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

I have been involved in partners and sales at App-DNA™ for a few years. I therefore meet a lot of system integrators and customers who are actually planning and delivering Win7 transformations. In fact thanks to the appeal of our great piece of software, we are involved in the majority of major projects taking place at the moment. That gives us THE broad view of what’s working or not on the Win 7 front - on a real time basis.

I will try to share some of this insight and opinion in my posts, to hopefully open the debate with all the other professionals working in this space. Below is my classic migration process scheme:

And my first post will be on the most commonly ignored first trap: Discovery

Customers’ portfolios are often not exactly well organised...The good news is that it is messy in almost every customer organisation, but the most IT centric.
 i.e. nooo.....don’t feel guilty about your ramshackle backyard, your neighbour has exactly the same concerns 

More often than not some Central applications are well managed but the customer has only a (very) rough idea of the total number of apps in the company. They would also like to take this number down aggressively as it is a key cost driver.

To compile a list of all the .exe on a variety of machine is easy. ACT will do that or you can use a number of more sophisticated tools to achieve this Inventory stage. Ok, that was easy.

Now you have a 10,000 exe list for your 30,000 user organisation.... A quick clean up to eliminate redundant records and you are down to 6,000... A deeper cleansing would take you to 1-2,000. But how can the IT Dept understand what these apps are for? And which to keep or dump? 

They’ll need to ask the application owners for what the apps does, where it goes, who use it, how it install, the prerequisites, etc.... That is the Discovery phase. And customers systematically underestimate the effort and time needed for this task. Just because it is not rocket science does not mean it is not time/resource consuming.

One has to get every apps owner to fill a complex form and someone from IT to sit next to every owner in order to record how the install is performed. Assume ½-1 day per apps to contact the user, set a meeting time, get the info, record, the install, compile all that in a recordable form, etc... So ½ day of junior resources carried by the IT dept budget, and ½ day of the application owner time carried by the different BU in the company.

If you have 1,000 apps, you now have a minimum IT dept charge of 500 days. And an equivalent non IT department cost of the same on the company. Loss of other employee time does not show on the IT  budget but it is still a cost on the company. And it does not increase IT popularity internally. 

Assuming the IT dept has a few people on the bench. Maybe 5 people could be tasked to do this job full time? (not on top of their current job) ... We still face a minimum 100-200 days duration. That is 5 to 9 month elapsed.... Sounds too long, does't it? And it does stop everything else from progressing: can’t budget properly, can’t RFP in the best condition, can’t start testing...and all that costs money as well as putting the project at risk.

So my advice: use brute force to solve the problem. Call the SWAT team in.

Bottom line:

Get working on Discovery and rationalisation ASAP.

Do not underestimate the nuisance potential of this task. Plenty of smart Enterprise customers have seen their project stall and fail due to the lost momentum on that first hurdle.

•      Discovery takes a lot of effort and potentially time
•      Discovery will condition the real beginning of your project
•      It makes the transformation  more manageable by reducing the number of apps
•      It reduces wasting money on apps that should be retired today

The good news: watch this space as App-DNA changes the game.

App-DNA's own Olivier Marschalik wowed the recent Microsoft TechDays event in Paris, with an over subscribed presentation and demo of Appitude. Many thanks to Microsoft's Frederic Meurgey for making App-DNA part of his key presentation on Windows 7 application compatibility - see the story and video here http://www.app-dna.com/microsoft_french_briefing.asp

Great article by Ruben Spruijt on www.brianmadden.com with a step-by-step guide to moving today's apps into tomorrow's world, featuring AppTitude and the role the product plays.

See it here - http://www.brianmadden.com/blogs/rubenspruijt/archive/2010/02/15/think-today-change-tomorrow-your-step-by-step-to-getting-to-the-desktop-of-tomorrow.aspx

App-DNA presented the AppTitude™ product to Microsoft's technical teams at their internal technology showcase event - TechReady - earlier this year. Feedback from the event has now been released, and it's fantastic to see that the demo went down so well with the audience. See feedback from Chris Jackson, "The App Compat Guy", on his blog at http://blogs.msdn.com/cjacks/archive/2009/12/08/techready-9-recap.aspx 

App-DNA has a global framework agreement with Microsoft for the use of AppTitude by Microsoft field and pre-sales teams, so it's great to see further evidence of very positive traction and that our product is delivering benefit for the Microsoft teams...

App-DNA™ is playing a key role in Microsoft's current Greenlight programme (http://www.app-dna.com/greenlight/greenlight.asp) a drive to assist ISVs in getting their applications compatible with Windows 7.

Through a simple process of uploading an app to our secure FTP site, we then test the apps compatibility on the new OS using our AppTitude™ product, we then provide the ISV with a green, amber or red result, and where necessary offer more detailed remediation advice to enable them to get their app ready.

We've already successfully tested a number of ISV apps and App-DNA Technical Solutions Consultant, Richard Edwards, will be on the blog shortly to discuss our overall findings so far.

In the meantime, use the link above to get your application tested!