Two months ago it was announced that App-V would be going in box into Windows 10. The latest insider preview release has brought us App-V AND UE-V in box. With almost 10 years experience working in App-V, this is a day I had thought would come much sooner. I’m glad it’s here.
Getting started is very simple. Just get the latest insider preview, fire up PowerShell and Add the App-V Client using a one liner: Enable-AppV. Make sure you run this command in the 64-bit version of PowerShell (when on a 64-bit OS) as stated my MVP colleague, Ryan: https://www.logitblog.com/microsoft-app-v-built-in-windows-10/
Obviously since this is in the box and it’s just a one liner, if you configured the client using install parameters in the past, you will need to change your method in the future. Though, this is still just a preview, who knows what options will be available once this is prime time. For now the best method for configuring the client is by using the MDOP Group Policy templates.
If you plan to use the App-V generated MSI, there’s currently an issue. I suggest you check out this article before proceeding to test with the MSI’s: https://app2pack.blogspot.in/2016/04/resolution-app-v-generated-msi-shows.html
App-V going in box will hopefully lead to an even greater uptake with application virtualization as a whole. Not just because it might create more demand for people like me more 🙂 but also because I truly believe appvirt provides a much more dynamic packaging and deployment weapon in an IT teams arsenal. I’ve had the pleasure of presenting and working on the AppVirt Smackdown over the last three years. While the benefits of isolation on the desktop is less compelling these days, AppVirt is still a powerful solution when used correctly.