Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Say Hello To Microsoft Operations Management Suite (OMS)

Yesterday at the start of Ignite Azure Operational Insights (AOI) went General Available (GA). On itself not unexpected since many people already anticipated this to happen on that particular date.
However, another move might come as a surprise: AOI isn’t a new service which stands on it’s own but is part of a whole suite  titled Microsoft Operations Management Suite (OMS).
What OMS is and does? Taken directly from the System Center: Operations Manager Engineering Blog posting: ‘…(OMS) provides unified IT management for any enterprise while taking the hassle out of managing and maintaining infrastructure. It brings together a collection of IT operation solutions, including log analytics, automation, recovery and security, which will help simplify management of your datacenter assets wherever they are – in your own datacenters or in public clouds like AWS or Azure…’
What does this all mean for me?Good question! My guess is you were testing AOI by using the URL https://preview.opinsights.azure.com/. For starters, that URL is gone. You’re redirected to http://www.microsoft.com/OMS instead where you’ll see a whole new presentation:
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As you see, you can try it for free. However, since I already have an account (xyz@outlook.com) I use the Sign in button. The moment I entered my private e-mail address (based on an outlook.com account) I was redirected to another page since that’s not an official enterprise e-mail account.
Within a minute I had an overview of ‘all’ the OMS workspaces I manage from that account:
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Of course I choose for my HomeLab and now I am asked what Azure subscription I want to link to it. Since I am a MVP Microsoft has given me a Visual Studio Ultimate with MSDN subscription for free (THANK YOU Microsoft) so I link that with my OMS workspace:
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Now I have to provide the correct e-mal address and confirm it:
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The moment I hit the CONFRIM & CONTINUE button, a confirmation mail is sent to that address:
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And indeed, the confirmation e-mail is received and confirmed by me:
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The moment I hit the Confirm Now link in the e-mail a new webpage is opened and soon I see the revamped AOI interface:
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As you can see, there is no trace anymore of AOI. The branding is now Microsoft Operations Management Suite (OMS).
Say goodbye to the Intelligence Packs and hello to ‘Solutions’
One thing always impresses me about Microsoft is the way they push their new services/products. When they’re in that mode, everything is scrutinized and revamped/rebranded in order to fit into the new strategy.
So the name Intelligence Packs had to go as well. Perhaps (at first sight) it’s too techy/geeky?
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Let’s take a deeper look at those Solutions. Perhaps that will tell us a bit more about the WHY behind that name change…
As it turns out some new Solutions are added to the mix as well:
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When you’re into Azure, or at least familiar with it you immediately recognize the yellow high lighted Solutions. These are Azure based services which aren’t ‘new’ but already available for some time now.
And this the MAIN reason why Microsoft has ditched the name Intelligence Packs. Simply because it referred too much to SCOM like service, while Microsoft Operations Management Suite (OMS) is WAY MUCH more.
Where SCOM is solely aimed at monitoring and thus a powerful but yet SINGLE IT operation solution, OMS is a COLLECTION of IT operation solutions! Besides monitoring (or connecting your on-prem SCOM MG to it), it delivers way much more.
Therefore the name Intelligence Packs had to go and replaced by something with a broader scope.
How about a glimpse into the future?
As I see it, OMS will become the place holder where all Azure based services providing one ore more IT operation solutions will be grouped and presented as a whole package where you can activate the solutions you require at that moment.
Since Microsoft is pushing Azure BIG time, it’s to be expected that OMS as we see it today is small compared to the one available in the near future. New solutions will be added where as existing ones will grow in their capabilities.

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