Liquidware, a leading digital workspace management solution provider, just announced an addition to its award winning FlexApp application layering solution, FlexApp One. To find out more, VMblog spoke with Jason Smith, VP of Alliances and Product Marketing at Liquidware.
VMblog: Can you
start things off by giving us a quick explanation of your latest announcement?
Jason Smith: Sure, we're very excited to announce the FlexApp One feature set
within FlexApp that enables virtually any
Windows application to be self-contained in a single file and easily
distributed to any Windows workspace, that can also run offline on laptops and
PCs. The new self-contained format of FlexApp One enables it to be managed by
mainstream application deployment solutions such as Microsoft Endpoint Manager
- all while keeping base images clean and avoiding the usual degradation of
Windows performance over time. The containerized nature of FlexApp One apps
also enable them to be shared via cloud-based platforms such as Microsoft SharePoint,
Amazon WorkDocs, OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, and Box.net.
To learn more, watch this intro 11-minute video
here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8A_wsex8Ac
VMblog: The new
FlexApp One feature looks like another industry game-changer from Liquidware,
what are the main use cases for it?
Smith: Liquidware continues our application layering innovation by
consistently delivering industry-leading features that benefit our enterprise
customers and FlexApp One just adds to that promise. Customers that have
ProfileUnity with FlexApp can continue to use the ProfileUnity console for
package distribution; however, FlexApp One packages can also be distributed
with solutions such as Microsoft Endpoint Manager. This new feature is a great
addition to Work From Anywhere (WFA)
requirements.
The table below shows when
to use FlexApp or FlexApp One:
VMblog: When
you say FlexApp packages can go offline, what do you mean?
Smith: This is something that the community has long been asking for, as
there are situations where an Internet connection is not always available.
FlexApp One enables virtually any Windows
application to be self-contained in a single file and, as long as the laptop or
PC is a well managed one, offline accessibility is available. This is a
critical requirement in the era of WFA. Just for clarification, by "well
managed" we mean unencumbered from practices of users constantly
installing and uninstalling apps traditionally, which can naturally degrade
Windows performance over time.
VMblog: And what's the
meaning behind the name?
Smith: "FlexApp" really defines our entire solution, Flexible Applications
for Windows enterprises. Base images are kept clean, apps can be layered based
on any point of boot or login, with over 90 percent of applications can be
delivered this way. We saw "One" as the easiest way to describe the concept of
self-sufficient FlexApp containers. Everything needed is in one executable
version of your app when it is a FlexApp One application; there are no app
players or heavy agents needed on the endpoint.
VMblog: How does
FlexApp with the new FlexApp One feature compare to other app layering
solutions on the market?
Smith: WhatMatrix - an industry
tech analysis site - has placed FlexApp in the number position since they
first introduced an Application Layering category. This new feature just keeps
us way ahead of the competition!
VMblog: How do
VMblog readers get to try FlexApp for themselves?
Smith: Liquidware includes an
evaluation license that can be used for 15 days. Existing FlexApp customers on
maintenance are eligible for an additional FlexApp One license key. For now,
everything needed for the FlexApp One feature, including the software required
and Documentation, can be downloaded from this page https://t.co/bwvK3gVKsH. FlexApp One will be fully integrated in
ProfileUnity with FlexApp v6.8.5 early next year.
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