Symantec Ghost Solution Suite 2.0 Eases Windows Vista Migration

Symantec Corp. (NASDAQ: SYMC) today announced Ghost Solution Suite 2.0, the latest version of the industry's most widely used corporate imaging and image deployment solution, which now includes Microsoft Vista and x64-bit Windows support. Symantec Ghost Solution Suite 2.0 provides rapid and reliable Windows deployment, migration, and software distribution and is recognized around the globe as a proven, trusted, and affordable solution for provisioning and management of Windows systems.

Its intuitive design together with comprehensive built-in tutorials makes Ghost Solution Suite 2.0 fast and easy to implement, configure, and learn. Additionally, its central management console simplifies the management of today's complex desktops, notebooks, and servers, as well as advanced remote and mobile systems.

"Today, organizations of all sizes face the proximate and pressing challenges of managing and securing a mixed Windows environment," said Jeremy Burton, group president, Security and Data Management, Symantec Corp. "Symantec Ghost has historically been the tool of choice for Windows migrations, as well as the industry's preferred corporate imaging and deployment solution. The latest version has the added functionality and ease-of-use needed to help organizations migrate smoothly and efficiently, while its central management console helps organizations drastically simplify management of a diverse desktop environment."

"Fulton County's IT department is always looking for ways to more efficiently manage our IT environment without increasing budget. As we face the task of migrating to Windows Vista, we rely on tools to help us make the migration as easy and cost-effective as possible," said Robert Taylor, chief information officer and director of information technology, Fulton County, GA. "With its standard operating environment and central management console, Ghost Solution Suite 2.0 provides us with a greatly enhanced application that will enable us to make a smooth transition to the Vista platform, while keeping our IT costs down."

Enhanced Speed

Ghost Solution Suite 2.0 enables IT organizations to recognize up to a 90 percent reduction in time and budget in comparison to deploying and migrating Windows systems manually. Ghost Solution Suite 2.0 delivers the tools administrators need to easily deploy or restore a base state of an operating image or application onto a PC in just minutes. Ghost Solution Suite 2.0 enhances and leverages Vista deployment and installation by allowing IT administrators the ability to customize a standard operating environment and create a single image file that can be deployed to multiple machine types and hundreds of machines simultaneously. This reduces the need to maintain multiple image files and allows IT administrators to keep image files current and up to date without the need to create multiple image file revisions.

User migration capabilities enable fast and easy migration of data, application settings and Windows configuration settings for individual users during a new operating system deployment. This minimizes the impact of computer or operating system changes and therefore minimizes disruption to end users.

"We expect our customers in the public sector to be especially pleased with the speed enhancements in the new Symantec Ghost Solution Suite 2.0," said Rick Marcotte, president and CEO, DLT Solutions, Inc. "Single-step imaging and the reduced need for large baseline images during a migration will drive faster recovery tasks and speedier data migration projects. This feature combined with the broader choice of drivers and multiple OS platforms, and topped off with support for Windows Vista, should prove to be a very compelling proposition."

User Simplicity

With Ghost Solution Suite 2.0, migrating end user systems is simplified with integrated user migration functionality and a peer-to-peer migration wizard. Administrators can now configure a task to create a backup image, capture the user data and settings, deploy a new operating system, perform post-clone configuration, and restore user data and settings. Additionally, the administrator can easily utilize other features of Ghost Solution Suite to further streamline the operation, including using the multicast file transfer with network bandwidth management.

"Windows Vista migration presents a tremendous challenge for most organizations. In order to save critical man hours and IT budget, it will behoove them to automate as much of the migration and deployment process as possible," said Fred Broussard, Research Manager at IDC. "Organizations will require the ability to customize the Vista OS to include their company's corporate applications and security configuration settings, so newly provisioned machines will comply with corporate standards and make it easier for IT departments to manage their Windows environment."

Increased Functionality

Also new in Ghost Solution Suite 2.0 is the ability to edit NTFS images. This functionality, on top of the existing ability to edit FAT and EXT2/3 images, enables administrators to add, remove, and modify files and folders within Ghost images regardless of the underlying file system. Ghost Solution Suite 2.0 also introduces GUID partition table (GPT) support to enable the imaging of larger partitions, which also eases the migration to Windows Vista. Administrators can also now use Ghost Solution Suite 2.0 to create and deploy images of hardware RAID arrays under WinPE, which enables the image creation of partitions that are larger than any single drive can provide.

Ghost Solution Suite 2.0 is easy to implement, configure and use and does not require specialized IT staff or consulting services to implement. Further, Ghost Solution Suite 2.0 includes built-in comprehensive software tutorials, and Symantec offers training classes to help businesses better leverage the entire expanse of capabilities of Ghost Solution Suite and, in turn, accelerate ROI.

Availability

Symantec Ghost Solution Suite 2.0 is scheduled to be available in December, 2006 through Symantec's worldwide network of value-added resellers, distributors, and systems integrators. Organizations seeking a reseller or distributor should contact Symantec at http://enterprisesecurity.symantec.com.

About Symantec

Symantec is the world leader in providing solutions to help individuals and enterprises assure the security, availability, and integrity of their information. Headquartered in Cupertino, Calif., Symantec has operations in 40 countries. More information is available at www.symantec.com.

NOTE TO EDITORS: If you would like additional information on Symantec Corporation and its products, please visit the Symantec News Room at http://www.symantec.com/news. All prices noted are in U.S. dollars and are valid only in the United States.

Symantec and the Symantec Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Symantec Corporation or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

CONTACT:

Jerry Gowen Symantec Corporation +1 (503) 690 4714 jerry_gowen@symantec.com

Amanda Jones Connect Public Relations +1 (360) 588 1790 amandaj@connectpr.com

SOURCE:  Symantec

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