Figures can be persuasive. Trends are always exciting. So, we’ve brought them together to explain what is necessary and what we don’t need to waste time on. How companies make decisions, what their priorities are, what is worth investing in, and what seems to be worth it.
Sometimes not all trends are worth considering, but companies can blindly (or not) follow them, even if this is not relevant from the business perspective. These unobvious tendencies can confuse companies who need software packaging as well as packaging service providers.
Apptimized has analyzed what companies think about software packaging, formats, and operating systems.
5 items important for software packaging specialists and their customers
While considering software packaging, companies and IT professionals pay attention to the following:
- Application. The first question asked relates to software, applications, and programs needed to work productively. So, you might ask, what is the scope of apps that we want to be packaged and deployed on all corporate PCs?
- Operating system. IT pros should also take corporate OS into account since applications depend on it. For example, the packaging technology for Windows or Mac apps is different and requires specific skills.
- Packaging format. Depending on the system, packaging formats can be various. For example, Windows supports MSI or App-V, macOS – PKG or APP.
- Deployment system. These systems provide you with software distribution and simplify your app delivery on thousands of PCs, laptops, etc.
- Packaging service provider. Companies have several options that can cover packaging needs: find a company that can provide you with packaging services or your existing IT department.
IT specialists and non-tech folks don’t always understand these dependencies. Based on more than ten years of experience in the packaging business, Apptimized has collected a few points that describe packaging trends of the last couple of years.
«Adobe software packages» is one of the most frequently searched requests on Google
Apptimized packaging specialists reveal that Adobe products are the most frequently ordered apps. Every company needs Adobe apps to cover daily business tasks, from design to document processing. However, packaging Adobe apps isn’t an easy task, even for senior IT specialists. The primary tool for packaging installers is Acrobat Customization Wizard, which provides a complete list of options to customize, modify, and optimize installers’ behavior.
Windows 7 packaging is still alive
The figures show that not all companies prefer to request packaging services for Windows 10 and Windows 7 is still very much alive. The already known Windows 10 migration service is still relevant and demanded across industries. Still, not all companies have the resources for a smooth migration. Moreover, OS migration requires time and budget for maintaining software compatibility and avoiding technical issues.
If you are thinking of Windows 10 migration and application compatibility, try Apptimized Workspace – a software packaging environment that supports MSI, App-V, MSIX, and IntuneWin formats. In addition, the environment is entirely cloud-based, supplied with all tools you need to create, package, test, and deploy apps.
MSI is the leading software packaging format
Everyone chooses what is familiar and checked through the years, like MSI packaging format. The reason why it is so usable is the format’s flexibility. MSIs can be executed anywhere in the install sequence, customized, drivers are supported, etc. The possibility of doing almost anything with the format gives room for maneuvering and “resize” the format to fit your requirements.
Intune took the lead as a system for deploying application packages
Microsoft has recently combined two products in Microsoft Endpoint Manager to cover a range of complicated scenarios. For a very long time, SCCM was the gold standard for managing workstations.
SCCM works best for entirely on-prem infrastructures. However, Intune, a cloud-native product, is younger than SCCM and does not require on-premises IT infrastructure to operate.
It would seem that companies should be more loyal to the traditional solution for deployment. Still, Intune is confidently gaining popularity and is beginning to become almost as used as the SCСM.
Software packaging outsourcing is profitable
Remote packaging services became inevitable from the time when “working from home” occurred. Companies don’t want to wait until IT specialists move through the new learning curve to master packaging technologies. The easiest way is to request packaged apps from third-party companies.
Apptimized deals a lot with customers worldwide and supplies them with new packaged versions of business applications. However, if you are looking for mass application packaging with customization option for your packages, try Apptimized Factory. The managed service allows you to get ready-to-deploy packages from Apptimized specialists within the right SLA.
Do you agree with our findings? If you have a similar experience or something completely different, drop us a line via the contact us form.
