Enterprise management tools specialist Altiris last week announced the integration of Wise Package Studio software with its recently launched Software Virtualization Solution (SVS).

Altiris acquired Wise in 2003. Previously, Wise Package Studio tools were available as a standalone system to repackage applications for deployment to non-virtualised desktop systems.

Altiris regional manager Peter Thomson said that the integration should help firms to reduce the cost of supporting desktops. “The news is important on two levels. For Altiris customers it’s a huge improvement because it gives additional capability for managing applications deployed using SVS. For Wise Package Studio users it’s important because it confirms the direction for application deployment,” he said.

Wise Package Studio is a tool for editing MSI format files that are used to install Windows applications. It is used by enterprises to customise MSI files before deploying applications. For example, it can be used to remove the End User License Agreement dialog from the installation process so that the installation can run without requiring user input.

Thomson said, “Preparing applications for deployment is not a well-known business but it’s a very valuable one. To avoid installing an application manually you need to repackage it and test it before handing it over to a distribution suite for deployment. It makes sense to give people who are packaging applications the tools to modify the apps in a virtual format.”

For example, the SVS integration would help administrators to install virtualised applications that need administrator privileges to run, or to enable two different

versions of a virtualised application to run simultaneously on the same desktop. The updated Wise tool can output either in MSI format or in the VSA format used by Altiris SVS.

Many companies are evaluating application virtualisation as a way to reduce the costs of deploying new applications to desktops.

Such tools remove the need to install applications on client systems. Instead, applications are installed into a virtual file system and virtual registry, which reduces conflicts with other software running on the same system.

Microsoft recently announced its intention to acquire application virtualisation specialist Softricity.