UPDATE: This is an older article outlining MSIX support and plans, for an updated list of features and a video click here.
MSIX is an exciting topic in the world of repackaging, so I get a lot of questions about it. In response we’ve been providing more information and webinars on MSIX as well as adding incremental support for MSIX over the last few releases of AdminStudio.
So why didn’t we introduce full MSIX support right away? As it turns out, even as we enter Q2 of 2019 (about a year after the announcement of MSIX) very few people are doing more than kicking the tires. First of all, it is an evolving technology not quite ready for prime time. There are a lot of questions and we don’t have answers to them all.
Not only is it a developing technology you don’t see being leveraged in production yet, we’ve also got some very impactful features and enhancements that we want to bring to market. While AdminStudio will ensure it maintains its position as the leading repackaging solution, it is so much more than that. Looking at our last several releases (and some key features we have planned) in the figure below, you’ll see a focus on ensuring AdminStudio provides more and more value to workflows that do not involve repackaging at all. Wrapping, testing, reporting, suggesting command lines and automating tasks are the primary capabilities that are driving AdminStudio from a tool you crack open when you have a Windows migration project, into a solution you rely upon day to day to help quickly address your regular need for new packages (including all functional and security related updates and patches).
The fact is, you don’t need to repackage much today. That could soon change thanks to MSIX, and for that we’ll have you covered. But there is a daily need for new application deployments and AdminStudio is an increasingly logical starting point for all such application activities. Many of our customers appreciate the value here and start all application efforts in AdminStudio; this value will continue to become increasingly clear as AdminStudio helps you to quickly take advantage of vendor setups and even wrap and prepare such for deployment in your systems management solution of choice. Need patches as well as packages? We’ll have you covered there too by the end of the year-- keep an eye on AdminStudio for some groundbreaking new capabilities in the months ahead!
