Item: AppsAnywhere
Rating: 9
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

The university uses AppsAnywhere to deploy, install and launch a wide range of applications to Windows machines on any of our campuses. Some applications are very large and time consuming to install on every machine individually. Updates and licensing restrictions, including maximum number of seats, can then be managed centrally. From the student's point of view, there is a 'one-stop shop' for any specialist application, which is always in the same place, regardless of where you are working exactly.

Pros and Cons

Shows end users a full list of every application that is actually available to them
Install a specialist application on any Windows machine on our network
launch the application for use

AppsAnywhere is difficult to find to start it. End-users don't know to look for 'AppsAnywhere' or what it looks like. They tend to look under the Start menu when looking for the target specialist application - can't find it. On the task bar, end-users do not recognise the AppsAnywhere icon. It can be frustrating to show them
once in AppsAnywhere the search box does not stand our, so users tend to scroll down a very long list of 100's of applications to get to 'ZBrush'. the filters provided are not particularly useful eg most categories include nearly the entire set of applications
AppsAnywhere does not automatically learn your frequently delivered applications, so there is no 'Recents'. Users can create a list of Favourites manually, but this is too bothersome

Most Important Features

licensing control
ease of use for end-users
centralised updating and delivery

Return on Investment

more flexible use of laboratory space - any class can take place anywhere (well, more so with AppsAnywhere). students can choose where they work
relieves technical support of burdensome machine by machine installations
relieves technical support of burdensome license management - some manual solutions are soooo time consuming

Alternatives Considered

VMware Horizon

the only other way of providing students access to specialised software wherever they are that I've used myself is probably VMware Horizon, where students log in to a machine in the cloud that is pre-configured to run the software they need, and they run it there. This is much worse from the end-user perspective - dual authentication if often required again to log on to the virtual machine, sessions can expire and need to be renewed, and the user may not be able to access the other documents they need to get their work done eg write the report

Key Insights

Do you think AppsAnywhere delivers good value for the price?

Not sure

Are you happy with AppsAnywhere's feature set?

Yes

Did AppsAnywhere live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of AppsAnywhere go as expected?

I wasn't involved with the implementation phase

Would you buy AppsAnywhere again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Figma, Axure RP, Otter.ai

Likelihood to Recommend

AppsAnywhere is basically suitable for its purpose, despite some usability problems. In our place, applications can in principle be delivered to other machines (not owned by us but by the end-user), who are not even on-site - provided the user can connect to our domain, almost any kind of device is ok. However, I have not tried that myself. The UI could let people work faster, but only by a little, and most people get there in the end. It is basically quite simple to use and appealing to look at

Usability

Almost everyone you tell to use it to access a specialist application can find the software they need and install it. However, surprisingly many have difficulties finding AppsAnywhere under the start menu or on the task bar - it is not a icon or name they recognise, and they really want to lunch the target specialist software (Zbrush or whatever). Once you find it, many people ignore the search function which is probably the fastest method, and browse the long list alphabetically, because the standard filters do not help much. Favouriting is rarely used as it is too burdensome and not an issue for users when they are looking for the applicationt hey need.

Usability Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Well integrated Consistent Quick to learn Convenient Familiar	None

Easy Tasks

launch target app
scroll long list

Difficult Tasks

search - search field tends to disappear
favouriting - manual operation no automatic Recents

Great once you've found it

Overall Satisfaction with AppsAnywhere