ConfigMgr 2007 R3 is here!

Sooner then expected, but even a long wait: ConfigMgr 2007 R3 is here! This will be probably the last release for ConfigMgr 2007, because the next release is now available in beta. Which improvements will R3 bring to us, and is it worth it for installing the update? The answer is Yes, because there are some cool things in this release. Below is a quick summary of what’s new with R3:
  

Centralized Power Management
Configuration Manager R3 lets IT organizations centrally manage the power settings of Windows 7, Vista and XP computers, helping reduce energy consumption and costs. You can plan and apply a power management policy for high and low PC usage periods, monitor user activity to avoid any productivity interruptions and correct non-compliance. Detailed reports of trends and settings help you make smart power management choices, and also validate Green IT projects with summaries of power, money and CO2 savings.

Mobile Device Management
Configuration Manager R3 includes licenses for the popular System Center Mobile Device Manager, so you can run comprehensive asset inventories, deploy software, manage settings and enforce password policies for Windows phones.

Enhanced Scalability and Performance
Configuration Manager R3 is more scalable than ever, increasing the number of supported clients to 300,000 per site. R3 is also more efficient in the way it communicates with Active Directory, helping you discover user or machine changes more quickly and allowing custom queries to define user, system or group attributes.

Finally, it is worth noting that, just like Configuration Manager R2, R3 will be the foundation for the upcoming Forefront Endpoint Protection 2010. By bringing endpoint security into overall endpoint management, you can reduce costs and inefficiencies, and also improve security and compliance.

Especially the Power Management integration, and communication with Active Directory (which will be must faster), are useful functionality. Also the right-click tools are not necessary anymore for putting clients in a collection. This because R3 has this functionality build-in now. Right-click on a collection you want to manage and there is a new option available, "Add Resource". It is also possible to right-click a resource like a computer and use “Manage Collection Membership” to add it to a collection. Really useful!