Just in case you haven't already heard, here at Symantec EPM Product Management we have made an exciting strategy change in our Deployment portfolio. I want to share with you the good news and what it means to you. In short, we are further investing in the Altiris Deployment Solution 6.9 technology and have released a new product with a strong roadmap.
Here are the key points you need to know around our strategy and how to access the new release:
1. It gives us a platform to continue to invest in DS 6.9 technology 2. It helps to streamline our portfolio so we can target our development investment more effectively 3. It provides a much-needed update to GSS customers (note that I appreciate GSS 3.0 is not a like-for-like replacement for GSS 2.5 but we are quickly working on improvements in this area)
Licensing (please note that all migration promotions have now ended, please contact your parter/sales representative):
While the technical transition is straightforward, there are some licensing changes that we will need to work through. Here are the details:
We are listening very carefully to all feedback and welcome your comments.
Thank you,
David Evans
Senior Product Manager – Deployment Products
As a fellow customer, I can't say I disagree. We pay more and more, for less and less.
I know for a fact that Symantec is losing customers. I figured this out from our user group meetings. One of the biggest Symanec customer in the area, is now a MS customer.
I won't argue with your first 3 points, but when it comes to GSS I'm keen to try and make it as cost neutral as possible. Certainly in the first year it wont cost more and what happens after that is very much dependent on each individual situation. We're picking ourselves out of a very unfortunate situation based on some decision making that proved to be ineffective (I'm choosing my works carefully there) and the only other alternative was the DS 6.9 technology went EOL and we saw a great product die on the vine.
At the very least I can say that the technology lives on and I've been able to protect the investment that you folks have made in us. Does it satisfy everyone? Probably not but I'm hopeful we're still moving in a good direction.
I always appreciate candor and it's important to let us know when we're missing the mark. In this case I hope that once we pick through what this actually looks like we can find a way forward. Please reach out to your sales team first and feel free to bring me in if required.
Regards,
David
So you took very well and very long working product stripped the most used feature like remote control added some useless features, changed the name and want us to pay more for it?
10 years of using TMS/ITMS and you have only removed features 1st Service Desk, 2nd DELL integration, 3rd PCAnywhere and now the DS69.
Why the hell we have paid the maintenance for all those years?
I think this is a good way how you loose your customers.
I think it is a good time to move on.
You can stick your new products you know where (into some fance brochures).
Thank you very much.
Your fully satisfied customer!
The GSS licensing FAQ and your post is a little bit confusing me, sorry I am also not native english speaking.
Altiris DS6.9 current customers must explicitly ask for a "licensing" move from DS7.x to GSS3 for being able to maintain their DS 6.9 platform ? After 1st July 2016, they will not be able to do the switch, or either, to move later to a DS 8 nicer solution, perhaps ???
Is it really that ?
Altiris CMS 7.x maintained/licensed users must choose before 1st july 2016, if they want to keep:
Please tell me I do not understand correctly: For smaller customers, with lightest requirements, and was a little bit impacted of the heavy and complex of the DS7, and choose keeping the "smaller" DS6.9. YOU PLAN TO ASK THEM TO PAY MORE, than customers sized/technical enough for using the DS 7.x instead ???
If the CMS suite was an easy, simple, single licensing solution, would be difficult to manage the removal of the DS7 licenses, I would understand that, all the same not accept. But it is not the case, it is possible to remove the DS7! The Altiris modular licensing model need a nightmare licensing combination web platform, making this possible.
So please, Symantec, I understand the internal complexity you have to manage, but don't forgot to serve your customers interest please. Facilitating their life must be a priority instead of facilitating your own. Thanks reading this, sorry my limited English.
French speaking/discussion about in there: https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/blogs/itsm-76-et-ghost-solution-suite-30 inside the GUASF user group.
quote "You were entitled to trade across your licenses for GSS at renewal" unqoute
I tried that but I was told from Symantec GSS3 is a totally different and I need to purchase it from scratch for full price . Lizenzwechsel [ ref:_00D30jPy._50038h7BMJ:ref ]
Can you assist ?
Regrettably the remote control from DS 6.9 has been removed, this is in-line with our strategy across all of our products. DS 6.9 remote control was simple and effective but it suffered from a lack of updates and crucially a lack of security. You are entitled to some extended trial licenses of Bomgar, more details can be found here:
https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/blogs/pcanywhere-solution-and-bomgar-changes-itms-76
You were entitled to trade across your licenses for GSS at renewal. If this didn't happen please get in touch with Symantec or you distributor and ask for options for returning your DS renewal and getting GSS. Have them get in touch with me if they have any questions, we'll try and do what we can to get this cleared up.
@craig-M. - we use bomgar deployed via jump clients for remote control (we use CMS). love it so far.
In DS6.9 we could remote control any of the clients...is this also available in GSS 3.0, or has it been stripped out? If it is no longer available is there anyway to initiate a remote control session through a Bomgar setup?
Team,
We have renewed the CMS licenses, for imaging we are using the DS 6.9 SP6.
Please advise are we entitiled to have the GSS3.0 licenses .
Thanks
I apologize if this information hasn't reached you but for those that have a long period before their renewal we can provide a temporary license that will allow you to migrate. Just get in touch with me. This has always been our position to avoid exactly the situation you describe above which would be unacceptable. This strategy is all about protecting this technology and the investment you have made in it and not at all about trying to squeeze any extra money from our customers.
Sorry for the confusion.
Licensing is perpetual meaning that it will not stop working beyond 2016.
GSS 3.0 will be exactly the same as DS 6.9 with some new features and updated platform support. It also has an in-place upgrade.
The intention of this announcement was to bring the good news that DS 6.9 will continue under a different brand and name. As there's an in-place upgrade I hope that you will be able to continue using the product seamlessly and for many years to come. If this isn't your experience please let me know.
We are working on the ASDK now actually. We don't expect to provide a new version of it just yet but we do expect to be able to support customers who have it installed on DS 6.9 and do an in-place upgrade. Until the testing is complete we can't guarantee anything.
Sorry for the delay in replying, I did not see these responses for some reason.
I know support is being dropped but will our current DS6.9 continue to work after June 2016(from a licensing standpoint)?
And what if we ever needed to build the server from scratch again, will we be able to apply our site license to that new server after June 2016?
-Sean
We primarily use DS 6.9 for real time software deployment which DS7.x has never done in the past. Will we have have real time deployment of software in GSS? or DS 7.6?
-Mike
DS 6.9 will reach the end of its EOL cycle in June 2016
This will be a very sad day.
We are looking at the ASDK now. It is presenting us with a few challenges, most notably that it only support RDeploy, which we no longer support as an imaging technology. We are working on it though and I hope that we can deliver something soon.
Hi David,
And about ASDK that has been forgot for Windows 2008 platform on DS 6.9?
Is that GSS 3 will include a kind of ASK that provide workaround for customer's scripts as well as methods for Workflow Solution ?
Carl.