Computerworld reports that Microsoft has released the latest version of its Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) suite of IT management tools, an upgrade that deepens its ability to manage Windows 8 PC deployments.

MDOP 2013, available now via download for the company's Software Assurance licensing program subscribers, boosts the product's BitLocker administration capabilities and group policy management features for Windows 8, Microsoft said on Wednesday.

With the product's previous upgrade, MDOP 1012, released in November of last year, Microsoft introduced Windows 8 support for three of the suite's components: Microsoft User Experience Virtualization (UE-V), Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) 5.0, and Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset (DaRT) 8.0.

  Microsoft extends Windows 8 management features in Desktop Optimization Pack