Imperfect Mobile Management With Windows 8
I'm both old enough and lucky enough to remember Windows NT. I watched as it mopped the floor up with Netware. Many thought Microsoft broke every antitrust law in the book to do so. I might have agreed until I remembered the very first demo of the server operating system. I thought it odd that the interface was identical to the Windows desktop interface. It was that familiarity and interoperability that ultimately made NT a better fit -- at least in my estimation. Novell experts are welcome to define me as the dummy I may be at [email protected].
Redmondmag.com columnist Brien Posey was looking forward to a similar deal with Windows 8 clients where all the clients are managed the same way -- easy as pie. Posey was stoked.
Then Brien learned the ARM version is different enough that it has to be managed differently. End users won't likely notice. To them, Metro on Intel and ARM are the same (except for the battery meter).
To IT the management makes all the difference. Win 8 on Intel is the same as in the past since it can be joined to domains, can be managed by Active Directory and includes tools such as System Center 2012.
Win RT, the unnecessarily different name for what should be Windows 8 on ARM, doesn't work with AD. Instead, Microsoft is pushing the cloud-based Windows Intune. Let's assume Intune is the best thing that ever happened to management. Microsoft is still asking IT to buy, learn and support another tool if they want Win RT devices in their shops.
Posted by Doug Barney on 07/18/2012 at 1:19 PM