM	KMS_B	Windows Server 2008 Standard Windows Server 2008 Standard without Hyper-VTM Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Windows Server 2008 Enterprise without Hyper-VTM Server Group A Vista VL
Server Group C	Windows Server 2008 Datacenter Windows Server 2008 Datacenter without Hyper-VTM Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems	MAK_C	Windows Server 2008 Datacenter Windows Server 2008 Datacenter without Hyper-VTM Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems	KMS_C	Windows Server 2008 Datacenter Windows Server 2008 Datacenter without Hyper-VTM Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems Server Group B Server Group A Vista VL

Changes to KMS Policy
The KMS key is used to establish a local activation enablement service (the Key Management Service or KMS) that is hosted locally in your environment. KMS activation requires a minimum number of physical machines before activation will occur. This is known as the KMS activation threshold (also "n-count"). The KMS activation threshold policy for Windows Server 2008 is different than for Windows Vista.

• For a Windows Server 2008 client to activate: at least 5 physical KMS client machines. Can be Windows Server 2008 only or a combination of Windows 2008 server and Windows Vista computers.
• For a Windows Vista client to activate: at least 25 physical KMS client machines. Can be Windows Vista computers only or a combination of Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 computers.
• Virtual client machines: do not contribute to the count, although they will be activated once the activation threshold is met.
• KMS host machines: A physical or virtual KMS host does not contribute to the count.

Updated Documentation and Readiness Materials

The VA 2.0 materials produced for Windows Vista are being updated to include Windows Server 2008. A summary is below.

Customers with active Microsoft® Software Assurance coverage for Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition (Itanium Platform) and Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition (Itanium Platform) as of March 1, 2008 are eligible to receive Windows Server 2008 for Itanium Based Systems. The following provides guidance regarding the Software Assurance Migration path.

Windows Server 2008 for Itanium Based Systems is now available to customers with active Software Assurance coverage for Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition (Itanium Platform) as of March 1, 2008.

SA Customers with Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition (Itanium Platform) are eligible to upgrade to four processor licenses of Windows Server 2008 for Itanium Based Systems for every Server license of Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition (Itanium Platform)

This limited time promotional offer on System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2007 Workgroup Edition provides customers with additional savings on qualified System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2007 Workgroup Edition purchases made between April 1, 2008 and September 30, 2008. Midsized businesses that are looking into Virtualization options can adopt System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2007 Workgroup Edition with a discount up to 60% with Software Assurance while protecting their investment in preparation for the new version of Virtual Machine Manager that is scheduled to release in the summer. No other product purchase is required to take advantage of the discounted price for Virtual Machine Manager 2007 Workgroup Edition. While this promotional discount applies only to System Center Virtual Machine Manager Workgroup Edition, by offering it together with System Center Essentials 2007, customers can acquire a comprehensive unified IT Management solution designed for midsized businesses that helps enable proactive and efficient management of IT resources, increase physical server utilization through virtualization, and helps IT staff simplify complex management tasks for increased operational efficiency.

• Offer valid on purchases made from April 1, 2008 to September 30, 2008.

Save Time and Money with Products They Know and Trust
Together, System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2007 Workgroup Edition and System Center Essentials 2007, provide a unified management experience, unparalleled for Windows® based environments that allows seamless management of both physical and virtual assets, enabling proactive management that helps midsized businesses IT staff increase their efficiency and maximize their resources.

It just keeps getting easier! Get the products you need to run your business, and earn valuable partner subsidy dollars to spend on additional services and products.
We're excited to tell you about a great, new offer that covers most of the core products and solutions you need. Now you can get the latest Microsoft® technology along with additional services and products under one simple offer. The Big Easy Offer is the Microsoft Partner subsidy program delivering great value and flexibility for your unique business needs.

Here's how it works
Purchase qualifying products* between February 1, 2008 and June 27, 2008 and earn partner subsidy funds from Microsoft. Then use your subsidy dollars to purchase additional services and products through the qualified Microsoft partner of your choice and enrich your solution.

This program scales to your business, offering incremental subsidies for qualifying purchases. As you purchase more products, you will receive additional subsidy dollars.

Take advantage of this offer by following these simple steps:

1. Purchase
Purchase qualifying products between February 1, 2008 and June 27, 2008.

2. Redeem
After a qualifying purchase, you can redeem the offer at www.microsoftincentives.com/bigeasy until July 31, 2008.

3. Spend
Microsoft will then send you a subsidy check made payable to the partner of your choice; of course, we hope you'll choose to work with us. Use the subsidy check toward the purchase of additional services and products. Services benefits could be deployment, training, assessments or solutions to meet your line of business needs. Additional products may include software and hardware. Checks must be used within 90 days of the issue date.

As a limited time offer from December 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008, Open, Open Value, Select and EA customers are eligible to acquire Office Communications Server Standard CAL 2007 with Software Assurance at potential savings. This offer is available for Commercial and Government customers only.

For a limited time (February 1, 2008 - June 30, 2008), customers who purchased Windows Vista® Business or Windows® XP Professional Licenses with new PCs through OEMs after December 31st, 2006 will be allowed to acquire Software Assurance coverage for those licenses.

The Windows Software Assurance Attach Offer establishes an amnesty period and provides an avenue for customers to gain rights to Windows Vista Enterprise and MDOP by taking full advantage of their SA benefits.
This promotion is applicable for the following programs and for the following Microsoft® Windows products only:

• Open Value and Select programs only
• Windows XP Professional (32 bit or 64 bit)
• Windows XP Professional N
• Windows Tablet PC edition
• Windows XP Professional Blade PC Edition
• Windows Vista Business
• Windows Vista Blade PC Edition
• Windows Vista Ultimate

Upgrade or OEM Licenses acquired prior to January 1, 2007 are ineligible for SA coverage under this promotion. Similarly, after June 30, 2008, OEM licenses acquired more than 90 days prior, are ineligible for SA coverage under this promotion.

Customers migrating to SQL Server with Software Assurance from the following database products: Oracle Enterprise, Oracle Standard, IBM DB2 Enterprise, IBM DB2 Workgroup, Informix, Sybase ASE, Hitachi HiRDB, Fujitsu Synfoware, Natural/Adabas, C/Side, Hyperion Essbase, Business Objects, Cognos, Microstrategy, NCR Teradata, Progress, Centura, Gupta, and SAS are eligible to acquire SQL Server 2005 at potential savings. SQL Server 2005 Standard (server and per processor) and SQL Server Enterprise (server and per processor) as well as CALs are included. This promotion is only valid for the number of client access licenses that will be migrated to SQL Server with Software Assurance. This offer is available for Commercial and Government customers only. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON MICROSOFT INCENTIVES, PLEASE GO TO www.microsoftincentives.com

Purchase Office Enterprise 2007 for the same price as Office Professional Plus 2007 when purchasing through an Open Value License Agreement for a limited time. This promotion is subject to the following terms and conditions and all participants acknowledge and agree to be bound by these terms and conditions.

Promotion Description:
Customers renewing their Open Value License Agreement or entering a new Open Value License Agreement are entitled to purchase Office Enterprise 2007 for the price of Office Professional Plus 2007.

 Promotion Eligibility:

All new or renewing Open Value License Agreement customers are eligible. A customer can renew early prior to the end date of their existing agreement.

• New or existing customers can acquire up to 249 Office Enterprise 2007 license and Software Assurance packs for the price of Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2007 license and Software Assurance packs.
• Renewing customers with existing Microsoft Office Standard 2007 license and Software Assurance packs can acquire up to 249 Office Enterprise 2007 Software Assurance step-up licenses for the price of Office Professional Plus 2007 Software Assurance step-up licenses.
• And renewing customers with existing Office Professional Plus 2007 license and Software Assurance packs can acquire up to 249 Office Enterprise 2007 Software Assurance step-up licenses by renewing their Software Assurance via the promotional SKUs.

 Why Should I Deploy This?
Businesses today require broad access to corporate applications and data from a variety of mobile and remote devices via the Internet-by employees, partners and customers. At the same time, application-layer security threats continue to rise, exposing organizations to exploit and attack from many different sources. Balancing the tensions between security, application functionality and accessibility requires a flexible solution with rich application access, comprehensive security and granular policy. Microsoft's secure remote access platform delivers support for full application functionality to users on both managed and unmanaged devices, while providing flexible options for enforcing and managing policy-based access and security.

Medium-size to enterprise customers
This solution is designed for organizations with typically 100 users and above who do not own a remote access solution today or who are looking to upgrade older systems to enable:

• Application delivery to non-Windows or down-level clients.
• Application delivery to clients without necessary software installed locally.
• Access to confidential information that should never be stored locally (on the endpoint device).
• Application and data access over slow links.
• TCO investments to reduce deployment times drive server consolidation and reduce support costs.

Promotion Duration:

• January 1, 2008 - June 30, 2008.
• Note that after the Open Value License Agreement acquired during the promotion period has expired (in 3 years), regular pricing will apply to the Software Assurance renewal.

Product Details:
Eligible participants have the opportunity to purchase the following perpetual license for the Microsoft Office Enterprise 2007 software, which includes the following applications:

• Access™ 2007
• Communicator 2007
• Excel® 2007
• InfoPath® 2007
• Groove 2007
• OneNote® 2007
• Outlook® 2007
• PowerPoint® 2007
• Publisher 2007
• Word 2007

Purchase Limitations:
Limit a maximum of 249 licenses per company. Open Value Subscription customers are not eligible for the promotion. This offer is non-transferable.

En Pointe is a "go-to" partner for HP and Microsoft. We'll work side-by-side with HP and Microsoft to deliver Microsoft Exchange Server solutions to our customers.

Our tight collaboration with both Microsoft and HP uniquely qualifies En Pointe to participate in the Solution Elite for Exchange program. For more info including whitepapers go to http://www.enpointe.com/exchange2007

Policy provides consistent and predictable guidelines for product support availability at the time of product release and throughout the product life. By understanding the product support available, customers are better able to maximize the management of their IT investments and strategically plan for a successful IT future. http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/#Support%20Lifecycle%20FAQs

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