Today Prowess introduces a host-to-guest conversion solution that revolutionizes the way organizations upgrade computer operating systems. New Prowess SmartDeploy™ automatically changes a running physical computer into a virtual machine, while simultaneously upgrading the physical computer to a new operating system like Windows Vista. SmartDeploy then runs the new virtual machine as a guest on the newly upgraded host computer.

With this functionality, SmartDeploy allows organizations to migrate to new operating systems like Windows Vista, while continuing to maintain previous versions of Windows running as virtual machines. This removes a major obstacle faced by organizations that would like to take advantage of the latest features offered by Windows Vista, but need to maintain previous versions of Windows until they can properly test and migrate their applications. SmartDeploy will be featured at Prowess’ booth #1301 during VMworld at the Moscone Convention Center, September 11-13, 2007.

“SmartDeploy is unique in the marketplace,” says Aaron Suzuki, Founder and Principal of Prowess, “in that it gives organizations the freedom to upgrade to newer operating systems without interfering with business requirements that demand ongoing use of legacy operating systems. It helps organizations attempting to improve corporate standards on information security and worker mobility.”

SmartDeploy allows administrators to automate conversions over any connection, and allows the physical computer to be upgraded to other versions of Windows. Furthermore, administrators have the freedom to configure SmartDeploy to create the resulting virtual machine in popular formats, such as Microsoft Virtual PC and VMware Workstation.

“Our developers come from enterprise deployment backgrounds, and have spent their careers dealing with these problems. We know first-hand the challenges organizations face in implementing a migration strategy,” says Don Noonan, Prowess Software Architect. “By combining a simplified upgrade path with advanced automation tools and remote execution, SmartDeploy gives organizations an extremely powerful yet simple migration tool.”

The host-to-guest conversion functionality will be available as part of SmartDeploy Enterprise, which will be released in beta form starting in October with general release to follow later in Q4. For more information, visit www.smartdeploy.com.