I’ve recently returned from my third trip to a Symantec ManageFusion conference. I figure it’s important for me to keep tabs on what the world’s fourth largest software company is doing. Let me share my trip report with you. There’s a lot of interesting progress and news coming out of this conference.

First and foremost, Symantec COO Enrique Salem announced that Altiris Client Management Suite 7.0 and Altiris Server Management Suite 7.0 are both generally available now. Symantec has been talking about these products for more than a year. The release was delayed a few times “until we got it right,” according to Salem. He says they’ve been using the products internally on more than 7,000 client devices as well as on the company’s servers for many months and they are confident in the products’ capabilities.

One of the beta testers, the Meijer supercenter retailer, has been using Altiris 7.0 on more than 10,500 desktops and 1,000 servers. Dave Durkee, a technology specialist in the IT department at Meijer, gives Altiris 7.0 glowing remarks. He says the extensive workflow automation built into the management products gives him the ability to “do more with less” – a common phrase repeated throughout ManageFusion. Durkee also praises the improved handling of software inventory in the client suite. This makes it easier for his harried team to do application metering and to make updates to installed applications.

To learn more about the Altiris 7.0 products, read the availability announcement from Symantec and Kathleen Lau’s summary of what’s new in the products.

Dell is showing its confidence in the Altiris Server Management Suite by announcing that every new Dell server will ship with the Altiris software pre-installed. Laurie Tolson, Vice President of Systems Management at Dell, made the announcement during the first day keynote session, saying the move will give customers a faster time to deployment. Steve Morton, Symantec Vice President of Product Management, acknowledged that Dell had a hand in helping to develop the server management software by extensively testing the software and providing feedback to Symantec along the way.

In a small roundtable session, Salem talked about workflow being “a meaningful advancement in Symantec technology.” The workflow technology, which was acquired from T-Logic more than a year ago, is now fully integrated into the Altiris management products as well as other Symantec products to vastly improve the automation of tasks.

Linda Musthaler is a principal analyst with Essential Solutions Corporation.