One of the exciting features of Softricity Softgrid (and later App-V 4.6) was the dynamic active upgrades feature for updating applications. It allowed you to create an update to an existing package, navigate to that application in the App-V Management Console, and attach the new version of the package. The next time a user launched that application, it would automatically update itself to the latest version of the package. At a time when application deployments were quite clunky, App-V’s potential to transform how enterprises deployed applications and application updates was like finding an oasis in the desert. Unfortunately, the handling of application updates in App-V 5.x and beyond reverted to a multi-step process. If you long for the days of seamless App-V application updates, you’ll want to keep reading!
App-V Deployment Options for the Future
Support for App-V in SCCM was great. While it was the most widely used distribution tool, the integration was slightly ahead of its time. Most organizations needed to use a “download and execute” method for deploying the applications, rather than dynamically streaming applications from their Distribution Points. This negated some of the benefits App-V provides in the first place.
Today’s enterprises are seeing significant changes to employee work styles. They need to manage applications across Windows devices on the corporate network and remote/unmanaged networks. As such, many organisations are migrating their applications to Intune, which does not currently have native support for an App-V package type.
The App-V Full Infrastructure is designed for running completely on-premises. When organisations had to send people to work from home in 2020, they did not have time to prepare for fully remote operations. Some employees brought home laptops with App-V applications deployed via the App-V Full Infrastructure or Microsoft Configuration Manager, making it extremely difficult for administrators to deploy net-new packages and (more importantly) application updates to those already in-use on those laptops. This created huge problems in certain situations. For example, when updating an application’s backend (perhaps to address a security vulnerability), if the client-side application delivered in App-V could not be updated on the user’s remote physical endpoints there could be a version mismatch, rendering employees unable to log in and use the application. Being that there is no way for IT to force updates on these remote endpoints in this scenario, it is virtually impossible for them to mitigate the issue.
The Cloud Provides a Better Way
The cloud is the key to maximizing IT agility and scalability for increasingly distributed workforces. With the proliferation of desktop technologies – both physical and virtual – streamlining application packaging, deployment, and management is critical to maintaining efficiency and a positive user experience. However, there is no reason to fully retire all the work you’ve invested in your App-V estate.
Cloudpager provides a cloud-native container management platform, enabling you to seamlessly deploy and manage your App-V applications across your enterprise from the cloud. It is compatible with all modern physical and virtual Windows desktops, mitigating the challenges of deploying App-V packages and updates to your end users, regardless of their location or desktop type. By dynamically provisioning application containers from the cloud, it can help you orchestrate application updates in a highly automated fashion, creating a more dynamic experience for administrators and end users alike.
Workpods within Cloudpager provide a simple, fast, and agile mechanism to update App-V applications. To update an application, you just upload the new version of a package, navigate to the Workpod(s) you wish to publish the updated App-V package(s) to, de-select the old application version, select the updated application package, and hit “Publish”. In just a few clicks the application will update! Don’t believe me? Check out the video below to see how simple it truly is.
Better yet, reverting an application update is simple and quick. Cloudpager keeps a thorough revision history of changes to your Workpods. You can view this revision history and roll back applications to a previous state in real time. This is also demonstrated in the video above.
Modernize App-V Management
Another challenge administrators are familiar with is managing App-V updates for applications packaged in Connection Groups. Cloudpager’s new App-V optimisation feature eliminates the need for Connection Groups. The platform enables you to simply deploy App-V applications and their respective dependencies via Workpods instead. If you would like to learn about the other benefits of optimising your App-V packages with Cloudpager, check out our previous blog post Run App-V Packages Forever with Cloudpager.
Conclusion
Cloudpager brings the dynamic application update capabilities loved by App-V administrators, with even greater speed, simplicity, and the added benefit of managing your App-V applications from a single pane of glass in the cloud. The platform’s cloud-native nature of the solution is crucial for successfully managing application provisioning and updates to remote and hybrid Windows desktop environments. With Cloudpager, you will be able to effectively update your packages for users running on any Windows desktop anywhere, any time!
Learn More
Take a deep dive into our App-V blog series, if you haven’t already. Also, let us know what real-world examples you would like to learn about on Twitter or LinkedIn.
- Blog 1: Run App-V Packages Forever with Cloudpager
- Blog 2: Deploy App-V Applications from the Cloud
- Blog 3: Seamlessly Manage App-V Application Updates
- Blog 4: We Have App-V Applications But No One in Our Organization Knows How App-V Works
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