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R 5 Key Considerat ions to Successful Applicat ion Virtualizat ion Implementat ionFrom David Davis, IT professional, blogger, speaker, video training author, vExpert, VCP, VCAP-DCA, CCIE, and author of the How-To Guy blog at Virtualizat ion Review

5 Key Considerat ions to Successful Applicat ion Virtualizat ion Implementat ion

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5 Key Considerat ions to Successful Applicat ion Virtualizat ion Implementat ionMost IT administrators have more tasks, projects and problems than they have t ime for in today’s constant ly changing computing environment. And, many of the common solut ions for IT problems are overly complex to implement or painful to maintain. Does that sound all too familiar?

Applicat ion virtualizat ion is an applicat ion deployment solut ion that many organizations are considering or have already started implementing. This white paper will first make the business case for why you need applicat ion virtualizat ion to begin with, then you’ll learn five key considerat ions to ensure that you successfully implement applicat ion virtualizat ion at your company.

Making the Business CaseWhy should applicat ion virtualizat ion be on the list of your crit ical IT projects for the year?

Most companies today struggle with end user applicat ion deployment because they have a react ive, manual approach to preparing applicat ions for deployment and, because they use tradit ional applicat ion deployments which involve installing the applicat ion onto the OS. The biggest single problem with tradit ional methods is that they are difficult to manage. Installing applicat ions, and keeping applicat ions up-to-date on a single desktop or laptop system can be a real challenge. If it’s a challenge on a single desktop, then it can be an overwhelming challenge across hundreds or thousands of desktops in an enterprise.

The problems include:

• Applicat ion conflicts - newer applicat ions are in conflict with older applicat ions, both cannot be installed at

the same t ime, end users cannot test new applicat ions, and applicat ions from different software companies can conflict with one another.

• Significant t ime spent test ing to prevent applicat ion conflicts - in order to prevent end user applicat ion conflicts, an IT administrator can spend significant t ime test ing new applicat ions with exist ing applicat ions to attempt to prevent applicat ion conflicts.

• Delayed applicat ion deployments - due to the required test ing t ime, end users don’t get the applicat ions they need in a t imely manner.

• Downtime due to applicat ions being unavailable - when applicat ion conflicts occur, the involved applicat ions could be unavailable causing significant loss in product ivity for end users and, potent ially, large financial loss for the company.

• Time consuming applicat ion updates - new applicat ions have to be installed causing downtime for end user desktops and loss of product ivity for IT administrators to monitor the queued installat ions across hundreds or thousands of desktops.

• Unproduct ive IT staff - IT staff spends unnecessary t ime working on applicat ion deployment and, instead, that t ime could be spent on IT projects that provide a posit ive return on investment for the company.

• Wasted licenses of applicat ions - because applicat ion deployment is t ime consuming, IT staff typically choose to just deploy all applicat ions on all desktops result ing in wasted applicat ion licenses, and potent ial license compliance issues.

5 Key Considerat ions to Successful Applicat ion Virtualizat ion Implementat ion

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To state it simply, today’s tradit ional method of deploying applicat ions to end user desktops isn’t enough. It’s cost ing you and your company t ime and money. The business case is that your company can no longer afford to be using outdated deployment methods and it’s t ime to consider applicat ion virtualizat ion.

Many of the challenges covered above are solved by today’s applicat ion virtualizat ion technologies. Now, let’s cover 5 key considerat ions that you must take to implement applicat ion virtualizat ion.

#1 Which Applicat ion Virtualizat ion Platform?The top t ier applicat ion virtualizat ion platforms are:

• Microsoft® Applicat ion Virtualizat ion (App-V)

• VMware® ThinApp™

• Citrix® XenApp™

Each of these platforms has its own set of strengths and weaknesses; and a full-fledged comparison is beyond the scope of this white paper. While any of these applicat ion virtualizat ion platforms should offer your company a successful applicat ion virtualizat ion solut ion, you should research and test each of these platforms to select the one that is best for your company’s needs. Free evaluat ion versions of these applicat ion virtualizat ion solut ions are available from their respect ive Websites.

While most companies try to standardize a single applicat ion virtualizat ion platform, there are t imes when mult iple plat forms are required. If this is the case, there are third-party Applicat ion Readiness solut ions you can virtualize applicat ions into any one format, or all three formats at the same t ime, so that you have the flexibility to choose the most appropriate deployment type.

#2 Which Applicat ions Are in Use?Prior to virtualizing your applicat ions, you need to inventory the applicat ions used in your enterprise. As part of this, it is recommended that you determine not only what those applicat ions are, but who uses them, and what licenses have been purchased. Then, with a consolidated list of applicat ions you can begin to determine which applicat ions should be virtualized.

Most applicat ions available today can be virtualized but the old adage ‘just because you can doesn’t mean you should’ holds true. For example, applicat ions that use hardware dongles, device drivers, low level system drivers, or have mult iple applicat ion dependencies can be problematic. There are third-party Applicat ion Readiness solut ions available which can test applicat ions to ensure they will work if converted to virtual applicat ions.

#3 How to Convert?A required part of any applicat ion virtualizat ion solut ion is that you convert your exist ing applicat ions into a virtual

format. For example, once virtualized, Microsoft App-V creates a SFT file, VMware ThinApp creates an EXE, and Citrix XenApp creates a “profile”. If you have used applicat ion virtualizat ion in the past, one of the challenges you may have faced is gett ing your exist ing applicat ion packages converted into virtual applicat ions that work as expected when run.

Convert ing applicat ions on your own can be t ime-consuming and have the potent ial of being unsuccessful if you are taking a “trial and error” approach. Today, this process has gotten easier thanks to a greater number of applicat ions being tested and documented (for example, the ThinApp Community Portal offers 66 applicat ion project files), and third-party Applicat ion Readiness solut ions that automatically convert to virtual formats to reduce the t ime to virtualize your exist ing MSI files and allow you to deploy packages to desktops with greater success.

Factors to consider while convert ing your packages into virtual applicat ions:

• Applicat ion Isolat ion - what operat ing system resources will your applicat ion need once virtualized?

• Applicat ion Linking - what other applicat ions does your applicat ion need to communicate with?

• Applicat ion Deployment - who will be using the applicat ion and what is their network connect ion?

• Applicat ion Upgrade - once deployed, how will this applicat ion be upgraded?

Even with a seemingly successful conversion of your applicat ion to a virtual applicat ion, you’ll need to test the virtual applicat ion on all operat ing systems in use at your company. As part of this test ing, you should take into considerat ion not only that the applicat ion works but that it can be used with other linked applicat ions.

Typically, the process of virtualizing an applicat ion is a two step process broken up into “setup capture” and “build”.In the “setup capture” phase, you install your applicat ion on a clean computer so that your applicat ion virtualizat ion program can compare what changes were made during the installat ion. These changes are then stored in “project files”. Those project files can be edited and tweaked after creat ion.

Then, the project files go through a “build” process where they are turned into a “package”. That package file is the virtualized applicat ion that, once tested, will be deployed in our next step. However, before you deploy it, you’ll need to ensure that you spend t ime test ing it, ensuring there are no conflicts due to shortcuts or file associat ions. There are Applicat ion Readiness solut ions for applicat ion virtualizat ion available that enable you to automatically convert to virtual formats, test, validate and edit virtual applicat ion packages.

5 Key Considerat ions to Successful Applicat ion Virtualizat ion Implementat ion

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#4 How to Deploy and Determine Success?Depending on the applicat ion virtualizat ion platform you selected, the steps to deploy the virtualized applicat ions will vary. To put it simply, the end users just need to “run” the virtualized applicat ions – how you direct them to do that is up to you.

In some cases, deploying virtualized applicat ions is as easy as providing end users access to shortcuts that stream the virtualized applicat ion over a network share. The virtualized applicat ions could also be deployed using tradit ional software deployment solut ions already in use in your company. Or, you could deploy the virtualized applicat ions using Microsoft Windows Active Directory (AD) Group Policy.

As with any project, you need to evaluate your success (or lack of success) to determine if you’ve made the right choices. With applicat ion virtualizat ion, the major success factors are:

• Time saved in a typical applicat ion deployment.

• Time saved by in test ing new applicat ions.

• Time saved when updating applicat ions.

• Cost saved by reducing the number of applicat ion licenses required.

• Applicat ion downtime prevented.

#5 How can I Implement Applicat ion Virtualizat ion Faster?Once you have proven that applicat ion virtualizat ion can be a benefit to you, and to your company, you should consider how you can make the process of preparing and managing applicat ions for virtualizat ion more efficient. For applicat ion virtualizat ion to be truly successful over t ime, you’ll want to minimize the manual effort to convert applicat ions and have a standardized process in place for cont inued management of applicat ions. The process of virtualizing an applicat ion needs to be quick, repeatable and consistent.

The best way to do this is to research and implement an Applicat ion Readiness solut ion for applicat ion virtualizat ion that is designed to automate this process and to manage the applicat ions, once virtualized. Third-party Applicat ion Readiness tools can help you to:

• Quickly determine what applicat ions are suitable for applicat ion virtualizat ion.

• Speed the conversion process.

• Allow you to edit packaged applicat ions with ease.

• Test for conflicts between virtualized applicat ions.

In general, streamline the applicat ion virtualizat ion process.

SummaryApplicat ion virtualizat ion platforms and third-party Applicat ion Readiness solut ions have matured to make virtualizing applicat ions easier than ever before. Tradit ional applicat ion deployment headaches, wasted t ime, and lost revenue can be reduced with today’s applicat ions virtualizat ion solut ions. Enterprises should incorporate the five key considerat ions for applicat ion virtualizat ion listed in this white paper to ensure a successful applicat ion virtualizat ion deployment. Once implemented, enterprises must measure the success, both in saved t ime and reduced cost, of applicat ion virtualizat ion. Addit ionally, enterprises should ensure that there is a consistent and repeatable process around applicat ion virtualizat ion preparat ion and management so that applicat ion virtualizat ion can become a default method of deploying applicat ions. If planned and executed properly, applicat ion virtualizat ion can be one of the best solut ions available to solve one of today’s toughest IT problems.

About the AuthorDavid Davis is an IT professional, blogger, speaker, video training author, vExpert, VCP, VCAP-DCA, CCIE, and author of the How-To Guy blog at Virtualizat ion Review.

About Flexera SoftwareFlexera Software is the leading provider of strategic solut ions for Applicat ion Usage Management; solut ions delivering cont inuous compliance, optimized usage and maximized value to applicat ion producers and their customers. Flexera Software is trusted by more than 80,000 customers that depend on our comprehensive solut ions- from installat ion and licensing, ent it lement and compliance management to applicat ion readiness and enterprise license optimization - to strategically manage applicat ion usage and achieve breakthrough results realized only through the systems-level approach we provide. For more information, please go to: www.flexerasoftware.com

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