431 views
Wow, can you believe it’s already been four months since we launched Windows 7? I wish I could say we’ve all been on vacation, but we’ve actually used much of this time for in-depth conversations with our customers, partners and analysts to find out what they really think of Windows 7 and how it’s influencing their business. I’d like to share what we’ve heard in terms of economic impact and how today’s launch of App-V 4.6 and release of the MED-V SP1 Release Candidate will help customers deploy Windows 7.
Analysts Share TEI Results and Migration Considerations
We asked Forrester to explore the Windows 7 deployments of several enterprises to see what customers can expect to see with Windows 7. Some of their key findings in this Total Economic Impact (TEI) study include:
- Big ROI – the return on investment for customers roughly equates to 129% over three years, with a breakeven point of approximately thirteen months after deployment.
- Cost savings in the time IT spends in application testing, PC deployment and reduced number of help desk calls.
- Improved remote worker experience – users have smoother connectivity and IT has better management.
- Greener PCs – Windows 7’s more efficient use of electricity means lower greenhouse gas emissions and power management savings.
In a webcast this morning, Ben Gray and Jeffrey North of Forrester discussed the results of the TEI study I mentioned a bit ago. Available for replay here, I encourage you to watch to see their analysis of Windows 7 impact and see if your business could be benefitting from Windows 7.
We’ve heard about what our customers who’ve already started the process to deploy Windows 7 think, but what about those that are still considering how they would migrate? A recent IDC study (which will be posted online shortly) has told us that not only will the performance enhancements in Windows 7 change the dynamic of Windows 7 deployments, but that existing hardware can be used for Windows 7 deployment. This is something we’ve talked about before, but the additional research IDC conducted backs up this claim. Key takeaways from the study include:
- Windows 7 can be deployed on existing hardware – no need for costly bulk hardware refreshes, a critically important consideration for those with tight IT budgets, which are most companies right now.
- With Windows 7, IT can quickly diagnose and fix any compatibility issues – tools like the Application Compatibility Toolkit in Windows 7 help inventory apps, assess compatibility and mitigate any incompatible apps.
- Windows 7 presents solutions for apps that only run in Windows XP – virtualization offerings like Windows XP Mode, App-V and MED-V.
For customers who are debating whether or not Windows 7 will be worth the investment, we worked with Alinean to create an ROI Calculator that enterprises can use to find out the savings Windows 7 may offer their company. We recommend you check it out!
How to Think About Optimizing Your Application Migration and Management
As part of our goal to provide guidance on how customers can optimize their desktop, I’d like to delve a little deeper into the best way to optimize application management to help ease the transition to Windows 7. Over the past several years, application portfolios have organically grown and become more and more expensive to service and manage. Many organizations will discover thousands of apps they were not managing – some critical to the health of the organization. The challenge is meeting users’ expectations as efficiently as possible and keeping those processes flexible.
New technologies like App-V and MED-V (both included in MDOP) combined with System Center Configuration Manager provide new ways to package, deliver and manage locally installed and virtual applications in ways previously inconceivable. These along with other technologies and best practices form Application Optimization, a term we use to describe a holistic approach to managing your application portfolio, enable testing and mitigating compatibility issues, packaging applications easily for faster delivery to the user, and managing applications pivoted on the user and not the device.
Essentially, Application Optimization helps keep the desktop service more streamlined and modular while adding flexibility to desktop provisioning for Windows 7 roll-outs and beyond. And with the latest virtualization technology, they have options that were not available when they planned their Windows XP deployment 10 years ago, making the job of today’s IT pro a lot easier.
As I mentioned above, App-V 4.6 RTM and MED-V SP1 RC are now available, but what does this really mean? With App-V 4.6,which is available via MDOP 2010, customers can have access to apps from anywhere, improve app delivery and management, and accelerate migration to Windows 7 and Microsoft Office 2010 as virtual apps can be deployed in many desktop scenarios including VDI, TS, and local desktop. Both the Windows and Office teams have collaborated closely to improve Office 2010’s Virtual App experience. App-V can actually expedite the upgrade process to Office 2010 while also providing IT Pros additional time to test and migrate apps that have dependencies on older versions of Office, meaning customers are able to deploy Windows 7 immediately.
Existing MDOP customers can access App-V 4.6 by downloading MDOP 2010 at the Microsoft Volume Licensing Site (MVLS). For IT Pros who’d like to test MDOP 2010 before purchasing, it can be downloaded from MSDN and TechNet. See below to learn more about what we’re hearing from some of our App-V 4.6 early adopter customers.
In addition to the newest version of App-V in MDOP 2010, today we are also releasing MED-V 1.0 SP1 RC, which provides full support for Windows 7. For incompatible apps that cannot be fixed to run natively in Windows 7 or are dependent on Internet Explorer 6, MED-V allows IT to create managed virtual machines running previous versions of Windows and Internet Explorer so users can upgrade to Windows 7. The Release Candidate of MED-V 1.0 SP1 is also available for download and evaluation here. I recommend reading the MDOP Team Blog and Springboard Blog for more details on how App-V 4.6 and MED-V 1.0 SP1 can help customers’ migration to Windows 7 even easier.
It’s been reassuring to see the immediate benefits our customers have realized when using Windows 7 and we will continue to listen to feedback to improve the ever-evolving solutions we offer our business customers. I’m happy to say that based on what we’ve heard, we wholeheartedly recommend that our business customers immediately start testing and piloting Windows 7 along with MDOP 2010 to enable a simple and fast migration!
- Gavriella
Doug Miller, Practice Architect, CDW:
The combination of Application Virtualization, System Center Configuration Manager, and Windows 7 makes for a complete, high-performing application deployment solution. Everything works great together.
Ramon Garo, IT Security Engineer, Florida International University:
Managing a multi-user environment is much easier now. Our turnaround for deployments is faster, staff members have more time to focus on their other IT responsibilities, and users get better service.
Jerry Mehl, IT Manager, Karlshue Institute of Technology:
Everyone gets the applications they need regardless of where they are or what computers they are using. In a shared, mobile environment like ours, this is incredibly valuable.
Rick Becerra, Senior System Administrator, University of Central Florida:
Our desktop computer environment is very stable. We don’t have to spend time troubleshooting application-related issues because they just don’t exist anymore.
Janssen Jones, Associate Director, AIT Infrastructure, Indiana University:
This will give employees the chance to become comfortable with the new version at their own speeds. And we won’t have to wait until everyone has been trained and is ready to transition before we deploy Microsoft Office 2010.
Graham Clarke, Managing Director, Appserv:
Using Application Virtualization, we can provide much more responsive service… We can bring new customers on board, and update and change applications for existing customers very quickly.
Ron Reye, Director of Technology, Bethel Park School District:
BPSD has much greater control over its application environment. A virtualized application is a managed application. Using the App-V management console, we have visibility into applications that we never had in the past. This helps us to address issues immediately instead of having to send a technician out to troubleshoot and fix problems.