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Efficient desktop application management is essential in normal day-to-day operations of any company. Whenever a new application is deployed, the IT staff must get involved by performing a desktop assessment to help ensure the application can run properly, packaging the application for deployment, resolving application conflicts and troubleshooting any problems that arise in the actual deployment through the Electronic Software Distribution (ESD) system. Adding to the challenges of application management is the arrival of Windows Vista®. With Windows Vista, Microsoft has substantially changed the security model and the way software runs on the operating system (OS). So before a company moves an application to Windows Vista desktops, it must validate each application to help ensure it is compatible. Whether introducing a new application or implementing an OS migration, the goal is the same: help ensure disruptions are minimized and keep users productive throughout the process. Unfortunately, many of the steps required to perform a successful deployment or migration are labor intensive and are sometimes skipped. For example, many organizations rely on the software vendors or business teams to verify application functionality. Many IT departments only track and manage a subset of the business-critical applications in the environment. This can lead to problems if shortcuts are taken and the testing does not follow a rigorous methodology.
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