Last week, the Microsoft Asset Inventory Service for the Desktop Optimization Pack released to the web. See the URL below for an explanation of the role AIS plays in the DOP:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/enterprise/ais.mspx
WHAT IS IT?
Basically it’s the technology from the AssetMetrix acquisition we made a year or so ago except it’s almost entirely a hosted service that we make available. It involves installing a 1.4MB client component on your PCs (2000/XP/Vista/x64) and waiting for it to collect the information that it needs to report back to https://sc.microsoft.com. After that, you go to the web site and see the information collected from the machines you have registered with the service.
The information basically gives you very precise information about what software is installed on your PCs, what versions (v1.0, v1.1, etc), what media types (Retail/MSDN/Select/Trial/etc.), what editions (Pro/Ent/Std/etc.), and it works for not just Microsoft software but for all vendors, including Adobe, Symantec, etc.
SO, WE HAVE THE DESKTOP OPTIMIZATION PACK. HOW DO WE GET AIS?
It’s pretty simple. It requires activating the benefit from https://licensing.microsoft.com. The activation process is documented over at the System Center blog at http://blogs.technet.com/systemcenteronline/archive/2007/10/05/ais-account-activation.aspx.
HOW DO WE MANAGE THIS THING?
Through an Group Policy ADM template. We published one here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=13cef13f-8a53-498b-91f8-ad1b0ec00b9b&DisplayLang=en
More on this as I get details internally.
kurtsh
Kurt's Thoughts 