- Hardware-independent imaging boosts ease of migration -

Binary Resource (UK) Ltd, part of the company that originally developed Symantec’s Ghost, today announced the launch of version 4.5 of Big Bang’s Universal Imaging Utility (UIU), which includes new upgrades and features for compatibility with Microsoft’s latest Operating System, Windows 7.

The UIU is the only out-of-the-box product that works alongside popular cloning packages to create a single hardware-independent Image that can easily be deployed to any desktop or laptop across an organisation, regardless of manufacturer and disparate hardware platforms. The latest version was developed specifically for compatibility with Windows 7 as well as Apple Mac Intel-based hardware.

Version 4.5 of the UIU contains an updated driver database, containing all available Windows 7-compatible drivers and hardware components. The 26,000-strong driver database has also been streamlined to enable more accurate hardware detection and decreased UIU run-time. A new OS-agnostic Discovery Tool has also been introduced, which enables Users to select and isolate only those drivers that are applicable to their environment. The product also contains support for Mac-based Windows 7 Users for the very first time as well as several new key feature updates to support Windows XP and Vista Operating Systems.

Annette Dow, director of Binary Resource, said: “Since 2004, the UIU has been effectively deployed to over 2 million PCs worldwide and has enabled IT departments across the globe to save time and resources through creating, managing and maintaining just one Image instead of multiple image files.”

She continued: “With migration from XP and Vista to Windows 7 expected to be much larger than any other OS release we have seen, we have ensured that this new version of UIU is packed full of features that will make this migration a quick and efficient task for organisations.”

The UIU continues to be the only hardware-independent solution that includes ongoing maintenance for the driver database, which is regularly updated approximately every six weeks. This is the only way to ensure continual hardware-independence as manufacturers continue to release new sound and video cards, chipsets and other components.

In the UK, the health and education sectors are discovering the benefits of UIU technology. Leading institutions such as University College London and Cardiff County Council are using the UIU solution to simplify rollouts, migrations and deployments and as a valuable Disaster-Recovery tool.

For more information about UIU or for a free trial download, visit www.binaryresource.com