Next week Eisenworld Inc. will introduce the second major release of its enterprise-oriented PC migration tool that gives administrators more flexibility for ad hoc migrations in between mass migrations.
PC Relocator Enterprise 2.0, originally developed out of a consumer-based migration tool dubbed AlohaBob, lets administrators move or extract only the exact 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 specific files in the transfer process.
The new release also adds the ability to selectively restore original settings when the need arises. The DMV (Digital Move) Explorer is a self-contained archive file that includes the original user-state of a specific 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 and Alteris. The companys strategy is to emphasize ease-of-use, according to David Henrickson, vice president and founder in Sunrise, Fla. “Our mantra is more simplicity than features,” he said.
Toward that end, PC Relocator Enterprise 2.0 adds a new console that allows users to “drag and drop computers on top of each other if you want to migrate them,” said Henrickson.
Eisenworld also intends in a later release to add the ability to integrate with other frameworks, such as Microsofts Systems Management Server.
One user already working with the new release found that it significantly reduced the amount of time required to upgrade more than 800 machines, according to Tim Conners, infrastructure program manager for Churchill & Harriman Inc., a technology consulting firm in Princeton, N.J., that used the tool in its work with a major pharmaceutical firm.
“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,” he said. The upgrade was “100 percent accurate,” he added.
Although Conners firm initially wanted to use Microsofts free User State Migration Tool, “it wasnt the scalpel we needed,” he said.
The new release is available now.
Search for more stories by Paula Musich.