Flexera Software’s InstallShield 2013 – the installation enabler

Flexera Software has launched InstallShield 2013. The new release helps application producers and their customers take advantage of the latest technology trends by greatly simplifying the preparation and installation of applications to 64-bit and virtual environments, and to Microsoft’s latest platforms.

“Installation is a critical component of our internal development process, and our customers’ experience with our solutions. Ensuring a fast, efficient and intuitive installation experience is critical,” said Ron Guggisberg, Senior Software Engineer at Matrix Systems, an industry leader in access control and security management solutions. “The new capabilities announced today demonstrate why InstallShield remains an industry-leading solution to this day. I’m very impressed with the complex installation problems it solves, which will save us time and money as we develop installations for our solutions across complex environments.”

Pure 64-Bit Installations
Installations that run 64-bit from end-to-end are necessary to deploy applications in the modern datacenter where Windows Server Core is becoming increasingly prevalent. InstallShield 2013 helps software producers complete this transition by creating pure 64-bit installations for their 64-bit applications.

Extending Installation Support for the Latest Windows Technologies
Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 represent major updates of the Windows platform, offering new user experience design concepts, configuration options, and development platforms. Application producers want to ensure their application installations look and feel consistent with the most up-to-date, Windows 8/Windows Server 2012 experience. InstallShield 2013 helps validate conformance to Microsoft best practices through an updated advanced user interface (UI) designer, enabling application producers to create contemporary install experiences using new Wizard design capabilities. It also allows developers to designate which of their application shortcuts should be “pinned” to the Start screen, ensuring a seamless, customised installation for the end-user.

Moreover, with datacenter transformation projects underway fueling automation in the enterprise, including migrations to Windows Server 2012, it’s critical for application producers to support automation in their installation setups. InstallShield 2013 is the first solution that includes installation controls over Windows roles and features, eliminating the need to include manual installation tasks in the documentation.

PowerShell, the standard enterprise scripting language on both Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012, is commonly used to automate software and machine configuration tasks. InstallShield 2013 enhances its existing PowerShell support with PowerShell script, which is now available in Suite/Advanced UI Projects. This gives producers more options to streamline installation actions and support their customers’ best practices.
“Windows Server 2012 introduced groundbreaking new functionality and hundreds of new PowerShell commands to help administrators in their daily tasks,” said Brian Hillger, Director, Server and Tools Marketing at Microsoft. “InstallShield 2013 builds on Windows Server 2012 and PowerShell to help streamline deployment of the latest technologies.”

Installing and Configuring Complex Web/server Applications
Developing installations for multi-tiered applications can be complex because they can require different components to be installed across multiple servers. InstallShield 2013 includes installation templates for multi-tier applications, allowing application producers to create installations that easily snap into virtual and cloud management platforms.

“The cloud provides tremendous market opportunities for application producers and efficiencies for their customers,” said Maureen Polte, Vice President of Product Management at Flexera Software. “But until today, building installations for cloud deployment has been a complex process. InstallShield 2013 is the first installation deployment solution to create software installations designed for compatibility with today’s cloud management platforms.”

Extending Support for Application Virtualisation
As the desktop virtualisation trend continues, enterprises are virtualising more of their enterprise applications. To do this they must first assess the applications to determine compatibility with their application virtualisation plans. Application producers can add tremendous value for their customers by being proactive to ensure their applications are deployable using their customers’ installation technology of choice. InstallShield 2013 is the first installation solution to include application virtualisation suitability testing, enabling producers to demonstrate to their customers that their applications are compatible with the leading virtual formats, including Microsoft App-V.

For those application producers that want to deliver a virtual application, InstallShield 2013 has extended its existing application virtualisation support to InstallShield Premier Edition, which can now create both traditional MSI installations and App-V 5.0 packages from the same build process. This allows application producers to efficiently virtualise their applications, thereby eliminating this extra step for their enterprise customers.