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Hey Team..
Today I sat down with Chris Ashley, a Product Manager at Quest (formerly from NetPro) for their GP Change Management Products to ask about the NetPro to Quest transition, and ask him some questions about what's coming around the bend.
Jeremy (GPanswers.com):
How's it going over there with the transition?
Chris (Quest):
Pretty good. Like any transition, there are some rough patches, but, pretty smooth overall. It's interesting to see people who were once your adversaries, and now they're walking by you now saying "Hey, how's it
going?" More importantly it is great to see that we all have a common goal and that is bringing the best and most powerful solutions to the market."
Jeremy (GPanswers.com):
Which products made it through the transition, and which ones are being cut?
Chris (Quest):
Although products are disappearing we are doing our best to implement the best features into the go forward product. But, in short, here's the lineup:
Solution: Restore objects into Active Directory
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Cut: RestoreAdmin (NetPro)
Replaced: with RecoverManager for ActiveDirectory
Solution: Reporting
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Cut: Quest Reporter
Replaced with: ReportAdmin
Soution: AD Access
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Cut: AccessManager
Replaced with: ActiveRoles Server
Solution: Self Service
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Cut: SelfService Admin
Replaced with: Password Manager
Jeremy (GPanswers.com): That about wraps up the non-Group Policy products. How about your Group Policy Products?
Chris (Quest):
Well, we have several solutions. I'm only in charge of the GP Change Management solutions, so I can only speak to that. We went Forward with GPOAdmin and let go Quest Group Policy Manager.
Jeremy (GPanswers.com): Why did you choose one over the other?
Chris (Quest): Both had workflow management, reporting, automated version control. But, the biggest reason why GPOAdmin survived is that it has the easier GP interface. It directly extends the GPMC console, so it's easier make your changes.
Jeremy (GPanswers.com): Didn't the Group Policy Manager tool have some features that GPOadmin didn't have?
Chris (Quest): Yes. GPM supports [our] Quest Authentication Services (formerly Vintela Authentication Services)[GP additions for Linux] and has some ability to use PowerShell, which was nice. Our goal going forward is to recoup those features by, basically, putting the natural user experience front-end of GPOADmin and put it on the powerful back end of GP Manager. When we do, we'll have PowerShell support returned, and better workflow.
Jeremy (GPanswers.com): How long under your solution is ready?
Chris (Quest): We're thinking the first iteration will be early third quarter of 2009. We're hoping to get a really solid product on the first run.
Jeremy (Gpanswers.com): Any additional features in that product when it goes live?
Chris (Quest): We're working on comparison Reports between two GPOs (in the archive), and between two live GPOs. Also, we hope to support GP Preferences in the next release as well.
Jeremy (GPanswers.com): Anything else you want to share with the folks of GPanswers.com?
Chris (Quest): Well, some good news. If you own either Quest Spotlight on AD, -or- either NetPro's DirectoryTroubleshooter or DirectoryAnalyzer, you are eligible to get whichever products you DON'T ALREADY OWN. So, own ONE, upgrade and get the other two. Our goal is to incorporate all the value into one offering (Spotlight on AD Pack.)"
Thanks Chris! Thanks for spending time with me today, good luck on the transition, and we hope to learn more about your upcoming goodies when they're ready!
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