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Six Steps to Continuous

Application ReadinessA holist ic, automated approach to cut the cost and complexity of Windows 7migrations, application virtualization and routine applicat ion deployments


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Six Steps to Continuous Application Readiness

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IntroductionMost organizations are looking to move to the Windows7platform, driven by the impending end of support forWindows XP, along wit h compelling business reasons basedon the functionality that the new operating system provides.Additionally, many organizations are looking to simultaneously

deploy the latest virtualization technologies, such asapplication virtualization, to simplify application managementand reduce costs.

Despite the business benets of migrating to Windows 7 orimplementing applicat ion virtualization, t hese transitions canbe taxing on everyone. For IT, they create extra work, longerhours, and higher stress. For employees, customers, and partners,they can disrupt access to vital applications and services. Formanagement, they often spell budget overruns and end-usercomplaints. For the enterprise as a whole, they can delay newstrategic initiat ives aimed at creating competit ive advantages.

Why are so many organizations still held hostage bytechnology transitions? Because even though softwaredeployments and OS migrations are among the riskiestfunctions of IT, and the list of application preparationrequirements continues to grow: application discovery,cataloging, compatibility testing, remediation and conversion,packaging, virtualization, etc; most organizations do not havea continuous process for preparing and deploying applications

in a reliable, consistent way. Technology transitions areapproached as a point-in-time project.

Whats needed is an efcient way to automate technologytransitionsa process that not only gets you through todaysmigration smoothly but also prepares you for the next. This is

continuous application readiness.

That means every transition, whether its the OS, a mission-critical application, or a data center consolidation, should beundertaken with the future in mind. In other words, applicationreadiness is really about change readiness. The ult imateobjective is to build a future-proof environment that adapts toboth fast-changing technologies and ever-changing businessrequirements with equal ease.

And that means application readiness should be approachedas a continuous process. It should implement best practices andtechnologies to ensure consistency and optimal operations;

it should leverage existing investments, such as packagingtechnology, wherever possible; it should automate each phase ofthe process; and it should standardize practices and proceduresso that deployments are reliable and repeatable.

With those overarching goals in mind, it becomes possible tomove from a reactive, project-oriented approach to a proactive,holistic approach to continuous application readiness.

A holistic, automated approach to cut the cost and complexity of Windows 7migrations, application virtualization and routine application deployments

Figure 1: A high-level view of the six steps to continuous application readiness


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Today, the critical need for application readiness isunderscored by projects such as Windows 7 migrationsand application virtualization. However, with mostorganizations updating, repackaging and deploying over30% of their applications annually due to new versions,upgrades and patches, the requirement extends beyond theinitial migration project into a need for business as usualapplication management.

This paper outlines the six key steps of a migration project,illustrates the major tasks within each phase, and explainshow the Flexera Software solution can reduce the risk andcost of your application deployments by providing a consistentapproach to continuous application readiness.

6 Steps to Continuous Application Readiness

Step 1:Identify Whats Being Used (and What Isnt)

The rst step requires obtaining an accurate view of theapplications that are deployed across the organization. Thisis a good time to look at the application inventory and takestock of what is actually being used, as opposed to what isdeployed. Depending on the end users abilities to installapplications locally, there may be applications that cannot becentrally monitored or managed, but could be crucial to thebusiness and therefore must be identied.

Beyond identifying application installation, analyzingapplication usage provides a deeper level of insight as towhich applications are actually used. It is critical to know whatis being used and, more importantly, which applications are

not being used.

The Flexera Software solution integrates with industry-leadingsystems management technology such as MicrosoftSystemCenter Conguration Manager (SCCM) to extract bothapplication and hardware information as a baseline forcontinuous application readiness.

From a software perspective, it can extract the full titles ofapplications, the applications producer, version information,and application usage details from SCCM to get an enterpriseview of application consumption. The inventory data fromSCCM can then be exported for analysis.

Step 2:Rationalize Applications to Cut Migration CostsOperating system upgrades present a prime opportunity torationalize the application estate and to address desktopapplication sprawl. With a clear view of both the deployedand used applications, you can verify the need to continue tosupport the applications or to consolidate applications to areduced number of products and versions.

With the Flexera Software continuous application readinessapproach, once the application inventory has been importedand catalogued, applications can be classied and sorted by

type, so that duplicate versions and multiple vendors withineach type can be identied and consolidated. The result is alist of the applications that will actually need to be moved toWindows 7and signicant cost savings for each applicationthat does not need to be migrated (or supported in the future).

Based on Flexera Software engagements, estimates are that foreach application removed from a migration project, savings canbe between $3000 and $5000.

This application consolidation process then becomes a keyelement of continuous application readiness. It is undertakennot as a point-in-time activity, but as part of a regularlyscheduled, ongoing process.

Step 3:Assess Compatibility So You Know What to Migrateand/or VirtualizeTypically only 30 50% of applications that run onWindows XP will run on Windows 7 without requiring some

modication. This makes it all the more important to performapplication compatibility testing before upgrading. Doing so,will identify those applications that need to be xed in orderto run on Windows 7 and those with un-xable compatibilityissues that will need to be replaced or updated.

Its difcult to know which applications will have compatibilityissues, and thus which will require remediation to work onWindows 7. A manual approach of installing and testingeach application on Windows 7 is extremely time consuming,and also its difcult to exhaustively test all features of theapplication to ensure they work. Many applications mayinitially appear to work but over time, as features and

functions in the application are used, compatibility issues mayarise. This can cause unpredictable application performanceand crashes in the production environment.

In addition to assessing application compatibility withWindows 7, organizations that are implementing applicationvirtualization should also check for application suitability fortheir chosen virtualization technology as not all applicationscan be converted to run as virtual applications.

The Flexera Software solution provides a highly effectivemethod to quickly identify applications that have compatibilityissues, and provides detailed information on the location, andspecics of the issue. The solution is fully automated, able toassess hundreds or thousands of applications and gives a viewof the overall application compatibility across the applicationestate for both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 7, aswell as suitability testing for application virtualizationif required.

The solut ion categorizes each applicat ion as Red, Amber,or Green, with Red being incompatible, Amber signifyingxable issues, and Green being ready to deploy. Thisautomated approach saves signicant time compared withmanual tools and clearly shows where remediation efforts needto be focused.


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Step 6:Deploy Packaged Applications Quickly andCost-EffectivelyThrough the continuous application readiness approach,

you can automate and accelerate the process of deployingapplications directly to your conguration management system without additional copying of les.

For example, the Flexera Software solution can pass packagesto virtually any deployment solution, including Microsoft SystemCenter Conguration Manager, LANDeskManagement Suite,NovellZenworks, and others. It also facilitates distributingpackages and patches via network destinations, FTP servers,administrative installations, and more through the DistributionWizard feature.

The solution is also integrated with workow managementto make it easy to standardize and manage the packaging,virtualization, and Windows 7 migration process, as wellas implement packaging best practices such as ITIL and

Microsofts BDD.

ConclusionAs demonstrated by the six-step process for Windows 7migration, continuous application readiness allows you toshift from reactive to proactive application management.The Flexera Software solution can be a source of signicantbenets for many groups within the enterprise, and for theenterprise as a whole.

IT managers can signicantly reduce the cost andcomplexity of major migrations today while increasingthe companys preparedness for subsequent

migrations, without sacricing previous investments inpackaging technology. IT staff can accelerate deployments and begin spending

more time on strategic projects rather than time onmanual tasks.

Developers can spend less t ime dealing with applicationconicts and compatibility issues and focus more time onadding the new features end users are requesting.

Employees, customers, and partners get more reliableaccess to their applications on the latest platform, suchas Windows 7, without outages or interruptions in servicecaused by migration issues.

The enterprise gains a new level of agility in responding

to fast-changing business conditions, competitive threats,and customer needs.

For More InformationYou can learn more about Flexera Software applicat ionreadiness solution by visitinghttp://www.exerasoftware.com/products/application-readiness.htm. Or contact Flexera Software at 1-800-809-5659 to speak directly with a representative.

About Flexera SoftwareFlexera Software is the leading provider of strategic solutionsfor Application Usage Management; solutions deliveringcontinuous compliance, optimized usage and maximized valueto application producers and their customers. Flexera Softwareis trusted by more than 80,000 customers that depend onour comprehensive solutions- from installationand licensing,entitlement and compliance managementto applicationreadinessand enterprise license optimization- to strategicallymanage application usage and achieve breakthrough resultsrealized only through the systems-level approach we provide.Flexera Software is a privately-held company and an investmentof private equity rm Thoma Bravo, LLC. For more information,

please go to: http://www.exerasoftware.com
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Flexera Software, Inc.1000 East Woodeld Road,Suite 400Schaumburg, IL 60173 USA

Schaumburg(Global Headquarters):+1 800-809-5659

United Kingdom (Europe,Middle East Headquarters):+44 870-871-1111+44 870-873-6300

Japan (Asia,Pacic Headquarters):+81 3-4360-8291

For more ofce locations visit:www.exerasoftware.com

2010 Flexera Software, Inc. and/or InstallShield Co. Inc. All other brand and product names mentioned herein may be the trademarks and registered trademarks of their respective owners.

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As WP 6Steps July10