HISTORY OF THE UIU
Creation of the UIU began in late 2003 based on the needs of the
participants in our Symantec Ghost courses. The most common
question our instructors heard was, "How can I create a single
image that works on all my PCs?" Unfortunately, the only method at
the time was to use Microsoft's Sysprep application coupled with a
tremendous amount of time and effort. In an effort to include all
their hardware components, we had customers whose Sysprep answer
files exceeded 30 pages. There had to be a better way.
The first version of the Universal Imaging Utility was released
in early 2004. With the addition of Binary Research International
(the people who brought you Ghost) as the distributor of the UIU,
an exciting buzz developed quickly. In late 2004, one of the
original Ghost developers was added to the team, and UIU 2.0 was
released in April 2005. Version 2.0 included options and features
our customers requested, and improved the efficiency and
functionality tremendously.
Version 3.0 of the UIU was released in July, 2006, and included an
improved method for storing and downloading drivers, as well as a
whole new user interface. As part of our dedication to our
customers and the Universal Imaging Utility, both our development
and support teams grew again as the UIU customer base continued to
expand across the globe.
UIU Version 3.5, released in July, 2007, included Vista
compatibility as well as improved integration of High Definition
Audio devices.
Version 4.0 was released in January, 2009 with significant
upgrades. A pre-deployment Discovery Tool and advanced MIMIC now
allow our customers to more accurately assess the specifics of
their environment increasing the efficiency of the UIU deployment
process. Also, a new GUI was created for easier, more navigable
interaction. In addition, it is now possible to select only the
drivers necessary for each specific platform, reducing download
time.
Version 4.5 was released in December of 2009 with full
compatibility with Windows 7 as well as full support for Mac
Intel-based hardware. Additional new features also included an
enhance unsigned drivers signing capability, new OS agnostic UIU
Discovery Tool which is able to scan all existing hardware to
determine applicable drivers for appropriate OSs, particularly to
aid in migration to Windows 7.
Version 4.6 was released in June 2010 with full support and
compatibility for Windows 7 64-bit. With organizations holding off
on hardware upgrades until they migrated to Windows 7, the
timeliness of this release will aid in making the change to Win 7
and 64-bit even easier. Clients can create a new Win 7 64-bit image
that will work on every 64-bit ready machine in their environment
in only 10 minutes.
Version 4.6 continues to make the time and effort spent
deploying images more efficient and cost-effective.
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HISTORY OF BIG BANG LLC
Big Bang LLC got its start as a small consulting company called
ACM Consulting in 1998. It quickly grew into Big Bang Training, and
eventually, Big Bang LLC. The early roots of the company included
ISO 9000 quality systems training and consulting as well as
application development for small businesses. In 2001, ACM
Consulting contracted with Binary Research Int'l (BRI) to provide
Symantec Ghost training and consulting to the customers of BRI, and
through BRI, customers of Symantec.
In 2002, Ghost training and consulting became the primary focus
of ACM Consulting. Independent development of courseware followed
shortly thereafter with a subsequent name change to Big Bang
Training. In 2004, the "Training" was dropped from the name as the
Universal Imaging Utility was released, and Big Bang LLC became
both a training/consulting company as well as a software
development company.
Also in 2004, the relationship with Binary Research
International expanded, as BRI was granted exclusive world-wide
distribution rights to the UIU. That relationship continued to grow
in 2005 as BRI took over sales for Big Bang LLC, including the
Symantec Ghost training and consulting side of the business,
allowing Big Bang to focus solely on development, support and
training.
Visit Big Bang LLC online for more information at bigbangllc.com