Access IT Automation Blog

When an enterprise goes through a major IT migration project, or is trying to properly implement/keep pace with Evergreen IT initiatives, the IT department is really squeezed on all sides. With so much pressure on IT, it is easy to lose focus and forget who it is that IT is serving and who is being directly affected by the migration project — the users. Even though the users aren't performing the migration, having them onboard and happy about the process is just as important for your organization's success. That's why getting their input and involvement is so valuable.

A few days ago, Microsoft announced that on June 24th, 2021, at 11 am EST, it is hosting a special event called "What's Next For Windows." Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Chief Product Officer Panos Panay are expected to talk about next-generation Windows.

Since then, excitement has been buzzing and rumors have been flying. Industry analysts, MVPs, IT professionals, and end users alike have been speculating about a possible Windows 11 release and what it could entail. Many are citing the missing crossbar in the Windows logo and the unusual (for Microsoft events) start time as evidence that the new release will be called "11" despite the fact that Microsoft said Windows 10 would be the last Windows they would ever release. Others are using "Sun Valley", the code name for the upcoming UI enhancements planned for the 21H2 (which is code-named Cobalt), as the new name for whatever is coming next.

Access IT Automation's premise for 2021 and beyond is to enable Modern Desktops for enterprises everywhere and anywhere. This means that with Access IT Automation you will be able to enable all applications, all users, and all devices, whether you are utilizing our solutions on-promise, in a hybrid solution, or hosted in the cloud.

A few weeks ago, we announced Access AppScan being hosted on Microsoft Azure which was an important step into this direction. Today, I am thrilled to announce that we are now hosting Access Capture, our application packaging and testing automation solution on Microsoft Azure as well. 

So much has happened in the last six months! We have been incredibly busy behind the scenes building and improving extremely useful features, but we haven't publicly talked about them. For example, we have built the ability to:

We are often asked this two-fold question: How do our IT Automation products address the currently known issues that exist in a client's IT environment, and what happens when new issues are discovered, new apps or updates come into play, etc.? As an answer, this post will discuss, from a high level, our process for providing our clients with IT Automation that will take them into their target platform (i.e., Windows 10, Office 365, etc.) and explain how we use both standard and tailored fixes.

In the past few product-oriented blog posts, we have talked a lot about getting your estate ready for the Modern Desktop using Access Capture for application packaging and testing. For example, we've discussed ways to help you migrate onto Windows 10 and Office 365 or manage your environment using Evergreen IT in order to keep up with the pace of updates for those products. But it is equally important to have the ability to check if your applications work in a variety of different Windows environments. Thanks to some new features, this is now easier than ever.

Today, I am pleased to announce a new Access Capture capability that will be such a value-add to many of our clients: support for Windows 10 Enterprise Multi-Session. We are constantly adding to and improving our IT automation tool stack, updating it with the latest from Microsoft so that not only can our clients take advantage of the latest Microsoft technology, but they can also have options for their Windows 10 deployment.

The real problem of Evergreen IT Management isn't figuring out how to efficiently (and, let's face it — fast enough) migrate your entire estate from one version of Windows 10 to a newer version. It also isn't the volume of change if you are managing your Windows 10 OS lifecycle in conjunction with Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise in addition to a continuous hardware refresh. That all can be managed very well with the right tooling and automation. The real dilemma goes much deeper.

In my opinion, the dilemma that most enterprises and large organizations struggle with emanates from the very intricate dependencies you simply cannot get around when managing Evergreen IT. In other words, you have to upgrade a whole other slew of infrastructure dependencies — each managed by a different, siloed-off IT department.

If you have been following our blog for the last couple of years, you have seen that we have posted about MSIX and, in particular, MSIX app attach several times — from showing how to enable app attach for your organization to a video demo of creating an app attach using our tool, Access Capture.

We have been blogging about MSIX app attach for good reason. It is a key component in enabling enterprises to move their organization onto a modern desktop using Windows Virtual Desktop while keeping their functionality intact and keeping or improving user experience as well.

So now we are happy to say that Microsoft has announced that MSIX app attach is now generally available. Congratulations are in order for Stefan Georgiev and his team for getting to this stage in the app attach journey. Being an MSIX partner and a Windows Virtual Desktop partner, we are excited to help Microsoft customers on their journey into adopting this modern technology and creating a true Evergreen IT environment.

As some regions are opening up around the world, companies like Google and Microsoft are already implementing long-term hybrid or Work-From-Anywhere (WFA) models for when employees are able to return to the office. In fact, one study finds that 22% of Americans will be remote by 2025 due to the resulting cost-savings (i.e. less office space) and higher employee satisfaction (i.e. less commuting) when working remotely.

While hybrid WFA models seem inevitable, costs and technical issues can still creep in to negate the benefits of giving up the office. A poor user experience for employees coupled with employer costs due to software bloat can put companies at a severe disadvantage. It is therefore essential to understand your remote employees' activities in order to "find the right size" for your Virtual Workplace offerings, such as Windows Virtual Desktop. In this post, I will discuss what you need to do to understand your employees' activity level and how to T-shirt size your WVD offerings accordingly.

There is a new worrisome (even if short-term) problem enterprises are currently struggling with. I call it COVID-19-induced Windows 10 Complacency. Today, I want to explain what this made-up term means and what you can do immediately to minimize or eliminate the problem. Let's have a look.