Office 2010 Microsoft rolls out Beta 1 of next-gen

Microsoft is rolling out to interested testers this week Beta one of the Configuration Supervisor v.Subsequent, a new systems-management product inside the business;s Technique Center family members.I;m not a fan of the ‘v.Next; codename convention that some teams at Microsoft have been adopting. But that;s how the Softies are referring to the next release of Microsoft;s Method Middle Configuration Supervisor client-management product.Method Center Configuration Supervisor is the successor to what (long ago and far away) used to be called Programs Management Server (SMS). It is a server-based item that provides patch management,Microsoft Office 2007 Enterprise, software distribution, operating program deployment, inventory services and other capabilities to large groups of Windows-based clients.Technique Middle Configuration Manager v.Subsequent also is going to support “multiple device types” (which may mean Windows Phones and/or non-Windows PCs — it;s not entirely clear to me). v.Subsequent is going to allow users to “seamlessly access their data from virtually anywhere, across multiple device types while providing IT with unified management tools and centralized control,” according to a brand new blog post on the Method Center team blog. There will be an end-user self-service software portal,Office 2010 Pro Key, the ability to manage both PCs and devices in a unified way and new role-based administration capabilities in the product.v.Next requires Windows Server 2008 or 2008 R2, but distribution points can run on Windows Server 2003. It also requires SQL Server 2008 SP1 or later, as SQL Reporting Services is the only supported reporting solution.There;s no word on when Configuration Supervisor v.Next is due (not even a year). Last I heard, (back in October 2009),Office Home And Student, Microsoft was testing Technique Center Configuration Manager 2007 R3. I;ve asked if v.Next is the 2007 R3 release. (I think the answer is no,Cheap Office 2007, but I;ve spent too much time searching the Web and being unable to tell for sure. Awaiting the official Microsoft word on that one.)Update: One reader said he;s been told Configuration Manager 2007 R3 is due out in December 2010 and v.Subsequent is due to ship inside the second half of 2011.In other product-related news of potential interest to IT pros, Microsoft has rolled out an update to one of its Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) components.App-V is Microsoft;s application-virtualization piece of MDOP. Microsoft delivered the final version of App-V 4.6 in February 2010. But on May 26,Office 2007 Professional, Microsoft released Service Pack (SP) 2 of App-V 4.5. The SP2 update adds support for Office 2010 and SQL Mirroring, plus the usual bug fixes.