Acresso Announces InstallShield Support for App-V; Helps Enterprises Speed Transition to Application Virtualization

SCHAUMBURG, IL and LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire - May 12, 2009) - Acresso Software announces a new capability in InstallShield to develop applications in the Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) format. Today at the Microsoft TechEd North America conference, Acresso is the first to bring this type of offering to the market, giving developers a breakthrough opportunity; organizations that are adopting application virtualization can now create applications in both traditional and virtual formats. This alignment between InstallShield, used by over 71,000 organizations, and App-V, the most broadly deployed application virtualization technology, means that many organizations can more quickly take full advantage of virtualized software to reduce management costs and improve application delivery flexibility.

InstallShield support for App-V is being tested today by beta customers and will become generally available later this year. More than 50 percent of the InstallShield beta customers are planning to target software for virtualized environments. The new edition expedites the learning curve to adopt App-V and eliminates the need to learn a new utility in order to create virtual packages. It enables developers to create a new project or convert an existing project to the App-V format in the same way they create software packages today.

The new InstallShield support for App-V complements the recent Acresso announcement of AdminStudio support for App-V, enabling enterprise system administrators to efficiently convert applications to the App-V format. When an enterprise combines the efforts of the developers using InstallShield with the efforts of system administrators using AdminStudio, the process of moving an organization's application portfolio to the App-V format is accelerated dramatically, saving significant migration costs.

Microsoft and Acresso have a long, established technology development partnership due to Acresso's market expertise with installation authoring and application readiness. For over a decade, the companies have joined forces to develop and extend the industry-standard MSI application format, which has successfully streamlined Windows application deployment.

"Allowing Developers to generate App-V package assets during their build process is a radical expansion from InstallShield," said Karri Alexion-Tiernan, Director Product Management App-V, Microsoft Corp. "Acresso has combined their extensive knowledge of Windows Installer and Application Virtualization. The result is a seamless approach with a familiar workflow that allows developers to easily build applications, virtual or physical, using the same technology they have been working with for years."

"With the addition of InstallShield support for App-V, customers will be able to expedite their adoption of application virtualization and stay on budget with their conversion projects," said Steve Schmidt, Vice President of Product Management for Acresso. "Developers using InstallShield will be able to create App-V packages from the start, enabling their organization to bypass a conversion step prior to deployment. System administrators using AdminStudio to perform App-V conversions will be able to focus their efforts on externally sourced applications."

About InstallShield

InstallShield, deployed by over 71,000 customers on more than 500 million systems worldwide, is the industry standard and global leader for installation authoring. Developers around the world rely upon InstallShield every day for even their most complex Windows desktop, server, web, mobile device applications and more. InstallShield is optimized and integrated with Microsoft Visual Studio.

About Acresso Software

Acresso Software provides solutions that power the business of software for multiple customer segments, including hardware and software producers, engineers and developers, helping them uncover revenue opportunities, streamline their infrastructure and reduce costs. The company's proven solutions, including the FLEXnet, AdminStudio and InstallShield product lines, have been simplifying the business relationship between software and hardware producers and their enterprise and government customers for more than 20 years. Acresso maximizes the value of the software the world develops and uses. For more information, please go to: www.acresso.com.

Supporting Materials for TechEd Journalists:

-- Attend Acresso Software moderated TechEd Birds of a Feather sessions:

-- "Effectively Managing Software Updates to the Right Customers" from 10:15AM-11:30AM on Thursday, May 14, 2009 moderated by Maureen Polte, Director of Product Management for InstallShield and InstallAnywhere and

-- "Application Virtualization is Coming: How Do You Get Ready?" from 8:30AM-9:45AM on Wednesday, May 13, 2009 moderated by Samit Patel, AdminStudio Product Manager

-- Visit Acresso Software at Booth 110 in the TechEd Partner Expo

Contact Information: For more information, contact: Eastwick Communications (650) 480-4040 acresso@eastwick.com