Application Readiness

Integrating Application Virtualization into your Existing Application Packaging Process

Flexera Software — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:20:09 -0500

by Randy Littleson

According to Gartner, application virtualization is an application packaging and deployment technology that isolates applications from each other and limits the degree to which they interact with the underlying OS. Application virtualization provides an alternative to traditional packaging and installation technologies.

Application virtualization has the potential to decrease the time it takes to deploy applications by reducing application packaging complexity and scope for application conflicts typically experienced when using traditional packaging approaches (e.g., MSI). Cost savings comprise the main benefit of application virtualization in the form of faster application packaging, less regression testing, reduced help desk calls and increased standardization.

Given that application virtualization represents an alternative approach to application packaging and deployment, it stands to reason that you would benefit from integrating this into your existing application packaging process. Specifically, such a process should include steps to:

Identify—the first step requires obtaining an accurate view of the applications that are deployed across the organization. This is a good time to look at the application inventory and take stock of what is actually being used, as opposed to what is deployed. When organizations undertake a major migration like Windows 7 or 8 - every app they port to that new environment requires time and effort - and therefore costs the company. Likewise, the same applies to application virtualization. Reducing the number of applications that must be migrated, and the cost per migrated application is an important goal. So, companies are wise to inventory their applications and understand their use.

Rationalize—once inventory is complete, IT should verify the need to continue to support the applications or to consolidate applications to a reduced number of products and versions, excluding from the migration process those that are not used. This will not only save time and cost around the migration, but it will enable the company to reduce wasted IT spend on application licenses that are not being used.

Assess Compatibility—an essential step in any migration is an assessment of application suitability, as not all applications owned will work in the desired new environment. Without automation, it’s difficult to quickly know which applications will have compatibility issues, and thus which will require additional time to migrate. If you’re virtualizing applications and considering rolling out Windows 7 or 8 applications as part of a larger VDI initiative, compatibility assessment must extend past simple application compatibility. It must also include an assessment of end user-compatibility. IT must have a high level of confidence that the user will have a good experience with the virtualized Windows app in the new operating system; otherwise the virtualized deployment will fail. To do so, organizations must collect in-depth information on each user’s application usage such as CPU performance, online/offline access, input/output and memory utilization, to reveal virtualization suitability and the complexity of virtualizing that application. From there, IT should generate a suitability assessment, ranking devices and users based on virtualization suitability into low-, medium- and high-complexity groups based on usage patterns and environmental conditions. Only those users assessed to have a high level of suitability should be deployed on the virtualized Windows 7 or 8 applications.

Plan - the work completed in the Rationalize and Assess Compatibility phases arms IT management with a list of rationalized applications and the details of compatibility issues that need to be addressed. With this information IT will have a clear view of the magnitude of the project enabling them to accurately calculate costs and duration timeframes.

Fix and package - as organizations prepare to deploy in the new environments they will need to convert applications to the required format. Application fixing and format conversion can be a time-consuming, manual process, so utilizing technology to automate this and leverage investment in packaged applications can yield considerable savings, and ensure a consistent approach to Application Readiness.

Deploy - now IT can hand off the packaged virtualized applications to the deployment system for delivery to end users. To further cut costs, create efficiencies and deliver a better user experience, more organizations are looking to create App Portals for self-service - giving users an iTunes-like enterprise App Store to access approved applications. If the App Portal is linked to an Application Readiness solution, the process for populating the storefront with packaged applications, and making them available to users with requisite access rights can be simple. Moreover, if the App Portal is tied on the back end to an Enterprise License Optimization system, IT can create a seamless App Store experience for end users while still maintaining continual software compliance, financial accountability and control.

Note that this is the same process used to support traditional MSI applications. While application virtualization introduces a new way to package and deploy, there are significant synergies to be realized—ease of training, process consistency, accuracy of results, etc.—from putting all applications through a standard application readiness process, regardless of the end format into which they will be packaged. Process consistency ensures that every application goes through the same rigor and steps to prepare it for successful deployment.

What continues to impede widespread adoption is that application virtualization cannot be used for 100% of applications, and may never work with many legacy applications, especially those developed in-house. The key is figuring out which ones can and can’t be virtualized. This reality places a premium on a standardized process that assesses each application for suitability to be virtualized and then implements an appropriate packaging strategy based on that assessment.

Application virtualization is not a panacea. But, with the right application readiness process supported by the right tools, organizations can leverage application virtualization to efficiently deliver applications and reduce help desk calls.

For additional information, read the white paper “Six Steps to Continuous Application Readiness.”

Symantec Vision 2012 – The Information-Driven World is Rapidly Changing

Flexera Software — Mon, 14 May 2012 11:56:21 -0500

by Toby Martin

Having just returned from the Symantec Vision Show in Las Vegas, I wanted to share some commentary that I gathered while at the event. As the threat landscape evolves and end-users are rapidly adopting new technologies, Vision 2012 provided some insights about where things are headed:

The partnership between Symantec and VMware was spoken of often, and fondly, by the Symantec team, their partners, and end users who are intrigued to see where this is going. Reaching into the Hypervisor from within the Symantec Suite definitely opens up many possibilities and should make this very interesting to watch as it evolves.

According to Forrester, expect 200 Million mobile devices in corporate environments by 2016, and the growth will be even faster in the amount of data housed. Cross-platform support has won over most of the major players and is especially strong for iOS. Several apps and versions coming this year are supporting iOS first, before Android or Windows mobile. Of the multiple demos I got to see − mostly on Apple devices − I found the separation of application access from data the most interesting. This is being done with forced authentication and inter-application security policies blocking sharing of data amongst un-secured devices.

Another common theme was persistent vs. non-persistent environments, and all that they entail. It appears that demand for persistent environments is increasing as a result of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD). The Generation X & Y users don’t even look for security policies, they just bring in their devices and hook them up, so you’d best secure the data because it’s already too late to secure the devices.

The ‘Cloud’ was pervasive with many thought leadership and cloud sessions positing that in 2-3 years there won’t be sessions on the cloud, but instead it will be everywhere in nearly all the sessions. The mindset is changing from ‘security and compliance tools FROM the cloud, to security and compliance tools FOR the cloud.’ Much of the discussion about the cloud centered on the emerging threat landscape and the fact that attacks done with applications are not only targeting enterprise or government. As a result, endpoint protection on virtual desktops is increasing in importance to abate the ever-growing risk.

Symantec recognized that they have several portals and they committed to working on unifying them, which is good news for users. While they do provide a means of interacting through APIs and the like, it is still incumbent upon the end user to get this to work. Some developments are:

- Nukona acquisition (2Q11) will be moving in the direction of single-sign on for application access

- Regardless of the device on which the user logs in, persistent security settings will follow, thereby achieving the dream of managing BYOD from anywhere, anytime

So to sum up, the pervasiveness of the cloud and associated services required to secure delivery via the cloud and via mobile devices was top of mind and topic and is the direction we will see Symantec continue to invest.

New Application Metadata – Enhancing App Management

Flexera Software — Mon, 07 May 2012 09:38:16 -0500

by Steve Schmidt

As applications have been prepared for deployment in organizations, there has often been value in adding externally generated data to the package to aid in the use and management of the application. Some of these data elements have been associated with technical components, such as a list of file dependencies. Others have been more administrative, such as the target department, date of preparation, identification of the packager and/or tester, contact information of the support staff, etc.

Additional types of metadata appear to be increasing in interest and value. A selection of recent examples includes:

Deployment preferences – At the Microsoft Management Summit in April, Bill Anderson’s “state of the union” on System Center 2012 Configuration Manager included a discussion of the new Application Model. This model includes information about the best available application delivery option for various user groups, and can be leveraged by System Center at time of application deployment.

User settings – Microsoft’s announcement of User Experience Virtualization (UE-V) is one of the most recent examples of a way to include user-specific application profile setting to an application. The data is stored in an XML file that accompanies the application, and provides users with a common application experience even when they login across different devices.

Financial and Licensing information – In enterprise app stores, which are becoming increasingly popular, data about the cost of the application is often presented to interested users in order to help them understand the budgetary impact to the organization. Likewise, the number of licenses available can be included, and used to conditionally allocate new instances of the application and/or trigger approval or procurement processes.

Identification tags – Even the basic idea of self-identification of the application is evolving. The ISO- 19770 standard defines a way to identify applications using XML data included with the application package. This promises to help organizations quickly and accurately identify applications, enhancing support and compliance initiatives. Microsoft has recently announced additional support for this standard.

All of these data elements are intended to make the application set more manageable within the enterprise. To make the best use of such data, guidelines should be set within the organization about when and how it is applied. To facilitate consistency and to streamline the process, templates can be built and applied via tools that automate the application readiness process.

Reference Links:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh925141.aspx

Microsoft tag support announced

For VDI to be viable, you need a plan based on facts

Flexera Software — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 09:58:44 -0500

By Randy Littleson

I read an interesting article entitled “Is VDI Still Viable?” today. It does a really nice job of broadly looking at the topic of virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) from every angle. It looks at the cost implications and ROI, security, performance, management, user experience, etc. And, it includes insights from both vendors and end customers – some of which have struggled to make it work and others who have successes they can point to.

The article also cites leading industry analyst firm Gartner and includes their perspective on where the acceptance of VDI is, including the fact that Gartner indicates that the VDI penetration rate is currently at about 2 percent of the enterprise desktop space, a number Gartner expects to reach 10 percent by 2014. So, despite the challenges, Gartner definitely sees material growth and acceptance on the horizon.

This mirrors what we’ve been seeing as well. Getting VDI right the first time is a tricky proposition. There are a lot of variables involved and, unlike some initiatives, this isn’t just about IT. A move to VDI can have a significant impact on the users. All of this points to a critical need to have a fact-based plan developed before embarking on a VDI project. Such a plan would be built upon real data on how your users, app and computers interact with each other. Solutions such as Flexera Software’s AdminStudio Virtual Desktop Assessment monitor the behavior of computers, users and applications and provide full visibility into your desktop environment to help you plan more effectively, minimize risk and reduce user-centric computing and desktop virtualization costs.

Any VDI project should start with a pilot first, but in order to ensure a successful pilot, you need to have a fact-based plan that helps you understand behaviors, select the right technologies and determine who is and is not a good candidate for VDI in the first place. As the article accurately lays out, there are a lot of factors to consider, so having as many facts at your disposal to base your planning on is a must.

Observations from the Microsoft Management Summit (MMS)

Flexera Software — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 09:10:16 -0500

by Toby Martin

It was a great week with some excellent sessions; here are some of my observations:

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is creating more security related work for the IT workforce
- Good idea on the difference between governed and managed devices, quadrant resonates with everyone because you cannot manage mobile devices in the traditional manner
- New roles, scopes and permissions are becoming more granular as the mobile workforce and IT collide over securing data
Still major worry about licensing for mobile and cloud delivery
- Microsoft will be simplifying their license models, per several sessions and discussions, which is good news for complex user environments
- Licensing in the cloud is a big gap, and it’s yet to be figured out
System Center Orchestrator has made leaps and bounds forward
- Run book automation (RBA) discussions were overheard several times, as was the idea of workflow templates
- In addition to the app model, System Center 2012 Orchestrator was featured prominently in several sessions and many discussions on the floor and in the hallways
- The need to plug into workflow models will drive new innovations in connectivity with platforms
Start thinking of Microsoft as a platform and your survival will depend on your innovations
- Take more control of your own destiny by using the tools they provide to leverage the System Center platform
Flexible worker and lifestyles have huge requirements in new infrastructure and management
- System Center 2012 Configuration Manager (CM) deploying to iOS is a pretty amazing recognition of reality – Microsoft is now less anti-iOS than previously thought (despite having their own competing platform)
- Bold move by Microsoft to remove BYOD issue
Cloud reality sinking in – the hybrid will be here for a long, long time
- Progress in Azure, Intune, and other cloud platforms all make it clear that Microsoft is investing massively there – and correctly
Structure of cloud not nearly as important as the delivery of services

System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) will become a big continue to erode the leadership position of other virtualization vendors
- They’re advancing the server management capabilities at a rapid pace

Win8 was not as much a focal point – Microsoft spent more time talking about business objectives to be solved rather than the O/S

This is going to be a busy year for keeping up with all of the releases coming up from Microsoft

Next year – New Orleans, Laissez les bons temps rouler in June!

Getting user-centric computing and virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) right the first time

Flexera Software — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 10:36:10 -0500

by Randy Littleson

It seems everywhere you turn, IT people are talking about the move towards user-centric computing and desktop virtualization. These are the latest trends impacting IT and the potential benefits and implications are significant. They promise highly efficient desktop management, improved resource utilization, stronger security, greater protection of user data and substantially lower desktop costs.

Unfortunately, many desktop virtualization projects to date have either stalled or flat out failed. Why is that? It’s most commonly because IT lacks visibility into how users and desktop applications consume resources such as network bandwidth, storage, CPU and memory. Getting user-centric computing and desktop virtualization projects right requires a detailed understanding of how these factors interact with each other so that the appropriate planning, design and implementation can be completed to ensure the project is successful. Without this insight, the migration to virtual desktops is time consuming, disruptive and risky.

Flexera Software has long been a leader in powering an enterprises’ Application Readiness process – a process that ensures that applications are successfully deployed and delivering the business value they were intended to provide. Today, Flexera Software has introduced the latest capability in our Application Readiness solution set – a Virtual Desktop Assessment solution to help IT deliver successful user-centric computing and desktop virtualization projects.

AdminStudio Virtual Desktop Assessment monitors key system behaviors of computers, users and applications, capturing and summarizing detailed data that helps gauge virtualization suitability. It’s a vendor-agnostic solution that helps you make informed decisions and enhance your virtualization strategy, whether that strategy includes Microsoft App-V™, VMware® ThinApp™ or Citrix® XenApp™.

To learn more, you can read the press release: Flexera Software Announces New AdminStudio Virtual Desktop Assessment Tool for Planning Migrations to User-Centric Computing and Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

Virtualization Reality Check

Flexera Software — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 13:50:54 -0500

by Toby Martin

I recently read an interesting whitepaper titled Advancing Virtualization Investments to the Next Level By Mark Bowker, Senior Analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group. The paper highlights how everyone is constantly hearing about virtualization, which makes everyone feel like they are falling behind, however, the author did a good job of pointing out two-thirds of organizations with virtual server implementations have less than three years of experience with the technology, and only 16% have had it deployed for more than five years. In addition, while some degree of server virtualization is becoming ubiquitous, slightly more than half of the organizations surveyed have virtualized less than one-third of their potential server target and 59% of survey respondents have not virtualized any mission-critical applications. Also interesting is the idea that virtualization helps reduce CapEx (hardware, server floor space in data centers, etc.) costs by spending OpEx (virtualization software) is a great pivot and an excellent way to leverage investments many people have already made, or are in the process of making. Lastly, an often overlooked benefit of virtualization is security of data and disaster recovery. Most people think of the benefits only in hard costs but these are often much more expensive than people account for. Check out the paper at Advancing Virtualization Investments to the Next Level.

6 Key Insights About New Disruptive Technology

Flexera Software — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 11:52:48 -0600

by Randy Littleson

Just read an interesting article entitled “How are CIOs looking at today’s disruptive tech trends?” that summarizes a recent roundtable on digital strategies featuring the CIOs from American Express, Bechtel, Chevron, Eastman Chemical, Eaton Corporation, the Hilti Group, Holcim, Nestle, Sysco, and Time Warner Cable.

It’s an interesting look into the challenges these CIOs face as a result of the major disruptive technologies that are getting so much press these days (mobility, social media, consumerization, cloud and big data). The article details 6 key insights about new disruptive technology that I think are insightful for anyone in IT (there’s a link to a 17 page report within the article as well).

One of the six insights really caught my eye: “Designing for loss of control” is one of IT’s key challenges. In essence, it acknowledges that IT can’t keep up, but is still going to be held accountable for security, reliability and performance. I would add spend management to this as well. This is very true and matches what we see every day around applications.

IT is being asked to deliver applications faster to their business users, cope with rapidly changing access requirements (e.g., the same app accessible on a laptop and an iPad) while trying to leverage new technologies (e.g., cloud, virtualization) to meet these needs and save money. Most organizations don’t have mature application readiness processes because in a more static world, it just wasn’t the priority. But, in today’s rapidly changing, heterogeneous and increasingly complex environment, they need to establish a robust process to automate and manage application migrations and on-going operations to accelerate Windows application availability for on-premises, virtual or cloud deployments. This process needs to automate and manage compatibility assessment, application packaging and deployment, which now excludes the expectation of applications being virtualized, deployed in the cloud and accessible to employees via a self-service enterprise app store.

In addition, given the strategic importance and aggregate spend of applications, IT must establish processes for software asset management and license optimization to ensure they are buying what they need and using what they bought. But this too is becoming increasingly difficult with the influx of new technologies such as virtualization and bursting to the cloud which makes tracking and understanding application usage that much more challenging. Processes need to be established to continuously ensure usage is in compliance with software license agreements and to provide the organization the insights they need to manage how many software licenses are required based on actual usage on a global basis.

IT will continue to be held accountable for ensuring software license compliance and driving increased application usage despite the disruptions that all of this external technology change represents. Establishing business processes to manage application readiness, software asset management and license optimization can go a long way to helping IT “design for loss of control” by ensuring that continuous processes are in place to strategically manage application usage.

Flexera Software Acquires SCCM Expert

Flexera Software — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:33:53 -0600

by Randy Littleson

We are pleased to announce that Flexera Software has completed the acquisition of SCCM Expert. We are extremely excited to be adding SCCM Expert's employees, products, partners and customers to the Flexera Software team. This is a very good fit for both organizations and we believe great news for our customers.

SCCM Expert is a Microsoft Gold Partner and founding member of the Microsoft System Center Alliance. SCCM Expert markets leading edge, customizable and affordable software solutions that maximize the capability of Microsoft's systems management technology, streamline operations, save time and reduce costs associated with managing enterprise-wide systems and software. From global corporations to schools and U.S. Government agencies, SCCM Expert offers the software and expertise to help any organization realize the long-term efficiencies and cost savings associated with automating routine IT processes. SCCM Expert also works with a network of partners, including software resellers and IT consultants, who recommend products, service and expertise to their own clients.

SCCM Expert's Self Service empowers employees with on-demand software provisioning through an enterprise app store, helping companies automate software request management and delivery. Flexera Software sees Self Service as a strategic addition that complements our Application Readiness and Enterprise License Optimization solutions. Together, these solutions offer the promise of providing IT complete visibility into their software assets and tracking them from initial purchase to software audit compliance. Flexera Software delivers strategic solutions to manage application usage across the application life cycle and Self Service helps broaden that vision.

We're very excited to be adding Self Service to our growing set of Application Usage Management solutions for enterprises.

You can read the press release here or watch a video discussing the acquisition here.

Getting Started with User Centric Computing

Flexera Software — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:20:54 -0600

by Toby Martin

Today’s organizations are facing a new workforce, one that uses computing devices in all parts of life, not just work. These new users expect access to what they need to do their jobs, regardless of location or device used. Computing devices are no longer just company-provided PCs as the proliferation of user-owned computers, smartphones, tablets, and thin-client devices continues to add to the picture. In order to address user expectations and reduce management costs, organizations are evaluating or implementing user-centric initiatives enabling a model that removes the dependency of traditional desktop computing management. The idea of user-centric computing is not new, but the ability of IT departments to implement and provide user-centric computing to the general workforce is just becoming a reality.

Supporting User-Centric Computing

At its core, user-centric computing gives users control of their computing experience, providing them with access to any combination of computing environments, applications, settings, and data from any location or device. User-centric solutions provide the user with pieces of the computing environment (desktop, applications, data, and settings) on demand, where only the required resources are delivered based on the user’s device and location. When working from a company managed Windows PC, users can request applications that are delivered directly to their desktop. When using a non-Windows tablet device, the request for an application initiates a session-based connection to an appropriate server-based computing environment that already has the applications installed. In both scenarios, the user is not required or expected to supply the device type or location of the request.

User-centric computing requires more than just targeting users for resource delivery. The first step is to define the resources that require management. Applications, user data and settings, and computing environment are resources that must be managed in order to complete the solution. Applications, and the definition of applications, have changed over time. Today, applications are not only Windows® Installer (MSI) and executable-based installers, but also include application virtualization, session, mobile, and cloud-based.

Administrators must be able to support applications from many different vendors in various formats and produce resources in multiple formats supporting different user devices. User data and settings must roam to the appropriate endpoints to enable application usefulness. The last resource for user-centric computing is the computing environment, since most applications are built for delivery to Windows-based desktops. In scenarios where users are connecting from non-Windows-based devices, a Windows based computing environment from a session-based or Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is required.

Next, user-centric computing solutions must orchestrate the delivery of the appropriate resources to users based on their location and their connecting device. User-centric models require delivery of the resources to traditional desktops, sessions, and VDI with logic that can identify the requesting user, location, and device type. Users working from home access a secure webpage that displays their accessible applications. On request, the self-service portal identifies the user’s location, device type, as well as any dependencies, and routes them to an appropriate delivery mechanism. If the user is accessing the application from a company owned laptop, the application can be delivered as a traditional installation or streamed as a virtual application with the appropriate data and settings. However, if the user is accessing from a home computer, a session or VDI based connection is initiated with the same application, user data, and settings applied on the delivery technology.

In a typical organization, management of a user-centric solution spans many IT technologies, thus the consolidation of management tasks and tools is critical for success. The starting point for user-centric computing is application readiness, as applications must be packaged in formats that support all of the delivery mechanisms, device types, users, and locations. Therefore, application readiness presents a limiting factor for adoption of new technologies like session, VDI, and Microsoft System Center 2012 Configuration Manager in user-centric computing.

Conclusion

Organizations are increasingly supporting employees’ desires to utilize additional types of non-managed devices. Supporting these additional devices and environments requires IT to change their approach to desktop computing, with processes and procedures that support user-centric computing. Supporting this new model of computing requires application delivery solutions that optimize the delivery of applications for users on multiple and different types of devices that access resources from any location.