The Importance of Application Management

TECHNOLOGY BRIEF
The Importance of
Application
Management
fficient desktop application sometimes skipped. For example, many other software, such as shared DLL files, management is essential in organizations rely on the software that are required for the application to run. Enormal day-to-day operations vendors or business teams to verify Most application discovery tools report of any company. Whenever a new application functionality. Many IT too much information, which then has application is deployed, the IT staff must departments only track and manage a to be analyzed to determine the actual get involved by performing a desktop subset of the business-critical applications application load. For example, Microsoft® assessment to help ensure the application in the environment. This can lead to problems Office contains dozens of separate can run properly, packaging the application if shortcuts are taken and the testing does executables. Application discovery tools for deployment, resolving application not follow a rigorous methodology. often report all of these, when the important conflicts and troubleshooting any problems information is the single installable and that arise in the actual deployment through Minimizing Problems licensable application.the Electronic Software Distribution Conflicts with other installed applications (ESD) system. might crop up during a migration. And in a Assessment and Adding to the challenges of application Windows Vista® migration, a program that Rationalization management is the arrival of Windows installed and ran without problems on a Dell is often called in to perform a thorough Vista®. With Windows Vista, Microsoft has Windows® XP desktop might not have assessment of the applications in an substantially changed the security model access to appropriate privileges under organization. This can include not only the and the way software runs on the operating Windows Vista. Even applications that application discovery, but also translating system (OS). So before a company moves run properly within Windows Vista can that information into a list of installable and an application to Windows Vista desktops, have issues with the specific way they are licensable applications. This saves the IT staff it must validate each application to help packaged for the customer's environment. from spending time on this task - time that ensure it is compatible. Companies need to adopt a more would be normally allocated to strategic projects. Whether introducing a new application formal method to detect and remediate Once the inventory is complete, the next or implementing an OS migration, the these problems before they impact rollout step is rationalization. For instance, there may goal is the same: help ensure disruptions schedules or business productivity. be several versions of a single application are minimized and keep users productive To begin the process, companies must first in use throughout an organization. Through throughout the process. collect complete information about all of the the rationalization process, a company can Unfortunately, many of the steps applications residing on their desktops. This evaluate what features are included with required to perform a successful deployment inventory must include version numbers, each version and what functionality their or migration are labor intensive and are hardware requirements and knowledge of users need.
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In this process, each application is Packaging this manner, virtualizing the application assigned a series of metrics, such as At this stage, applications must be might help resolve any conflicts or system business criticality, breadth of deployment packaged for installation. Dell experts have resource issues that prevent proper and technical complexity to migrate the packaged thousands of applications for operation. It is important to understand application. For the latter metric, Dell automatic installation in the last five years. the implementing virtualization is an relies on knowledge garnered through They leverage this past customer experience infrastructure change with separate its partnership with Microsoft and its and an application ... [download for more]