When chatting with people about the deployment of Windows Vista within their organisation, one of the topics that comes up is software compatibility. It's a no brainer that their business applications continue to work whilst they are enjoying the benefits and features of Windows Vista. Microsoft have worked hard to ensure we had a large number of software vendors ready to offer their software as "Certified for Windows Vista" or "Works with Windows Vista". These certifications mean that either software is designed specifically to take advantage of new features in Windows Vista or is compatible with Windows Vista.
Whilst these certifications go along way to answer questions about software compatibility, there are still bespoke software solutions or legacy applications that might not have been tested by Microsoft to gain the certification. For businesses in this situation there are a range of tools that will help test the compatibility of applications on Windows Vista. Microsoft provide a great toolset, for instance, called the Application Compatibility Toolkit which is worth checking out for the analysis of your software portfolio.
Our partners have also taken the initiative when it comes to application compatibility testing and fixing of issues. ChangeBase, a company based in London, England have recently launched their new software "AOK" which analyses applications and then fixes any issues that might cause problems, leaving you with the green light to get on with your deployment. They recently published a press release highlighting the great work they have been doing with AstraZeneca who have roughly 70,000 desktops across 60 countries. You can find out more information about ChangeBase and the application compatiblity software at their website.