Thinking about moving your apps into Microsoft’s RDS? ChangeBASE have been working closely with Microsoft on creating a new reporting group for Microsoft Remote Desktop Services (previously known as Terminal Services). This will allow you to test your applications for suitability with RDS, and includes automated fixing for half of the issues we detect.

Here’s a summary of the six plugins in the new reporting group:

1. Per-User Install Detection - Checks that the installation is per-machine rather than per-user
2. Global User Data Settings Detection - Checks for the presence of user related data being stored in non-user locations
3. Host Detection - Checks for the presence of IP addresses
4. Printer Driver Detection - Checks for the presence of  printer drivers
5. Elevated Privileges Detection - Checks for the presence of files that will be executed with elevated privileges through the use of security manifests
6. ActiveSetup Detection - Checks for the presence of ActiveSetup within the installation source

Contact sales@changebase.com for more info.

Top 20 Application Issues in Windows 7 Migrations

Fellow blogger, Femi Akinsola, has neatly identified just how important application compatiblity is when considering a migration project:

''Applications are the most essential pieces of the jigsaw in an operating system migration/upgrade project. Your business or users will not accept having malfunctioning or broken applications due to you replacing the operating system no matter how cutting edge the OS is, or even if there is a reduction in the cost of desktop and application management post-migration. Most business processes are dependent on applications and the migration of these applications have to be carefully planned in order to prevent unhappy and dissatisfied customers.''

Femi Akinsola has collated a list of the Top 20 Application Issues in Windows 7 Migrations. Given these potential risks, how will your organisations assess which of its hundreds or even thousands of applications will work on the new platform of choice? ChangeBASE is the world leader in automated application compatibility testing and remediation software, and ensures that you know exactly what is going to function on Windows 7.

ChangeBASE would love to hear about your Windows 7 migration experiences and how application compatibility has affected your plans. We welcome your comments!

Kind regards,

The ChangeBASE Team

New ChangeBASE Computer Based Training now available!

The ChangeBASE Professional Services Team has been hard at work ensuring that the Computer Based Training (CBT) portal continues to provide both partners and potential partners with the most up to date and accessible information possible on AOK products. This gives our partners the knowledge and understanding necessary to provide the best possible POCs to clients, helping them in turn to discover how ChangeBASE software can make their migration project faster, simpler and less costly.

This month, the team have been updating the training course so that it now reflects the new functionality available in AOK 4.1, our latest software version. Training on AOK Convert-It, which can convert any installation format into an MSI, is already available, as well as on the unique functionality of AOK VReady-It which automates the conversion of applications into a virtual format.

The new features of AOK Browse-It, our award winning web-application and website compatibility testing tool, along with our enhanced AOK Report-It functionality which facilitates the sharing of results, will also be available shortly. Interactive lab sessions are on the way too, so watch this space!

If you’re an existing ChangeBASE partner, or if you’re considering joining our ever expanding network, then this training is invaluable. Please register your interest here and our Partner Operations team will get back to you with more details.

Microsoft Patch Tuesday Report - July 2011

With this July Microsoft Patch Tuesday update, we see a moderate set of updates in comparison to those lists of updates released by Microsoft for the months of April, May and June. In total there are 4 Microsoft Security Updates with the following rating; 1 rated as Critical, and 3 rated as Important by Microsoft. Given the scope and nature of this month’s update, the ChangeBASE team does not expect to find a significant number of issues raised by the AOK Automated Patch Impact Assessment. The Microsoft Security Update M11-055 will require moderate testing prior to deployment due to the core operating system DLL’s contained within this update.

Sample Results for Microsoft Update MS11-055

Given the nature of the changes and updates included in each of these patches, most systems will require a reboot to successfully implement any and all of the patches and updates released in this July Patch Tuesday release cycle.

For the full Patch Tuesday Report please visit the ChangeBASE website:

http://www.changebase.com/NewsPage.aspx?page=News/20110712-01_PatchTuesday.xml&style=~/Style/PatchTuesday.xsl 



Kind regards,
The ChangeBASE Team

Free ChangeBASE RDS Assessment Program

Last week, ChangeBASE announced its latest innovation: Microsoft Remote Desktop Services plugins to test applications for compatibility on this platform.


Check out the MSDN blog post here!


Microsoft's Remote Desktop Services (RDS) is one of the core virtualisation technologies available in Windows Server 2008 R2. In addition to the traditional session virtualisation scenario (formerly known as Terminal Services), RDS has expanded its role to provide an extensible platform for Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI). RDS, which separates where the desktop or application is used from where it is run, accelerates desktop & application deployments and improves remote worker efficiency, while helping to keep critical intellectual property secure and to simplify regulatory compliance.


If you're interested in moving to this platform, ChangeBASE is now offering a FREE AOK licence for an RDS Application Assessment. The objective of the program is to assess around 10% of your applications (or up to 100 MSI applications if your estate is larger than 1000 applications) for FREE and provide you with a detailed RAG report as to whether those applications will work optimally on RDS. This free assessment program will only run until the end of August, so contact Dawn Clifton today for more information.


To view the full ChangeBASE press release, please click here.


For more detail on Microsoft Remote Desktop Services, and the free Assessment Program, please click here.

Moving to Windows 7?

This computing.co.uk article is interesting reading for both those already planning for the move to Windows 7 and those who have not yet considered it.

According to the author, Barry Angell, research organisation Gartner has predicted the cost of migration to be upwards of £930 per upgrade.


''At the heart of the problem is the seemingly archaic approach adopted by organisations to preparing for migration. Why are companies with leading-edge technology implementations, supporting multi-billion pound businesses, reliant on just a handful of project managers squabbling over spreadsheets? By relying on spreadsheet-based information, this process could take as long as 18 months. Add in the further two years to undertake the actual migration process for several thousand laptops and desktops and the deadline is looming fast.
These organisations have typically invested heavily in business intelligence and data warehousing to transform business insight and drive excellent real-time decision making. Applying that same technology to a desktop migration process can transform the time and cost associated with the move to Windows 7.''


ChangeBASE couldn't agree more! 


If your organisation is considering how best to manage the migration process, whether it be in a move to Windows 7 or a virtual platform, check out how ChangeBASE's automation of application compatibility testing and remediation can make your project faster, simpler and less costly.

Please click here to read more: 

http://www.computing.co.uk/ctg/opinion/2083810/moving-windows-leave-harder-itll