microsoft desktop optimization pack 2013

i am well aware I should have not missed this but somehow overlooked it. a service pack was released with mdop 2013 that addresses some issues with agpm (advanced group policy management) 4.0. it’s been a long time coming. it looks to be more functional than actually addressing some of the deficiencies in agpm. it’s still good news since i was under the impression ms would scrap agpm at some point since its adoption rate is low.

if you missed it, here are some other products that were updated:

• AGPM 4.0 SP1: Brings powerful change management for Group Policy to Windows 8, making it easier for organizations to keep enterprise-wide desktop configurations up to date, enabling greater control, less downtime, and lowering total cost of ownership (TCO).
• DaRT 8.0 SP1: Accelerates desktop repair by adding support for 10 additional languages. It also includes a new Defender engine to better assist organizations in discovering malware.
• App-V 5.0 SP1: Helps organizations use virtually any application anywhere by adding support for Office 2010. This will give end users a consistent experience with virtualized Office that they saw with previous versions of App-V. SP1 also adds support for the sequencer and client in 24 languages while App-V 5.0 server will be supported in 11 languages.
• UE-V 1.0 SP1: Makes it easier for users to change devices, but keep their experience with support for Office 2007, a heavily requested addition. The product now supports 24 languages, allowing more organizations to use UE-V in their native language.

MBAM 2.0 seems to be the giant frontrunner in this list of applications (not shown above). it looks like the only application that was a version upgrade, not just a service pack. you can read the entire article here: http://blogs.windows.com/windows/b/business/archive/2013/04/10/making-windows-8-even-more-manageable-with-mdop-2013.aspx.