BIOS: Technology Means Business

Symantec (Nasdaq: SYMC) today announced Ghost Solution Suite 2.0, the latest version of the industry’s most widely used corporate imaging and image deployment solution, which now includes Microsoft Vista and x64-bit Windows support.

Symantec Ghost Solution Suite 2.0 promises rapid and reliable Windows deployment, migration, and software distribution and is recognised around the globe as a proven, trusted, and affordable solution for provisioning and management of Windows systems, claims Symantec.

Its new design together with comprehensive built-in tutorials makes Ghost Solution Suite 2.0 fast and easy to implement, configure, and learn. Additionally, its central management console simplifies the management of today’s complex desktops, laptops, and servers, as well as advanced remote and mobile systems.

“Today, organisations of all sizes face the proximate and pressing challenges of managing and securing a mixed Windows environment,” said Jeremy Burton, group president, Security and Data Management, Symantec. “Symantec Ghost has historically been the tool of choice for Windows migrations, as well as the industry’s preferred corporate imaging and deployment solution. The latest version has the added functionality and ease-of-use needed to help organisations migrate smoothly and efficiently, while its central management console helps organisations drastically simplify management of a diverse desktop environment.”

Ghost Solution Suite 2.0 enables IT organisations to recognise up to a 90 per cent reduction in time and budget in comparison to deploying and migrating Windows systems manually. Ghost Solution Suite 2.0 delivers the tools administrators need to easily deploy or restore a base state of an operating image or application onto a PC in just minutes. Ghost Solution Suite 2.0 enhances and leverages Vista deployment and installation by allowing IT administrators the ability to customise a standard operating environment and create a single image file that can be deployed to multiple machine types and hundreds of machines simultaneously. This reduces the need to maintain multiple image files and allows IT administrators to keep image files current and up to date without the need to create multiple image file revisions.

User migration capabilities enable fast and easy migration of data, application settings and Windows configuration settings for individual users during a new operating system deployment. This minimises the impact of computer or operating system changes and therefore minimises disruption to end users.

“We expect our customers in the public sector to be especially pleased with the speed enhancements in the new Symantec Ghost Solution Suite 2.0,” said Rick Marcotte, president and CEO, DLT Solutions. “Single-step imaging and the reduced need for large baseline images during a migration will drive faster recovery tasks and speedier data migration projects. This feature combined with the broader choice of drivers and multiple OS platforms, and topped off with support for Windows Vista, should prove to be a very compelling proposition.”

With Ghost Solution Suite 2.0, migrating end user systems is simplified with integrated user migration functionality and a peer-to-peer migration wizard. Administrators can now configure a task to create a backup image, capture the user data and settings, deploy a new operating system, perform post-clone configuration, and restore user data and settings. Additionally, the administrator can easily utilise other features of Ghost Solution Suite to further streamline the operation, including using the multicast file transfer with network bandwidth management.

“Windows Vista migration presents a tremendous challenge for most organisations. In order to save critical man hours and IT budget, it will allow them to automate as much of the migration and deployment process as possible,” said Fred Broussard, Research Manager at IDC. “Organisations will require the ability to customise the Vista OS to include their company's corporate applications and security configuration settings, so newly provisioned machines will comply with corporate standards and make it easier for IT departments to manage their Windows environment.”

Also new in Ghost Solution Suite 2.0 is the ability to edit NTFS images. This functionality, on top of the existing ability to edit FAT and EXT2/3 images, enables administrators to add, remove, and modify files and folders within Ghost images regardless of the underlying file system. Ghost Solution Suite 2.0 also introduces GUID partition table (GPT) support to enable the imaging of larger partitions, which also eases the migration to Windows Vista. Administrators can also now use Ghost Solution Suite 2.0 to create and deploy images of hardware RAID arrays under WinPE, which enables the image creation of partitions that are larger than any single drive can provide.

Ghost Solution Suite 2.0 is easy to implement, configure and use and does not require specialised IT staff or consulting services to implement. Further, Ghost Solution Suite 2.0 includes built-in comprehensive software tutorials, and Symantec offers training classes to help businesses better leverage the entire expanse of capabilities of Ghost Solution Suite and, in turn, accelerate ROI.

Symantec Ghost Solution Suite 2.0 is scheduled to be available in December, 2006 through Symantec’s worldwide network of value-added resellers, distributors, and systems integrators. Organisations seeking a reseller or distributor should contact Symantec at http://enterprisesecurity.symantec.com.

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