AppStream Delivers Virtualization in Streaming Windows App

Published: August 2, 2006

by Alex Woodie

AppStream this week unveiled AppStream 5.0, a new release of software for streaming Windows applications from a server to a PC, without requiring the application to be installed on the local PC. New features in this release include support for virtualization, better performance and interoperability, and Unicode compliance.

Products like AppStream benefit customers in several ways, including reducing the cost of installing software manually on desktops and automating license management for protection from the evils of software piracy. "Our ability to deploy any Windows application as a hosted service dramatically reduces management and support costs resulting in more productivity for end users and stronger bottom line for businesses," says Brad Rowland, vice president of marketing and product management for the Palo Alto, California, company.

With version 5.0, AppStream adds another item to that list: delivering software virtualization, which provides greater separation between streamed applications and their native brethren. AppStream supports third-party virtualization products from Thinstall and others. The new release also brings streaming performance enhancements of up to 40 percent on first use; better interoperability with other desktop applications; simplified packaging; population of icons onto the user's desktop; new reporting capabilities to help IT departments better understand user needs; and Unicode compliance, which opens AppStream to supporting non-English languages.

One organization already benefiting from AppStream is St. Agnes Academy, which needed a way to enable students to work from any location. After evaluating other streaming offerings, St. Agnes reviewed AppStream one day, and found the product it was looking for. "By the end of the week, St. Agnes deployed applications to 850 students who where then immediately PC-ready," says Jason Hyams, director of technology at the school.

AppStream is available at a cost of $75 per seat.