Devices to integrate with enterprise infrastructure

Windows Embedded platforms will have better integration with enterprise infrastructure mainstays

Microsoft's Windows Embedded platforms are set to integrate better with enterprise infrastructure such as Active Directory in future, in order to bring them closer to services that businesses are deploying across Windows PCs and servers.

Ilya Bukshteyn, Microsoft's director of Windows Embedded, told IT Week that all devices are likely to have IP connectivity within a few years, and the problem then will be how to manage them and make more effective use of them as resources. Bukshteyn was speaking at the firm's Mobile and Embedded Developer Conference in Berlin.

"Embedded devices were not necessarily managed by IT in the past, but now they need to deploy services, such as showing ads on point-of-sale terminals or ATMs. How do we enable delivery of these services?" Bukshteyn said.

In enterprises, Microsoft will make it easier to manage connected devices through integration with Active Directory, so that services can be deployed and updated using similar tools to PCs and servers, he added. Over time, devices will become more service-oriented so that ATMs can be queried for usage patterns to find out the best time of day to update them, for example.

"We're bringing these devices in from the cold," said Bukshteyn.

Microsoft's Windows Mobile software for smartphones is showing a similar trend, with the latest version integrating more closely with Exchange 2007 and Windows Live services. However, while Windows Mobile is based on the Windows CE kernel, it is not considered part of the embedded portfolio.

Over the next year, the embedded platforms will be refreshed with features that have been requested by customers, Bukshteyn said.

Later in 2007, an update to Windows CE called Windows Embedded CE 6 R2 will add some Vista technologies such as the updated media player and RDP client to enable devices to connect to Vista PCs. It will also gain VoIP and more web services.

Due in 2008, a refresh of Windows XP Embedded (XPE) will add Internet Explorer 7, plus the updated media player and RDP client. Beyond that, a new version is planned that will be based on the Vista kernel, Microsoft said.