Application Virtualisation – Agent or Agentless Part II?

In my previous post I talked about some of the advantages of using agent based technology to deliver virtual applications.  There were a couple of things that I forgot to include when I wrote that post.  So continuing on from that list, here are the extras:

5. Inventory

If I’ve got my application content separated from my agent, I can now query my agent to find out what applications are present on my machine.  That means using tools like System Center Configuration Manager I can find out which virtual applications are where (just because they’re virtual doesn’t mean you don’t have to pay for them). 

6. Usage information

My agent can now collate all the usage information about my virtual applications and report that into a single location, using a single mechanism that is independent of the virtual application itself.  Now I can get accurate information about how my users are using the virtual applications, and use that to optimise my licensing.

Those 6 points demonstrate that to truly be effective with virtualisation, the management component is essential.  And the only way to effectively provide an application virtualisation solution that is enterprise ready is to use an agent based technology.  Anyone selling you an agentless application virtualisation solution is not selling you any cost savings or flexibility, they are selling you complexity and overhead.