Another of the announcements you may have missed at Worldwide Partner Conference:

The Assessment and Deployment Solution for Midsize Businesses (ADS) provides partners with a quick way to assess a customer’s IT environment, create a network diagram, and produce a proposal to upgrade the customer’s network infrastructure to the latest Microsoft software. It can also save time by automating network deployment. I guess you coudl argue that this removes a potential revenue stream in initial consultancy on network design etc but my guess is much of that type of service form a partner is pro-bono. Maybe I’m wrong

Anyway, definitely worth a look as it’s a free download to all registered members of the Programme.

“The tool works by first performing an automatic network inventory of a customer’s IT environment. Upon completion, it automatically creates a Visio diagram of the network environment, and generates a project proposal. The proposal contains an implementation plan based on the customer’s current IT inventory and migration scenario. If the cycle moves on to a sale and eventually to the deployment of new Microsoft software, then the tool will also automate most of the deployment tasks, significantly reducing your time and effort while helping to ensure a smooth and successful deployment.”

check out Flash Demo`