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Eisenworld Inc. this week will introduce the second major release of its enterprise-oriented PC migration tool that gives administrators more flexibility in doing ad hoc migrations.
PC Relocator Enterprise 2.0, originally developed from the consumer-based migration tool Alohabob, lets administrators move or extract only the digital content needed for a particular user or situation.
Although the tool is unique in using rules instead of a scripting language to set up complex, mass migrations, Eisenworld added a relocation scripting language to allow more customization of migrations—including the ability to include or exclude files in the transfer process.
The release adds the ability to selectively restore original settings when the need arises. Digital Move Explorer is a self-contained archive file that includes the original user state of a PC, including applications, settings and files.
Eisenworld, a relative newcomer to the enterprise desktop migration market, may face an uphill battle against well-entrenched vendors such as Miramar Systems Inc. and Altiris Inc.
The companys strategy is to emphasize ease of use, according to David Henrickson, Eisenworld vice president and founder, in Sunrise, Fla. “Our mantra is more simplicity than features,” Henrickson said.
Toward that end, PC Relocator Enterprise 2.0 adds a new console that allows users to “drag and drop [PC configurations] on top of each other if you want to migrate them,” according to Henrickson.
Eisenworld intends in a later release to add the ability to integrate with other frameworks, such as Microsoft Corp.s Systems Management Server.
One user working with the release found that it significantly reduced the amount of time for an upgrade of 854 machines. Tim Conners, infrastructure program manager for Churchill & Harriman Consulting Services LLC, a technology consulting company in Princeton, N.J., used the tool while working with a major pharmaceutical company.
“The file explorer and ability to script let us cut maybe 60 to 70 percent of the upgrade time. We saved tons of money. This is the smoothest rollout Ive done,” Conners said. The upgrade was “100 percent accurate,” he said.
Although Conners company initially wanted to use Microsofts free User State Migration Tool, it found “it wasnt the scalpel we needed,” he said.
Eisenworlds release is available now.
Churchill & Harriman also evaluated Miramars tool but found Eisenworld representatives more responsive, Conners added.