That delay happened because Microsoft had to re-architect Service Manager, notably its configuration management database, to align with System Center Operations Manager 2007 and the next version of Configuration Manager. "You can't manage something without being able to manage service tickets within the products used to mange the infrastructure as a whole," says Nelson Ruest, a noted speaker and co-author of Microsoft Windows Server 2008: The Complete Reference. "And until Microsoft catches up, we can't say that it has the breadth of coverage that is required for an enterprise management infrastructure. And when they do catch up, then we'll have to see how they innovate."

The coming Configuration Manager and Service Manager updates point to the difficulties Microsoft is having integrating its own platform, let alone adding support for Linux and Unix platforms. Those difficulties paint a big picture for the coming years that includes a number of upgrades and integrations for users, a lot of work on technology development and innovation for Microsoft, and efforts to dispel any notions users have about whether Microsoft can build a holistic management system.

"Honestly, this will be an ongoing process," says Steve Brasen, an analyst with Enterprise Management Associates. "The goals they set out initially five years ago are attainable in the next five years. But when you starting talking about unified support for the entire IT infrastructure, that is going to be an ongoing process. New technologies are always being developed. Virtualization is hot now, but in five years the hot technology is going to be something else. And Microsoft will need to be able to grow with that."