Windows user profiles are critical assets in today’s desktop environments. They aim to increase end user productivity by ensuring a predictable and familiar user experience and reliable access to personal data. A Windows user profile that is unavailable or broken will inevitably result in helpdesk calls and loss of productivity. For years, we have relied on classic Windows (roaming) profiles to provide end users with settings and data. End users demanding flexibility, Windows OS migrations and new technologies like desktop and application virtualization have proven Windows (roaming) profiles to be insufficient to support our demands. As a result a new market with alternative profile management solutions was created.
Most of the solutions available today have an approach only solving a specific part of the issues related to classic Windows (roaming) profiles. The market needs a solution addressing all the issues related to profile management, a solution that runs out of the box and a solution that is ready for the issues expected in the near future. That is the reason why we decided to develop Scense Live profiles: to solve your profile challenges of the past, the present and to be ready for the future.
Profile corruption, a ghost of the past?
All profile management solutions in the market today state to address corrupted profiles. In the old days, turning of the power of de PC or a broken network connection could result in a corrupted profile file. Nowadays, end users will not be able to find a power switch on their machines and unreliable connections with a file server are also rare in corporate environments. Although we do not expect administrators to face corrupted profiles on a daily basis, Scense Live Profile will reduce the risk of a corrupted profile to an absolute minimum.
And the present ghosts?
Profile corruption might be something of the past, sufficient challenges with user profiles remain to be solved. Long logon times caused by profile bloat and end users not being careful as well as last writer win issues within TS environments, still result in a bad and unpredictable user experience. The expedited adoption of application- virtualization and Windows 7 has shown that classis user profiles are not only insufficient; sometimes they do no deliver at all. And we still have to address these legacy applications not using the Windows user profile as they should. Because of all these issues with user profiles, explaining the benefits of profile management is quite easy these days. Scense Live Profiles will address the user profile challenges you face today.
And the future?
The application and desktop delivery market is changing at high speed. Applications and desktops are moving into the cloud, users expect IT resources outside the corporate perimeters on their personally owned devices while being mobile or at home. Scense Live Profiles will even help you address the user profile challenges you will face in the future.
Profile segmentation or profile virtualization?
Today’s profile management solutions are usually divided in two distinct groups both addressing a specific part of the problems caused by classis Windows (roaming) profiles: profile virtualization and profile segmentation. Profile virtualization runs out of the box but is unable to perform profile translation from, for example, Windows XP to Windows 7. Profile segmentation offers the manageability needed for cross platform profile translation but, with the existing vendors, needs lot of preparations and management time.
Best of both worlds
Scense Live Profiles will combine the pros of profile virtualization and profile segmentation without the cons. Scense live profile will run out of the box, will use self-learning profile filters that will determine themselves what to store and what not, but will also offer cross platform translation and support of application virtualization. Although Scense Live Profiles has a fire and forget approach, it is still fully configurable.
With the launch of Scense Live Profiles we are proud to announce that we have busted the ghosts of the past, the present and are ready for your user profile challenges in the future.
Download Scense Live Profiles today for a trial
The Scense Team