AI and AIS are two completely separate products
Thanks to Dan Boldo at Microsoft for this clarification, and Todd Hemsell for tracking it down.
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AI and AIS are two completely separate products.
AI – An integral feature set of Configuration Manager, that appears as a node of the SCCM admin UI. AI is built into Configuration Manager and does not cost any additional money or have any additional requirements. You will be able to get occasional bulks updates from Microsoft, as they did for SMS 2003 SP3 (current planned frequency is every 6 months). These will not be pushed down to you, but rather you would need to go to Microsoft site and download a large MSI package (like a service pack).
AI Plus - AI Also has an additional “feature” for Software Assurance customers, the Sync Point ‘connector’ to System Center Online. If you are an SA customer you need to contact your TAM or sales person and get a cert.pfx from Microsoft. Once you get the certificate, you’ll be able to deploy the sync role and get automatic downloads of catalog updates from Microsoft. Current planned update frequency is about 2 weeks. You ALSO have the ability to submit titles to Microsoft and have them researched.
AIS – an online service with an individual agent that is deployed by an MSI package and connects to an online website via the web agent. First you deploy a msi file (program) to all of your machines. Then the machines send information directly to Microsoft. It is a 100% online resource. You go to web site and run reports. It is 100% online service. It has nothing to do with SCCM. This is for smaller customers that do not deploy Configuration Manager.
Large Enterprises would not want to use this service because they would not want all of their machines uploading inventory to Microsoft across the WAN, or deploy another agent.
AI and AIS have nothing to do with each other except for one small detail, ultimately they are both based on the same “catalog” of information. The actual products have Nothing to do with each other. You can read more about this in this Forum post http://forums.microsoft.com/TechNet/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=3397518&SiteID=17
Also...
http://forums.microsoft.com/TechNet/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=3411685&SiteID=17