FIM 2010 and TEC2010

After reading Gil Kirkpatricks analysis of FIM 2010 and what the TEC2010 community what the community want Microsoft to do with the platform, (http://www.theexpertscommunity.com/item/view/id/4410) really interesting to see that customers really just want Microsoft to finish the basics of the platform.
Many customers and partners I talk to now are contemplating FIM 2010 or have it installed in their organisation but like SharePoint it is a blank canvas. My experience with blank canvas products is they don’t go far without significant investment and effort (money and development skills), in addition non-IT buy in can be difficult without a ‘hook’ to the non IT core of a business. This may come from the benefits realised by automating a provisioning process and removing potential for errors occurring in user creation.
If the chosen AD management product is not easy to configure and manage then the advantages are moot, spending money on MCS is not a return on an Identity and Access Management project.
Take a look at Quest Active Roles Server as an Active Directory management tool with real codeless configuration, http://www.quest.com/identity-management/provisioning.aspx