Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) is a subscription add-on used by many enterprises with Microsoft Enterprise Agreements (EA) that provides a number of software benefits. The software has recently been released on a twice-a-year basis, making the next version due sometime soon. Microsoft typically does not pre-announce release dates, so we can only guess that, based on the last release being November 1, we should be due for a release around May 1.
In addition to providing upgrade benefits, meaning you can upgrade PCs to the latest version of windows as long as the MDOP subscription is in place, MDOP provides additional software to help with enterprise deployments of Windows Desktops. In each release of MDOP, Microsoft typically updates a subset of these applications, and sometimes adds new ones. The last released version of MDOP (2013 R2) included updates to support Windows 8.1, plus a few extra things. The biggest was a major update to the Application Virtualization product (App-V 5.0 SP2 and 4.6 SP3) and smaller updates to Microsoft BitLocker Administration and Monitoring (MBAM 2.0 SP1), Advanced Group Policy Management (AGPM 4.0 SP2), and Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset (DaRT 8.1). Other components in MDOP include the User Environment product (UEV 2.0), and Med-V and were apparently unchanged from the previous MDOP release.
Given that Windows XP is no longer under support, I am guessing that the next version of MDOP will drop MED-V. MED-V is the managed version of Windows 7 “XP Mode”, in which a copy of Windows XP is virtualized on top of Windows 7 using the older “Virtual Computer” hypervisor. If XP goes away, I can’t see Microsoft continuing to support MED-V as a product. Probably more important than the virtualization piece of that product, what Microsoft should find a way to re-use is the innovative user interface integration that came with the acquisition that created MED-V. In a world where people are using virtual machines, whether local or remote, integration of the user experience on a per-application basis remains interesting. Citrix has long had such capabilities, and other than RemoteApp, Microsoft does not. The value of having a single user interface experience, start menu, file associations, and “seamless application windows” on a single desktop is the end-user’s nirvana. This might or might not be an MDOP thing, but I hope they don’t forget about it if MED-V is dropped.
But if MED-V is removed from MDOP in the next release, Microsoft will feel a little pressure from customers to add something more into MDOP. Which opens up the fun guessing game of what Microsoft could or should add!
I think that everyone’s top item, a license allowing you to for host VDI images on a shared hosting provider infrastructure, ain’t gonna happen. MDOP might not be the right vehicle for that anyway, but anyway we can get it would be better than the current situation.
Next on my list would be things to improve image management. Something like the capabilities of the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) but with a better user interface would be great. I love MDT, but the UI is something out of the 1980’s. It can be a pain to do things like make a copy of a task sequence to tweak it.
Or maybe attack image management from the other end. Something along the lines of FsLogix is doing. I like their idea of a single image tweaked at runtime by policy, in essence enabling apps on the fly, so much that last year I joined their advisory board. You still need App-V to handle application conflict, but a combination of something like FsLogix, App-V, and a better User Environment product would be a solid combination. Microsoft might be better to buy the company and add it to MDOP rather than develop on their own, but one way or another the capability would be a great addition to MDOP.
Further down my list is something to help the user and IT organize all of their remote “stuff”. A single interface where remote machines, remote apps, storage repositories, and even website credentials are managed. This could be simply a UI that accesses things, or more of a secure repository that also holds the credentials (safely) with centralized backup. This would require Microsoft to move their thinking beyond “just buy Office 365”, which might be too much to ask, however.
Given the lack of noise, I doubt any of this is happening soon. What would be on your list for MDOP?
Disclaimer: Although I am a Microsoft MVP, this article contains no “inside knowledge” or NDA material. My contacts at Microsoft are not talking about this and clam up if asked.
