Get your applications virtualized on Windows 7 Beta with Microsoft App-V

Today I’d like to share with you the immediate availability of Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) for use with the Windows 7 Beta and more roadmap information around App-V 4.6.

We’ve been listening to customers who want to see us support Windows 7 early so they can move ahead with their application testing in preparation for their enterprise deployments. Today, we are pleased to announce the immediate availability of App-V 4.5 CU1 for the Windows 7 Beta. 

As you know, we have a high bar for application compatibility between Windows Vista and Windows 7, so you might be wondering why we need an update of App-V specific to Windows 7.  Application virtualization is in a small class of applications that have very deep interactions specific to a Windows release – in App-V’s case it is redirecting the registry, file-system and component calls.  So as we update Windows, we will continue to require new versions of App-V. 

All subscribers of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) can register to download the update from Microsoft Connect and get ahead on their Windows 7 planning right now.   Through MDOP, our goal is to continuously offer technology and updates to our enterprise customers.  When Windows 7 releases, we are committed to supporting the final product within 90 days of general availability.  App-V 4.5 CU1 also contains a small number of improvements such as instant access or removal of applications assigned to end users.

In addition to today’s release, we are also pleased to announce that engineering of the next App-V release is progressing well, and we will be opening the Technical Adoption Program (TAP) for App-V 4.6 shortly.  When released, App-V 4.6 will be available to all existing MDOP customers and provide new key features including 64-bit platform support.  Customers interested in App-V 4.6 can watch for registration to become available at Microsoft Connect in Q1 of 2009.

Customers using App-V today are already realizing the many of the benefits of the product.  Some examples include the reduction in application compatibility test cycles, the increased speed at which they can package and deploy applications to their end users and the flexible deployment options.

We remain dedicated to providing customers with application virtualization technology that has a high degree of compatibility with your existing applications and includes strong, flexible management capabilities.  The management is flexible in that it can stand alone or be integrated with your management suite of choice, such as Microsoft System Center.  This flexibility allows you to easily manage your applications, dramatically reduce your application testing costs, and deploy applications to your business faster.