Users Want Microsoft to Feel Patch Management Urgency

Computerworld - LAS VEGAS—Users of Microsoft Corp.'s management products showed keener interest in short-term deliverables than in the long-term strategic initiatives that the company outlined here last week at its annual management conference.

They packed sessions on Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 and the newly renamed Windows Update Services, formerly called Software Update Services (SUS).

Although the acronym for the new edition—WUS—drew chuckles, attendees expressed serious interest in the free service that can help them patch not only Windows but also Office 2003 and XP, SQL Server and Exchange Server. The ability to update other Microsoft products will be added later this year, said Steve Anderson, a director of Windows server marketing.

In contrast to SUS, the new version will also let users target individual computers or groups of computers, get basic reports about which computers have been patched, and download only patch bits that represent changes to the system, Anderson added.

However, the delayed availability of WUS was a letdown for some attendees. CEO Steve Ballmer pledged last October that the patch management services would be available in the first half of this year, but Microsoft officials last week said they won't be ready until the second half. A limited beta was released last week to about 200 customers, according to a Microsoft spokeswoman.

"I was a little disappointed," said Scott Sikes, manager of open systems operations at Compass Bank in Birmingham, Ala. "We wanted to look at it because we're also looking at several third-party products. Patch management is a pretty big issue, especially in the financial realm."

Two products that are on track to ship in the second half of this year as originally planned are Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) 2005 and System Center 2005. The products were tagged 2005 because Microsoft plans to adopt a new naming convention, labeling offerings due in the second half with the subsequent year's date, according to Bob Muglia, senior vice president of the Windows Server division.

Weighing the Need

System Center 2005 is an integrated management suite that includes SMS, MOM and a new common reporting system. Microsoft last week also unveiled new details about the second version of System Center, including a wizards-based capacity-planning tool code-named Indy.

Although several users at companies that already operate both SMS and MOM said they're intrigued by the new capabilities, some from larger companies said they don't think they will have reason to seek out the new, integrated product.

"Unless we undergo some sort of change in products, I don't see it coming into our organization," said Clark Ardern, a technical director at CNA Insurance in Chicago. He noted that CNA uses operations management products from NetIQ Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. rather than MOM.