Access IT Automation Blog

Since the last time we officially published Capture release notes, we have made a lot of other new features, bug fixes, and updates available. This includes our new capability of automatically converting App-V source files to MSIX as well as the ability to launch and load App Volumes containers. We will write up more details on that last one very soon, but today we wanted to definitely tell you about a nifty little feature that will make things easier for a lot of our customers: an option that replaces the use of GUAC (Remote Desktop Gateway/RDP in a browser) in WinTel environments.

If the last two years have taught us anything about the importance of impactful IT investments, it is that creating an outstanding employee experience is just as important as optimizing customer experiences. While at first, organizations tried to create outstanding digital experiences to retain their customers (and sometimes even lure new ones from less agile competitors), it became very quickly apparent that employees working from home required a better set-up as well. 

For an organization to understand and properly apply user-to-device affinity — since this affinity is crucial to many aspects of the company, from budgets to IT planning — it is imperative to know who the owner of a machine is. However, ownership is defined differently by every organization, and multiple factors come into play, such as the quantity and quality of data gathered.

Traditionally, application packaging and testing solutions required an organization to work its application management workflows around the platform's requirements. And for some organizations that have what I call a sausage-factory-type process — meaning feed the to-be-packaged and tested applications in at the front, go through a pretty linear workflow, and receive the desired outcome at the end — this works pretty well. 

When companies are considering moving to a VDI framework, they'll have to think about whether to utilize stateful or stateless VDI designs. Companies can get massive efficiencies by moving machines to VDI. Sometimes this is done in conjunction with moving to a new operating system, or in the context of other legacy migration projects. However, in the process of planning, the company will have to figure out whether it's best to incorporate a stateful or “persistent” model, or a stateless or “non-persistent” one. 

Transforming all or most of your IT environment from a traditional setup to a modern desktop is something we have been talking about for a long time now. Looking at our past posts, you can see the advantages of being on a modern desktop, and we believe this is where enterprises that move the fastest and adopt it quickly will have the best competitive advantage. However, embracing the modern desktop comes with a set of challenges, and today we will discuss five key ones.

With Windows 10 updates slowing down to once a year and going end-of-life in 2025 plus Windows 11 being in full swing with it already taking ten percent of the market share since its launch, adapting to the Modern Desktop world is more important than ever. That is why we are constantly adding functionality and upgrading our product lineup so that you can continue to seamlessly automate your IT tasks, such as migrating to a new/updated OS, fixing issues, etc.

Access Symphony has been upgraded to not only gather more information than ever before, but weave that data throughout an organization to provide insight into its users' needs.

We recently discussed what Modern Desktop Enablement is. We touched on the subject of why it is now more important than ever to enable and manage Modern Desktop in your organization, but today, we take a closer look at how this will be influenced by and have an impact on IT spending, remote work environments, and cyber security. 

Application compatibility has always been a huge obstacle when it comes to larger IT Transformation projects, such as an enterprise desktop migration. However, if you go by Microsoft's communication, application compatibility is a core tenet of Windows 10 and the software giant is continuing to invest in it. In fact, in a recent article, Microsoft claimed that it is simply a perceived problem as their App Assure team has tested hundreds of thousands of applications and 99.6% are compatible.

Microsoft is thrilled to announce that this promise of application compatibility will extend to Windows 11 with App Assure and Test Base, a new Azure-based service, to help those enterprise-size customers who require assistance. However, it isn't all puppies and rainbows. There are very specific conditions that you will have to meet in order to take advantage of these services. Today, I want to walk you through them and explain what else you should know when it comes to app compatibility for your Windows 11 and Microsoft 365 migration.

Little did Microsoft know how much the world would need to rely on something they, in 2015, coined the "Modern Desktop" to describe a Microsoft 365, Windows 10, and Office 365 ProPlus based desktop. Its purpose is to let employees work from anywhere productively as they collaborate with their teammates while always staying up-to-date, secure, and compliant.

Today, I want to have a closer look at what we mean by Modern Desktop Enablement and why it is so crucial for any organization right now.