8.28.18
Flexera, the company that’s reimagining how software is bought, sold, managed and secured, today released new support for Microsoft’s MSIX, a single application packaging format for all Windows platforms. MSIX is made up of a combination of earlier technologies including Microsoft’s Installer, Universal Windows Platform and Application Virtualization formats. AdminStudio 2018 makes it easy for IT administrators to move to MSIX, supporting testing for compatibility to convert existing packages to this new format. Flexera’s InstallShield, the standard for Windows installers, will support MSIX with the upcoming 2018 R2 release in September.
Microsoft introduced MSIX to solve the negative performance and reliability impact associated with long-term installation and removal of software from Windows systems. As a self-contained solution which operates in its own virtual space, it’s capable of a clean installation and removal process which supports Microsoft’s quest for users to “never regret installing an application again”. The platform combines all of the good things about previous package formats, and makes one new super format that’s clean and trustworthy.
Valuable Insights
Using newly released features, IT administrators can use a wizard to import MSIX packages into AdminStudio 2018. Tests can be run to advise which existing packages are suitable for conversion to MSIX, resulting in a report that shows “recommended” or “not recommended” in an easy-to-read format.
“MSIX will make life much easier for IT teams and we’re excited to help customers enjoy the benefits promised by this new packaging format,” said Bob Kelly, Manager of Product Management at Flexera. “Our new release of AdminStudio helps users prepare for MSIX early, and reinforces our leadership in Application Readiness. Additional support is planned for later this year – including automated conversion, deployment and other MSIX-related enhancements.”
“We’re excited to support Flexera on their implementation of MSIX,” said Andrew Clinick, Group Program Manager for App Model at Microsoft. “Solutions like Flexera’s AdminStudio will help our enterprise customers adopt MSIX quickly and get their applications ready for modern deployment.”
Delivery and Deployment
AdminStudio 2018 powers an enterprise’s daily Application Readiness process for packaging, planning and compatibility and vulnerability testing of physical, virtual and mobile applications – ensuring faster service delivery and predictable deployment. Trusted by more than 10,000 organizations, AdminStudio 2018 eliminates the need for multiple standalone tools and provides an integrated solution for teams – ranging from a single software application package to large distributed organizations.
It also reduces help desk calls and increases user productivity by ensuring consistent and reliable deployments of physical, virtual and mobile applications. Actionable intelligence, automation and integration with leading software distribution tools and workflow capabilities help companies streamline day-to-day Application Readiness tasks and reduce the time and cost of application virtualization, mobile application management and Windows 10 migrations.
InstallShield MSIX Support Announced for September
Flexera also announces that InstallShield – the de-facto standard for Windows installers – will support the MSIX format with the 2018 R2 release that will be generally available in September. InstallShield will enable software suppliers to easily create MSIX packages for their products. InstallShield will also support an effortless migration, providing suppliers with a simple way to build MSIX packages from their existing MSI projects.
