Virtualisation: Part II - Applications
When it comes to Application Virtualisation, Softgrid is probably the most mature product on the market. This was a very astute purchase by Microsoft and I think is the crown jewel in the Microsoft Virtualisation solution set.
The only challenge that seems to be facing the adoption of Softgrid by a lot more organisations is the licensing. I am by no means a Microsoft Licensing expert, but in simple terms, Softgrid is part of a fantastic set of tools called the Microsoft Desktop Optimisation Pack or MDOP for short (say "emdop"). More information on the MDOP can be found Here.
So what is the challenge? Well, the MDOP is only able to be purchased by customers who have Software Assurance (SA) coverage for the Windows Client - and unfortunately there are a large number of organisations who do not maintain the Windows Client under SA. Thus, there are many organisations who would very much like to be able to purchase and deploy Softgrid but are unable to. Well, that's not true - they could pay whatever it costs to get their Windows Client under SA and then purchase the MDOP (and the MDOP is a very small purchase per client). This is not an impossible situation, it just makes the cost/benefit calculation a little more challenging.
Now there is a bit of a misconception around the MDOP that it's all about Vista, or that you must be running Vista to get all the benefits. Simply not true, in fact I would argue that there is more in it for organisations running XP than Vista, and that the tools in the MDOP would ease a migration to Vista.
Up against Softgrid in the market with regards to Application Virtualisation are some pretty decent tools:
- Altiris SVS - a great home user tool, free for personal use, virtualises file and registry access. The corporate version integrates with Altiris CMS for manageability.
- InstallFree - new kid on the block, some ex-Softgrid and Microsoft people, looks interesting, lists 64bit support, is agentless (begs the question on how to update self-executing application bubbles for upgrades).
- VMware Fusion (Mac) - allows windows and Linux apps to run seamlessly on the Mac
- VMware Thinstall (North Star Beta) - an interesting one, and certainly the purchase of Thinstall by VMware sets us up for a heavyweight title fight in the near future
So, is Application Virtualisation a 'real' opportunity, will it deliver genuine value to customers. Hell Yeah.
I've been a long-time user (prior to moving to Microsoft of course) of the Altiris SVS personal edition, and I have found it invaluable when playing round with new products and in particular in keeping my poor home machine in a vaguely working state. Not sure how it copes in a business environment, it strikes me as a pretty basic tool.
In a corporate environment, there are a number of factors that will influence the successfulness (I'm amazed that is a real English language word, I thought I was making stuff up) of an Application Virtualisation deployment.
- Can the applications be virtualised. Some things just do not virtualise well. The answer to this will vary dependent on the solution. Softgrid bubbles cannot talk to each other directly, only through the OS. So multiple applications may need to be in the same bubble, which may well defeat the purpose of the Virtualisation in the first place.
- Where do the applications need to run from. On the LAN? Over the Internet? Running under Terminal Services? (Softgrid is as close as I have seen to being a silver bullet for applications under Terminal Services)
- What investment does the customer have in their application packaging and deployment solutions. What is the migration path and cost.
Thus endeth today's rant. As with Part I of this blog, there is no straight forward answer, and of course It Depends. As with the Platform, I believe this is an opportunity to go back to the Business Requirements and take a look at what we are trying to achieve. Take all the factors into account, then get your Windows Client under SA and purchase the MDOP.
