Virtualization’s impact on the IT world has been undeniable over the last several years. Almost everyone who visits tech-related web sites or picks up a trade rag has probably heard about virtualization. As companies of all sizes try to figure out how to become greener and operate more efficiently with a leaner IT staff, virtualization continues to gain considerable traction. Although not currently as common as hardware-level and operating system-level virtualization, application-level virtualization is becoming more popular as several major companies expand and market their products in this space.
Application virtualization is a technology that provides the ability to package and deliver an application in a way that isolates the application from the host operating system on which it is executed. This isolation is made possible by the packaging process, which captures all of the application’s settings, files, registry entries, libraries, etc. and bundles all of them together in an easy to deploy package, such as an executable file. As you might imagine, not all application virtualization offerings are the same. Some require agents or other software installations, while others can operate in an “agent-less” environment.
Regardless of how the solution works, application virtualization provides a plethora of benefits. For instance, application virtualization creates the opportunity to run incompatible applications on the same PC. Let’s say FinanceApp 2.0 doesn’t behave well when MoneyApp 1.5 is also installed, but your finance department absolutely requires both applications on every PC. Putting two PCs on each employee’s desk would be impractical, especially when application virtualization would allow you to simply package one of the applications, let’s say MoneyApp 1.5 in this case. Thus, IT folks fluent in this technology could come to the rescue by installing FinanceApp 2.0 per the usual process while deploying a virtualized MoneyApp 1.5 to those who require it.
Another situation where application virtualization can prove extremely beneficial is when a company migrates to new versions of major software, such as an office productivity suite. Sometimes IT departments aren’t ready to deploy new software as soon as users need that software. This type of situation is usually isolated to small groups of users, and it can increase costs to start supporting multiple non-standard configurations. So, rather than installing the new application on these users’ PCs and creating non-standard configurations, you could virtualize the new version of the application and make it available in a limited deployment to those users who truly need it immediately. Because virtualized applications don’t get installed in the traditional sense, it’s easy to remove them when they are no longer needed or need replaced.
Keep in mind that some applications are not ideal candidates for virtualization. Any application that requires a device driver, for instance, would not be something you would want to try to virtualize. Additionally, software that is heavily integrated with the operating system can be extremely difficult to virtualize.
Virtualization solutions are becoming more widespread, and the offerings continue to mature and improve. Any company exploring virtualization solutions and strategies should strongly consider adding application virtualization to that research. Since many of its benefits can result in immediate cost-savings and more flexibility, application virtualization may have a natural place in your company’s attempt to create a leaner and more efficient IT.
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With respect to refreshing hardware or replacing hardware--why not sell the hardware
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