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.

"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   

Just returning from last week's Microsoft Tech-ED 2010 in New Orleans, I was bombarded with many new announcements and technologies to check out.  One of those announcements comes from Attachmate, who I am sure much to the delight of Microsoft, is the first company to officially release their software, ready to go in Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) format (you can read more about this on the Microsoft MDOP team blog or the Attachmate  site ).  Always looking for interesting applications to run through App-DNA AppTitude, I stopped by their booth and they were kind enough to give me an evaluation version of their new release (and a stuffed flying monkey).

Many people do not know that in addition to running static analysis on installation media, AppTitude can also directly import App-V SFT files (the extension of the file containing the virtualized application bits) for analysis.  I loaded up the Attachmate Reflection 2011 SFT into the new AppTitude 4.5 release and let the AppTitude heuristic algorithms run the app through its paces.

As you can see from the application remediation screenshots below, Attachmate did a solid job with this package, pretty much green across the board with the new Windows OS releases and 64bit, and one minor warning under the AppTitude App-V RAG (Red/Amber/ Green) analysis module.  This warning is reminding us that “File Type Associations”, the communication to Windows that files with a certain extension belong to a certain application, need to be set correctly and it also provides the exact file entries to assist with this.  This would be something users or organizations can choose to determine what opens with what on their machines.   All in all, this looks to be a great release from Attachmate both from the standpoint of good execution and convenience for organizations looking to leverage App-V.  I would not be surprised to see more software vendors shortly follow suit.

Looking for more examples of what AppTitude can share in nifty boss-ready reports? Check out the new sample reports on the App-DNA website…and let us know your feedback on the AppTitude App-V capabilities with a note in the comments. 

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#

For several years now I've had the pleasure and frustration of talking about and demonstrating what App-DNA AppTitude does for application compatibility and application lifecycle management. Pleasure because there comes a moment when people see AppTitude perform application testing and application remediation and just go "Wow" and "Where were you guys when I moved to XP". That’s the moment when people "get it". The frustration comes from being pioneers in the technique we use to assist with application compatibility for Windows 7, IE8, App-V and XenApp projects, and that means a lot of people have not yet heard about the AppTitude platform approach or don't yet realise that there is another way to go about things.

So, I wanted to take the opportunity to talk a bit about this technique and why it so important for organisations who manage large volumes of apps (and for me large is really 150+ all the way up to and beyond 5,000).

The old way

Traditional wisdom says that to understand an application and detect any defects you need to install it, run it and plug it into tools and systems that will monitor various aspects of how the app behaves and performs - analogous to the telemetry for racing cars. And, make no mistake, you can determine a great deal about an application in this way. The problem is it just does not scale to large volumes of apps and becomes very complex and long winded when you need to test for multiple platforms or things like dependencies and suitability for virtualisation.

So what ends up happening is that only a subset of the apps get thoroughly tested, the rest get light testing, if any. This makes for an inconsistent and risky project - nobody wants to be responsible for that! Some of the key shortcomings of the manual testing approach are:

1.       Not all functionality is likely to be used during testing and that leaves aspects untested, allowing for latent defects

2.       The install phase is often excluded or not adequately monitored (especially with agent based options which monitor 'live' environments)

3.       Time consuming - this can make for very long preparation and testing cycles, running into months or years

4.       Requires functional and technical knowledge

5.       Context specific - you test for an objective, once you're done you have to re-test for new objectives

The new way

Our approach takes the application installer, extracts all of the files and performs a deep collection of a huge array of data relating to both binary and text files. We touch every single file in the application and can thus be highly accurate. Another key aspect of this approach is that it de-couples the analysis from the processing of the application. When we import the app we are just learning about it, not 'testing' it - our import collects tens of thousands of data points (for example: API calls, file imports and exports, configuration file contents and much, much more).

Once all of the application data or 'DNA' is in the database we then run analysis. Running the analysis in a separate phase means we can adapt to future changes without revisiting the apps. Collecting all of the detailed application data in the database means we also get to see how the apps relate to each other (not just the internal state of each app). Furthermore, we have the OS reference as part of our 'dataverse' or 'portfolio genome' and this means we have a unique ability to model the impact of a huge variety of challenges including application compatibility, dependencies, quality and suitability for virtualization.

The benefits of this approach are now well established:

1.       Speed - there are many speed gains, we can process an application in just minutes, thousands in just days

2.       Accuracy - touching all of the files exposes more defects than manual testing and our view of the entire portfolio and OS extends the traditional view of the issue space.

3.       Breadth -  report on Desktop and server OS compatibility, Virtualisation, Citrix and Terminal Services, 64bit, dependencies and interoperability in one process. This massively reduces the technical and application knowledge required in the testing processes.

4.       Depth - Installation, files, runtimes, Operating System components as well as external data. Its all 'in the box' with AppTitude

5.       Stability - projects executing on time without issues makes for a stable environment where potential defects are identified and resolved before change is released to the user environment

6.       Reduced time, reduced cost - this degree of optimization translates directly into savings. This has been demonstrated time and again on successful projects

Silver bullet?

Wouldn't it be nice! As powerful as this approach is the more technically minded of you will have spotted various scenarios under which static analysis simply cannot identify issues (runtime activity not published, late binding instantiation, hard coded activity). We recognise that for certain environments (e.g. multi user terminal services / XenApp hosted) this can be vital information and so we extended our import process to allow for a run cycle where  we collect the runtime telemetry to compete the picture as needed. The decision to go this route is generally determined  by the nature of the information required, the volume of applications and the available time to execute.

As the AppTitude platform has matured it has become a complete solution for high speed, high volume projects as well as optimized day-to-day Business As Usual application management. The automation efficiencies are driven by our static analysis which feeds and interrogates our rich database formed of Application "DNA".

Questions or comments about the AppTitude approach? Please post them in the comments or on our Twitter@appdna

Citrix Synergy was a fantastic event last week. Citrix billed it as “the convergence between virtualization, networking and cloud computing and how it can solve real business problems” -- the event lived up to that and more. At Synergy, App-DNA talked with IT leaders about application compatibility and application remediation for Windows 7 projects, Citrix server migrations, XenApp work and more.  App-DNA is truly enjoying the interest brought by winning the Citrix Synergy Best of Show and Process Improvement Awards, but with that buzz comes many questions.  We wanted to answer the top questions we heard at Synergy, but also welcome more questions in the blog comments or via Twitter @appdna – we’ll answer them as fast as possible.

1.       Tell me more about what App-DNA does again? 

App-DNA designs, builds and sells the AppTitude software, which provides application compatibility, testing and remediation for enterprises adopting technologies like Windows 7, Citrix XenApp, Microsoft App-V, 64bit, Windows Server 2008 or IE8. Using AppTitude helps organizations avoid the expense and delay of traditional manual brute force based testing and cuts the time, cost and risks associated with deployment of OS migrations, software upgrades, and virtualization projects. App-DNA works directly with IT organizations and through worldwide SI partners and regional SI partners.

2.       How is AppTitude used for more than Windows 7 projects?

App compat is definitely a hot topic for Windows 7 projects, but application remediation is also vital for

-  App-V and XenApp projects  - determine the success rate of applications before you Sequence or Profile them, saving hours of testing and unnecessary tedious iterations.  Understand the potential issues with a package and address them in the initial package creation process

-  64-bit projects – whether Windows or in the data center

-  Server based computing, whether Windows Server 2008, XenApp, Terminal Services project

-  IE8 projects- still in beta, but consider how many web apps you’re looking to migrate? Test their compatibility before they go to IE8.

-  Business as Usual –new apps are added to your enterprise all the time, you need to ensure they will work well

-  Determining what technology to use for specific applications – AppTitude can show you the “best fit” – if an app won’t run well on Windows 7, should you try it on XenApp or App-V?  The understanding of how to best deliver an application in your enterprise environment will go a very long way when it comes to moving away from the physical desktop and organizations start leveraging technologies that provide virtual desktops such as XenClient.

3.       How do you align with the app compat info like Microsoft ACT and the Citrix XenApp compatibility list?

AppTitude complements the information that you find in the available tools. In fact, in addition to the information that App-DNA has collected over years of experience and the intelligence determined by our “DNA” research about the applications, AppTitude looks to external data sources like Microsoft ACT and the Microsoft app compat white list.  App-DNA is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and Citrix parter ( Citrix consultants use AppTitude in the field), so we work closely with both companies. For more information, check out this video featuring Chris Jackson, Microsoft’s “app compat guy.”

4.       Okay, where can I see App-DNA and AppTitude?

Check out these videos:

-  If you have 5 minutes: CitrixTV recorded an AppTitude demo at Citrix Synergy

-  If you have 15 minutes:  BrianMadden.com recorded an AppTitude demo at the Microsoft MMS conference

-  If you speak French: here’s a demo from Microsoft TechDays in Paris

-  If you’re interested in server management: view this Dublin PubForum overview

-  If you want a full web demo from AppDNA, contact us using the information below

If you’re attending Microsoft #TechEd, App-DNA will be exhibiting at booth #2244. Stop by and share your app compat questions and see AppTitude in action.

Intrigued? More questions? Use the comments, Twitter @appdna or contact us at info@app-dna.com

The App-DNA team is finalizing plans for Citrix Synergy 2010. We look forward to talking application compatibility, application remediation, application delivery and application management with Citrix XenApp users as well as enterprises planning Windows 7, App-V and 64-bit migrations.  We’re extremely excited that App-DNA is a semi-finalist for the Best of Synergy Process Improvement Award.  (shameless plug: Vote HERE for the Best of Synergy Award )  

 App-DNA is talking with enterprise customers and SI partners about forward-thinking combinations of technologies such as physical application delivery, virtual application delivery and other subsets of VDI delivery models. Synergy is always packed with content and excellent conversations about your migration and BAU projects, here are just some of the events where App-DNA will be learning more about Citrix projects in progressive enterprises and new Citrix technologies.

Tuesday, May 11

The insider's view on application and desktop virtualization – Harry Labana shared his pre-Synergy demo testing on his video blog this week, whetting our appetite for the demos and new information.

Wednesday, May 12

Keynote: Mark Templeton’s vision of desktop computing + demos of new Citrix technologies = a great way to start Synergy.

Management simplified with XenApp – After the MMS announcement of more integration between Microsoft System Center and Citrix XenApp, this should be a great session. Learn more about XenApp 6, Windows Server 2008, System Center and 64-bit environments at this presentation from Citrix’s Orestes Melgarejo and Microsoft’s Sean Donahue. Be sure to catch Sean’s occasional postings on the MDOP Team Blog.

Gathering intelligence for your virtual desktop initiative – Application readiness is a key step in planning virtualization projects. Empowering enterprises with “DNA” about applications – and the success those applications will have on a virtual technology – means faster and better testing and eventual conversion of applications to the Citrix XenApp Profile or Microsoft App-V SFT format. Interested in hearing your questions on virtual desktop initiatives...

Thursday, May 13

Keynote – what a busy morning! Michael Dell from Dell, IDC Chief Analyst Frank Gens, Brad Anderson from Microsoft, and the announcement of the Best of Synergy Award from the Computerworld and Citrix teams. Don’t miss the keynotes that everyone will be talking about from Synergy.

15 reasons desktop virtualization projects fail – Expect a packed house for Brian Madden and Gabe Knuth. App-DNA hears from customers that app compat is one reason virtualization projects fail—and we help them fix it. We’re interested in a lively discussion in this session!

Also, don’t forget Geek Speak Live, after-hours events, plus the Hands-on Learning Labs! Be sure to book time to stop by App-DNA Expo Booth #530 to see AppTitude in action. Want to set a specific time to meet with App-DNA? Contact info@app-dna.com  

What sessions are on your Citrix Synergy schedule? Comment on your picks.  

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.

Microsoft Management Summit (MMS) 2010 is next week! The App-DNA technical team is eagerly anticipating conversations about your application compatibility and application remediation challenges, successes and questions. MMS is always a great venue to learn more about System Center, Windows 7, App-V, MED-V and what’s next from Microsoft. We enjoy catching up with old friends and making new friends – stop by and see App-DNA at Expo Booth #437 or chat with the orange-shirted App-DNA team at these MMS sessions.

Monday, Apr 19

Windows 7 - Gaining More Control Over Windows Installer Packaging Infrastructure – We’ve found organizations that follow MSI best practices have higher application compatibility ratios when testing their application estate for Windows 7.  Darwin Sanoy knows MSI inside and out -- check out his CSI:\>Windows blog

Tuesday, Apr 20

Considerations for deploying and managing applications in the cloud – Managing change is a key priority for IT teams. Well managed environments have faster deployments to new technologies – less time spent fixing problems that may slow down your adoption of cool new technologies like the cloud.  

Beyond Service Manager - Partner Solutions – as a System Center Alliance partner, App-DNA is always interested in what System Center peer partners are developing…

Virtualization - Ask the Panel of Experts – App-DNA helps enterprises with application virtualization compatibility, accelerating App-V implementations. We learn from your comments on the MDOP team blogs and we’re keen to hear the live questions of MMS attendees.

Ask the Panel of Community Experts -  Most panels include 4-5 experts, but this one includes a huge lineup of top contributors to the MyITForum message boards, plus industry leaders, and your really interesting questions.

Wednesday, Apr 21

App-V: Top 10 Most Common Customer Scenarios and End to End Review – If you’re not yet adopting App-V, find out how you can. Angie Anderson & Bill Morein have such in-depth knowledge – bound to be a great session. 

Thursday, Apr 22

Unblocking and Accelerating your Windows 7 Deployment Using MED-V – App-DNA works closely with Windows 7 app compat every day, we’re interested in helping accelerate your Windows 7 deployment.

Configuration Manager v.Next - Ask the Panel of Experts – The best part of MMS is sometimes going back to work on Monday with all of the information that you learned about v.Next- you’re the star at the coffee maker with all your new knowledge. Jeff Wettlaufer is still taking questions for this session - Twitter them to #mmsea01  

Friday, Apr 23

Sequencing Deep Dive: Efficiently Making your Applications Virtual – As App-DNA works with customers implementing App-V, the most popular questions are “what should I virtualize” and “how do I fix it if it won’t virtualize?”  

Also, don’t forget the keynotes, end of day Speaker Q&A sessions, Birds of a Feather, plus the amazing Hands on Labs! In all your scheduling, be sure to book time to stop by the App-DNA Expo Booth #437 to see AppTitude in action. Want to set a specific time with App-DNA? Contact info@app-dna.com

What sessions are you most interested in seeing? Share your favorites in the comments.