Cloud Computing – Free Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit

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‘Heterogeneous’ is one of those over-used IT buzzwords that, stated more simply, recognises that most real-world IT environments are a combination of different applications, systems and devices from a multiplicity of vendors. Understanding the complexities of any heterogeneous IT environment can complicate the process of upgrading and migrating to the latest technology to increase operational efficiency and save money.

The Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) toolkit is a utility that is free to download and it lets you quickly create an inventory of your IT environment, assess hardware and software readiness for migration, and provide custom reports detailing hardware, device and operating system readiness.

 

 MAP Business Scenarios

 

Microsoft has just released MAP 6.5 -  an agentless, automated, multi-product planning and assessment tool for quicker and easier desktop and server migrations. MAP provides detailed readiness assessment reports and executive proposals with extensive hardware and software information, and actionable recommendations to help organisations accelerate their IT infrastructure planning process, and gather more detail on assets that reside within their current environment.

MAP also provides:

MAP is free for you to download and apply to your IT infrastructure and helps answers questions such as:

  • Which PCs can run Windows 7, Microsoft Office 2010, and Office 365?
  • Are your web application portfolios and databases ready to migrate to the Windows Azure platform?
  • What next steps should I take to plan a private cloud?
  • Which of my servers are capable of migrating to Windows Server 2008 R2, or can be virtualized using Hyper-V?
  • Where can I find Microsoft SQL Server 2000, MySQL, Oracle, and Sybase instances for migration to Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2?
  • Is our software usage in compliance with software licence agreements?

Consider MAP as a discovery tool to identify what you currently have installed and licensed and follow-up with your Microsoft business manager or partner to review your next steps in planning and simplifying migration processes.

Posted by Ian