Organizations today are in various stages of rolling out Windows 7, but no matter which stage they're in App-DNA™ technical resources often hear the same kinds of questions. You would expect questions like: Will my applications work when running on Windows 7? If there are application compatibility issues, can it be fixed and how do I implement that fix?

AppTitude solves these problems by providing application owners with detailed compatibility information about an application in just minutes. This core value alone accelerates Windows 7 deployments, reduces costs and eliminates risk by shining a light on the internals of every single application in an enterprise portfolio -- without having to manually test each and every one of the applications. This blog post isn't necessarily about manual testing for Windows 7 versus static analysis, but if you want to learn more about how AppTitude answers those questions, click here.

When working with App-DNA customers implementing the AppTitude application compatibility platform, another question that always bubbles up is *should* I fix an application or is it more cost-effective to replace or retire it? Whenever I get asked this question, the answer is always the same: “It depends.” This is a business decision that involves several parameters:

• What is the value of the application to the organization?
• Is the application expected to have a long remaining lifespan?
• Can the defects in the application even be fixed?
• For commercial applications, does the vendor have a Windows 7 compatible version?
• How much does it cost to upgrade to that compatible version and how does that cost compare to the cost of remediating and testing the existing version of your application?

AppTitude provides application intelligence to drive these business decisions. Generating this application intelligence manually without AppTitude would be a tedious, manual process that would require enterprise IT organizations to essentially incur the costs of trying to remediate a problem application in order to even determine if remediation is a cost effective solution. In basic terms, fix something to determine if you even want to keep it.  The reporting architecture in AppTitude provides intelligence to make these decisions at your fingertips. The most important reports for driving these decisions are AppTitude Action reports. AppTitude action reports give targeted information about which applications have defects, what those defects are, how they can be remediated, and the cost of implementing those remediations.  This information is invaluable in making a decision to remediate, upgrade, redevelop, mitigate or retire an application.

 Below is a very basic flow to highlight the kinds of decisions you have to make and where Application Intelligence is necessary to drive those decisions. The blue shapes are processes, decisions and data points driven entirely by AppTitude Application Intelligence. The  orange shapes represent decisions factoring in business specific data with Application Intelligence.  The green shapes represent processes that are optimized and streamlined.

The success of an application compatibility project is not measured just on moving the organization to Windows 7, but also in doing so in a cost effective and timely way.   Application Intelligence drives these cost decisions earlier in the project lifecycle where they can make a difference. AppTitude generates this Application Intelligence in just minutes per application.

Enterprises are off and running with Windows 7, App-V, XenApp and optimized desktop projects. The challenge comes in determining what applications to migrate, managing applications, application testing and application compatibility. Next week’s Microsoft World Partner Conference has an amazing track educating Microsoft partners on how to best help enterprises accelerate their move to Windows 7, as well as Internet Explorer 8, App-V and all of the related technologies.

What if Microsoft partners were given the opportunity to partner with App-DNA and, for no cost, access the award winning AppTitude™ application testing and application remediation platform to deliver to Proof of Concepts (POC)? What if it only took three days to assess application remediation issues?

App-DNA has a fantastic program that already exists today, called Launchpad and will provide a crystal clear view of an enterprise’s application estate.  This in turn will help systems integrators and service providers deliver the business case to move more quickly to the optimized desktop.  Partners will find more successful projects by gaining a truer understanding of what the enterprise application estate looks like, and better assessing the level of effort needed to properly give an accurate bid for the project. Customers and partners are more satisfied from a clear view of the project, an accurate price quote and a realistic timeline based on facts rather than “gut feel.”

App-DNA Launchpad is a quick-start application compatibility discovery program that brings together four high-value components:

EstateView™ - provides an instant portfolio readiness report on up to 1000 apps

EffortCalculator™ - details project scope and scale by using real metrics to calculate costs, duration and resource needs

CoreSample™ - assessment reports on 50 apps with full reports on 10 selected MSI apps with a deep ‘drill down’ on over 68,000 data points per app in 11 areas

What it means for Microsoft partner’s customers:

See exactly how ready a customer’s app estate is to migrate

Calculate what the migration proposal will cost and how long it will take

Guide resourcing decisions

Build an informed migration strategy – meet more deadlines

Interested in learning more about App-DNA Launchpad for Microsoft partners?  Drop us a line at info@app-dna.com to set up a time to talk at WPC next week or after the conference.

Microsoft announced at TechEd North America that Windows 7 SP1 beta would be released this month. IT groups everywhere are analyzing Windows 7 budgets, many of them giving quarter-end updates this week to let management know the status of the Windows 7, 64x and related application virtualization projects.  Much like the 10 p.m. news used to open with “It’s 10 p.m., do you know where your children are?” many CIOs are asking, “It’s July 1, do we know where our Windows 7 project is?”

One of the challenges IT teams face is how to determine the budget around application compatibility.  In a recent conversation, an industry leader told App-DNA™ that managing app migration from Windows XP to Windows 7 will be the single most expensive component of migration projects. Many articles and blogs have speculated hardware would be a big cost center, but many people underestimate the impact—and cost—of managing application migration and application compatibility for the Windows 7 project.

Get a handle on the reality of what’s needed for application testing and application compatibility – and the potential costs – with a free and straightforward Application Migration Workbook. App-DNA gathered insight from Fortune 500 and FTSE 100 customers, industry partners like Microsoft and Citrix, as well as systems integrator partners. The result is a resource guide complete with worksheets to help estimate the cost of manual testing vs. automation, the math on application churn, and the ROI on a day-to-day app management process.  Download the free ebook at http://app-dna.cambuilder.cw.com/Resources/eBooks/App-DNA-Migration-Workbook.aspx

Have your Windows 7 timeline figured out, but not enough pages left on the calendar this year? Check out how static analysis can speed the testing and remediation cycles of your project.

Comments? Questions? Worried about your timeline? Drop a line to info@app-dna.com or on Twitter @appdna – we’re happy to share insight to help you keep track of your Windows 7 project.

"What would you say if I were to tell you that migrating to a virtual desktop was no different than if you were going to migrate to Windows 7?” What a great question! Daniel Feller from Citrix explains in more detail in his blog post & his session this week at #BriForum  “Windows 7 and the Virtual Desktop Revolution.”

App-DNA™ also sees the similarities in virtual projects and Windows 7 migrations. Both have hurdles to clear, especially around application compatibility. The AppTitude™ application testing and application remediation software includes an Overview Summary Report – a dashboard that helps you clearly see where apps will be successful – if they won’t run well on Windows 7, will they run well on XenApp or App-V as an alternative?

Whenever we’re out with enterprise IT groups, talking with Windows 7 project managers or application virtualization user groups, we try to show them the AppTitude dashboard for determining the best platform and delivery model for each application. Usually eyes open wider, everyone steps in for a closer look, and the questions start rolling. It was one of my favorite AppTitude views to show last week at Microsoft #TechEd – so many project leaders are just now learning there is an automated approach to application compatibility – and determining what apps will be successful on what platforms. Take a look, let us know how you’d find this useful for the common bonds in your Windows 7 and application virtualization projects, either in the comments or via info@app-dna.com   

Seeing is believing. Often when App-DNA™ talks to enterprises about application compatibility for Windows 7 migrations, App-V implementations or XenApp projects, IT directors really want more proof—like a demo of the software. If you’ve been reading about the new AppTitude 4.5 release or just looking to start learning the role of application testing and application remediation in migration projects, join App-DNA for a webinar (heavy on the demo) – “Achieving the Optimized Desktop with Application Remediation” on Tuesday, June 15.

Click here to register or to learn more about the webinar – and block 4pm GMT/10am US CDT in your calendar to learn how to knock out an application compatibility and application remediation project in a short timeframe. The technical presenters will also show how to employ application management standards as part of your business as usual process for long-term success as new applications enter your application estate.

To whet your appetite for the webinar, check out App-DNA featured in a new podcast with DABCC.com – Doug Brown and Samit Patel really dig into the details of why application compatibility is an important part of Windows 7 migrations and application virtualization projects, as well as 64x and server projects.  They also talk a bit about the future of application lifecycle management – and have fun.

Anything specific you’d like to see in the Jun 15 App-DNA webinar? Stop by and see App-DNA at Microsoft TechEd North America Booth #244, drop a line to info@app-dna.com or on Twitter @appdna

Exciting stuff happening here, App-DNA™ has just launched AppTitude™ v.4.5 and have added some great new features that will improve the ease of install and setup as well as scalability and reporting.

Added Application Compatibility Checks

·         Server 2008 R2 – The all new Server 2008 R2 module now allows organizations to check compatibility on the latest Windows Server build. 

·         App-V related checks – will reflect added App-V 4.6 capability for x64 bit apps.  We've also added some cool stuff to detect app dependencies that will help you to determine if you need to implement DSC (Dynamic Suiting Capability).

·         XenApp Streamed related checks – Will reflect added functionality delivered in XenApp 6.0 for capturing services, as well as minor tweaks to show compatibility with 16 bit DOS apps and handling of 64 bit apps.

Improved Installer and all new  “AppTitude Web Server”

·         Faster and simpler setup experience for new users

·         New "AppTitude Configuration" tool to assist in modifying server and client settings

·         System Check facility to verify successful setup of the web service

·         Now you can opt for an “express” alternative to IIS by choosing to install the AppTitude Web Server (for fast setup of local implementations)

More Scalable Reporting

·         Ability to define the number of applications to view in one page in the Assessment view ( very handy for large app portfolios)

New Remediation Level Action Reporting

·         Shows actions required to remediate each app for better remediation reports

·         This will help to get a better idea of how much work is actually involved in getting an app remediated

·         Gives users a way to add their own remediation actions – increases accuracy

Site & Database Switcher – connect to multiple AppTitude DBs

·         A new function within the AppTitude console under the Administration tab that will allow customers to easily add a new AppTitude database, export this and import to any clients required.

·         Improves ease of scalability

·         Once setup, the AppTitude Administrator can export the settings and send the XML config file to the appropriate users to very quickly get them ready to work on the new account.

Updated Import Screen

·         More scalable importing – no limit to the number of apps that can be queued to import

·         Improved layout of import screen -- ability to filter by column (import & export defined filters)

License Transfer – Between Machines

·         Easier to transfer AppTitude licenses from one machine to another

·         Faster, easier and more flexible management of licenses

·         New report navigation system

Auto Unlocker for Licenses:  to select a representative sample of apps

·         Helps select which apps to unlock in the "Apply Licenses" view

·         The result will be a 'random' selection of Red, Amber and Green applications in a defined ratio across all modules that are licensed

If you are one of our partners, check out the webcast on new features through the partner portal site:

http://portal.app-dna.com/Download.aspx#

As enterprises start planning migrations to the Microsoft Optimized Desktop (Windows 7, App-V, IE8, and Office 2010), one of the most common challenges I hear is "how do I get started"?  And in reality, the answer to this question differs quite a bit between different organizations. 

One of the constants that remains is that the goal of these migration planning sessions is to understand the state of the existing application portfolio and the level of effort that it takes to create deployment ready application packages to roll out in Windows 7 and App-V.  AppTitude™ as a platform can help manage and deliver on that goal.

While AppTitude's application compatibility analysis and intelligent remediation has already provided enterprises with a great snapshot as to the state of their existing portfolio and what the necessary forward actions need to be taken to address outstanding issues, not everyone is aware of AppTitude's ability to create deployment ready packages in a variety of different formats (MSI, App-V, XenApp profiles, etc).

For applications that are not already packaged in the MSI format, the AppTitude Production Manager can spin up virtual machines and essentially capture the construct of an application.  This can be done using application owner input during the installation process or in an unattended mode for those apps that are being deployed silently.  The entire process is managed through "execution profiles", task-based execution sequences driven and customized using simple XML based commands on the back end.  Needless to say, with the level of flexibility associated with these execution profiles, many organizations have been able to take advantage of their existing packaging tools.  Many organizations have already leveraged these execution profiles to integrate with tools such as the Microsoft App-V Sequencer, Citrix XenApp Profiler, Flexera Software AdminStudio, Symantec Wise Package Studio, etc.,  to create deployment ready packages as part of the application planning and application migration process. And for those organizations that are looking to implement ITIL or MOF best practices, the entire capture and package creation process is automatically documented for use in your definitive software library for future releases and application updates.

To learn more about how AppTitude can help automate the application migration process by creating deployment ready packages, come talk with App-DNA™ at MMS Expo booth #437—we’ll be the ones in the (Illini) orange shirts.

Not our top 3 considerations when moving to Windows 7, but those of Mike Silver, Gartner’s Vice-President and Research Director. See his insights into the Windows 7 migration and application compatibility challenges in two short videos. 

These incisive interviews distill Michael’s wealth of knowledge and experience into a wide-ranging set of predictions, observations, and tips, along with input from App-DNA's own Mike Welling. With proper planning and processes, migrating your apps to Windows 7 should be pain free. Watch the experts - http://www.app-dna.com/news/gartner-on-windows-7.asp 

The effort needed to migrate to Windows 7 and other platforms just got clearer! App-DNA™ has launched the Effort Calculator as part of it's AppTitude product. The Effort Calculator uses raw data sepcific to your organisation, generated by AppTitude, to show you the exact time and cost needed to get your apps migrated. Have a look at the demo here www.app-dna.com/effortcalculator