Andy Lambros on Access IT Automation

Stop Reporting. Start Interrogating Your IT Estate.

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 13:19:40 +0100

Most IT reporting tells you what happened. Symphony Insights asks the harder question: What exactly should you do next?

Symphony Insights cuts through passive dashboards and turns endpoint data into something far more useful: a live, drillable intelligence layer across people, applications, and endpoints. It does not ask endpoints to change. It does not interfere. It simply takes what the agent has already collected and makes the truth impossible to ignore.

Software Asset Management – Why Companies Fail at Hygiene Controls with Application Version Updates

Tue, 29 Apr 2025 11:17:33 +0100

Famous statesman and one of the founding fathers of the United States, Benjamin Franklin, is famous for saying, “…in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes”. Had he lived in the 21st century rather than the 18th, he might have instead said: “…in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death, taxes, and software updates.”

App-V Server Goes, App-V Remains, and the Headaches Stay the Same

Wed, 19 Mar 2025 12:57:58 +0100

Microsoft came out with a flurry of significant announcements at the end of 2024 covering application management and end-user computing (EUC). One of those announcements was that the previously announced end-of-life (EOL) date for App-V, Microsoft’s application virtualisation solution, was being scrapped. App-V will live on.

Is This Really the Year of VDI?!

Tue, 04 Mar 2025 12:00:56 +0100

Keen observers of the virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) segment of the technology sector will know it’s a world of false dawns, promises unfilled, and unreached potential. Latency issues, load times, resource inefficiencies, pricing, compatibility issues, and vendor perceptions have all pushed VDI forward and, equally, pulled it back. A reluctance to change is also a factor, especially in enterprises where risks are large in both scale and complexity, so decisions are taken slowly.

App-V Survives and App Attach Opens Up – The Implications

Thu, 05 Dec 2024 09:45:19 +0100

In the first blog of this two-part series, we described the landmark events that occurred in the application management space in November 2024. Full details are in our previous blog, but here is a summary:

App-V will continue as a supported product after Microsoft reversed a decision to timetable its end-of-life in 2026. App-V will now be available indefinitely with support and security updates, although there will be no further development of the product.

App attach has been opened up by Microsoft beyond MSIX. This means you can now use app attach for the deployment of other application packaging formats to Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD), including App-V as well as formats from Microsoft’s competitors Liquidware FlexApp, Numecent Cloudpaging, and Omnissa App Volumes.

These are big changes that will have real-world impacts on the strategies and decisions taken by technology leaders in the coming months and years. After all, for organisations with large application estates, delivery management is incredibly complex. Microsoft’s announcements and the adjacent announcements by Liquidware, Numecent, and Omnissa have, for some, reduced those complexities.

Fearless App Management Automation in Action in the Netherlands!

Wed, 30 Oct 2024 12:26:31 +0100

Application management took centre stage in Utrecht in the Netherlands earlier this month, and it didn’t disappoint. AppManagEvent is unique in Europe as it is one of the only events focused primarily on application management. The Access IT Automation team described the experience as a “blast” with excellent management and a fantastic buzz the entire day.

What the Future Holds for Application Management

Thu, 18 Jul 2024 11:18:33 +0100

Application management processes are constantly evolving as companies migrate to new technologies, application management platforms change, packaging formats mature, and automation becomes more commonplace with products like Access IT Automation’s Access Capture.

What does the future hold for application management? Which packaging formats will dominate, what are the main drivers for change, and what impact will AI have on the application management space?

Is MSIX a Suitable Application Format for Your Organisation?

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 08:28:29 +0100

MSIX is a Windows application packaging format from Microsoft. It is Microsoft’s newest app packaging format and when it was released in 2018, the tech giant had high hopes it would replace MSI (released way back in 1999) and App-V, Microsoft’s application virtualisation and streaming solution (a technology that dates its origins back to 2006).

Why is it Important to Get Your Application Delivery Strategy Right?

Wed, 12 Oct 2022 12:07:04 +0100

The IT infrastructure in many organisations is changing as enterprises move to DaaS or VDI models. These modern workplace models offer a range of benefits, including being more suitable for hybrid working arrangements as well as being more agile and cost-effective.
However, they also present a challenge for the IT team responsible for your application delivery strategy, as many of the applications that exist throughout your IT landscape will need to be converted or repackaged.

How AI is Making Endpoint Management Easier

Fri, 06 May 2022 07:14:55 +0100

There is something a little odd happening in many companies right now when it comes to AI technologies.

We can use the example of a typical employee in a large corporation. In the morning over breakfast, AI technologies power the facial recognition feature that unlocks her phone. A different AI-powered algorithm then decides what she sees as she scrolls through LinkedIn, and yet another one gives her recommendations about what to watch later in the evening when she powers up her Netflix app.

5 Items that Explain Total Experience (TX)

Wed, 04 May 2022 16:03:22 +0100

Total Experience (TX) is a concept that many business and technology leaders continue to grapple with. What does it mean in relation to your business, how can you assess TX in your organisation, and how do you measure successful TX progress?

Symphony Integrates With ServiceNow

Thu, 31 Mar 2022 17:32:56 +0100

As part of our efforts to constantly improve and update our products, we are pleased to announce that Access Symphony (along with SignOff and Fix Engine ) is able to be fully integrated with ServiceNow. In our blog, we have discussed in the past the advantages of Symphony, SignOff, and Fix Engine , but today we will focus on how Symphony works with ServiceNow.

How To Save $1.5 Million A Year Per 10,000 Users On Password Resets With Access Symphony

Tue, 29 Mar 2022 17:33:45 +0100

META Group estimates that IT help desks on average receive 21 calls for help per user per year! If you have 10,000 users, that is 210,000 IT support tickets a year. Gartner estimates that 40% of IT help desk tickets are related to passwords, e.g., requests to reset a forgotten or lost password. Given that the cost of an L1 support ticket is between $8 and $18, an organization handling 210,000 support tickets a year could spend anywhere between $672,000 and $1,512,000 just to reset passwords!

3 Surprising Symphony Sign-Off & Fix Engine Uses For Large Organizations

Mon, 28 Feb 2022 17:42:03 +0100

If you have been following our blog, you will have read many posts about how our products can help you by taking mundane, repetitive daily tasks and automating them rather than having employees do them. Automation undoubtedly saves your organization time, money, resources, and a lot of headaches. So although we designed our products with the specific needs of our clients in mind, sometimes there are unexpected uses that our products are suited for as well.

New Version Of Symphony Prepares Your Enterprise For Modern Desktop

Thu, 16 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0100

With Windows 10 updates slowing down to once a year and going end-of-life in 2025 plus Windows 11 being in full swing with it already taking ten percent of the market share since its launch, adapting to the Modern Desktop world is more important than ever. That is why we are constantly adding functionality and upgrading our product lineup so that you can continue to seamlessly automate your IT tasks, such as migrating to a new/updated OS, fixing issues, etc.

Get To Know … David Halfteck | Chief Technology Officer

Mon, 06 Dec 2021 17:46:08 +0100

In our latest series, we will be getting to know some of the influential figures that contribute to Access IT Automations growth and development and find out with the company and what IT automation means to them. #WeEnableModern Desktop

Access Capture Showcases Exceptional Performance Testing & Monitoring Capabilities

Tue, 16 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0100

Is your application performance making your end-users less productive and costing you money? Recently, over a 24 hour period, our Access Symphony client was run from an Access Capture managed VM (Virtual Machine) with automated performance metrics captured. Access Capture showed exceptional automated performance testing results, which we believe, could be the answer to your productivity issues.

Using IT Automation To Measure & Improve Customer Satisfaction In Your Next IT Transformation

Thu, 17 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0100

When an enterprise goes through a major IT migration project, or is trying to properly implement/keep pace with Evergreen IT initiatives, the IT department is really squeezed on all sides. With so much pressure on IT, it is easy to lose focus and forget who it is that IT is serving and who is being directly affected by the migration project — the users. Even though the users aren’t performing the migration, having them onboard and happy about the process is just as important for your organization’s success. That’s why getting their input and involvement is so valuable.

Standard & Bespoke Fixes During & After Migrations

Wed, 05 May 2021 00:00:00 +0100

We are often asked this two-fold question: How do our IT Automation products address the currently known issues that exist in a client’s IT environment, and what happens when new issues are discovered, new apps or updates come into play, etc.? As an answer, this post will discuss, from a high level, our process for providing our clients with IT Automation that will take them into their target platform (i.e., Windows 10, Office 365, etc.) and explain how we use both standard and tailored fixes.

Your Remote Workers’ Activity Is Crucial For Sizing New Virtual Workplace Offerings (WVD)

Mon, 12 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0100

As some regions are opening up around the world, companies like Google and Microsoft are already implementing long-term hybrid or Work-From-Anywhere (WFA) models for when employees are able to return to the office. In fact, one study finds that 22% of Americans will be remote by 2025 due to the resulting cost-savings (i.e. less office space) and higher employee satisfaction (i.e. less commuting) when working remotely.

Fixing Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD) Issues With Access Symphony

Mon, 08 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0100

Microsoft’s Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD), a relatively new technology released in late 2019, has proven to be a vital solution for many enterprises. During the pandemic and subsequent stay-at-home orders, companies found themselves needing to provide their employees overnight with an in-office experience at their home. Powered by Azure, this cloud-based application virtualization service provides users with a complete desktop experience with top level security and compliance — in the office, at home, or anywhere in the world. In addition, Windows Virtual Desktop has also saved companies time and money by eliminating issues that employees would face in an on-premise environment, and by creating a better user experience.

5 High-Impact IT Automation Use Cases Every Enterprise Needs To Implement Now [Webinar]

Mon, 03 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0100

By now, most enterprises are using some form of IT Automation to create repeatable processes that minimize or avoid human interaction with IT systems with the goal of realizing potential cost reductions, process improvements, and efficiency gains.

However, almost always, IT automation is done in bits and pieces — without a central repository or the ability to manage them. As a result, enterprises often have dozens of unused or underutilized agents which, of course, then hinders the organization in achieving their automation goals.

Reduce Your IT Support Tickets With Automated Self-Service

Thu, 19 Sep 2019 08:28:11 +0100

According to a Zendesk study, organizations receive an average of 492 tickets per month — 69% of which could be resolved with a single touch. On average, these tickets cost $15.56 per ticket and take more than 24 hours to first respond. Based on my experience, it could take an additional 2-3 days to get the ticket resolved after the initial response has been sent.

6 Simple, But Time-Consuming IT Tasks You Need To Automate Today

Mon, 12 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0100

Between maintaining the current IT environment and driving innovation, IT departments have had to figure out how to manage their increasingly complex environments with fewer resources and less budget and time.

Automating otherwise time-consuming and labor-intensive tasks can not only enable you to chip away at your ever-growing workload faster, but can increase your ability to adapt to changes in your environment — two crucial success factors in today’s evergreen IT landscapes.

3 Tell-Tale Signs Self-Service Automation Will Improve Your End User Experience

Thu, 08 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0100

In a world of Digital Transformation where “King Customer” rules, we can all agree that the experience a user has with a product is instrumental. In other words, today, success is about providing the best possible End User Experience (EUX).

Migrating To Office 365 — Plugins, Add-ins, & Macros Compatibility

Mon, 29 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0100

There’s no denying it: If you are a Microsoft shop, it is very likely that your organization is going to migrate to Office 365 sooner rather than later. The SaaS version of the Office Suite has so much more to offer than the on-premise version, i.e., newer features, enhanced security, stability fixes, etc.

6 Steps To Ensure IT Readiness To Drive Digital Transformation

Thu, 16 May 2019 00:00:00 +0100

In the past 12 months, pressure to drive Digital Transformation has reached a new milestone. Alongside with growth, becoming a digital business is now one of the top priorities for CIOs. In fact, our clients and prospects are telling us that one of the biggest concerns right now is figuring out how to increase business agility and drive Digital Transformation to create a sustainable, long-term competitive advantage.

How Automated Endpoint Management Can Improve Your Security Culture

Tue, 19 Mar 2019 00:00:00 +0100

Last year was a record year for cybersecurity breaches, malware attacks, and data leaks — and if the first few months are any indication, this year will bring on a new slew of record-breaking incidents as well.

But it isn’t only the record-breaking headlines you should worry about. While massive data breaches, like last year’s Target and Equifax incidents, get the most media attention, it is easy to assume that smaller businesses or organizations that haven’t been targeted yet won’t be under attack soon.

4 Ways To Future-Proof Your Endpoint Management Automation Investment

Thu, 08 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0100

When considering endpoint management automation, it is hard to know what you are getting into. There are various solutions that all have a slightly different angle and focus. Oftentimes, it is only afterwards that you realize you should have paid more attention to a specific feature that turns out to be crucial or made a certain integration a must-have requirement in the Request-for-Proposal process.

What These IT Support KPI’s Are Telling You About Endpoint Management Automation

Mon, 17 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0100

One of the biggest objections that IT professionals and executives face when trying to sell Endpoint Management Automation is: “WHY do we need it?” While the question from an executive management point of view is understandable, it can be frustrating as well. Deep down you are convinced of the benefits this will bring, but how can you convince them?

How To Package, Deploy & Execute A Fix Using Access Fix Engine In 2 Minutes [Video]

Mon, 13 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0100

How many times this month have you had users complain about a crashed Word session? I venture to guess, too many times! An important application like Word crashing is frustrating for any non-technical end user — but it also slows them down significantly, leading to hours of reduced if not completely stalled productivity.

IT Help Desk: How To Nail Day 1 Of Your Windows 10 Migration Or Windows Servicing Rollout

Mon, 09 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +0100

Getting end users bought in and excited about moving to Windows 10 isn’t always easy — not to speak of getting them on-board and actively engaged in a new Windows 10 version every six months!

However, for many organizations, active user engagement is the key to Windows-as-a-Service deployment success. Instead of forcing updates on their end users, these companies, these enterprises are turning the tables and deliberately giving the end user not only a say as to when he or she wants to upgrade, but also the opportunity to play an active role in ensuring that everything is done to their satisfaction.

5 IT Support Preparedness Lessons Learned From The DOD Windows 10 Migration

Thu, 05 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +0100

Earlier this year, in April 2018, the US Department of Defense (DOD) reached a massive milestone that was a long, looong time coming: the (almost) completion of the Windows 10 migration!

Microsoft had announced in February 2016 that the DOD was committed to migrate all of its over four million devices to Windows 10 within one year (target deadline of January 2017) — “an unprecedented move for a customer with the size and complexity of the DoD”, as Microsoft called it.

Answered: The 15 Most Frequently Asked Questions During An Access Agent Demo

Tue, 06 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0100

If you have been thinking about scheduling your Access Agent demo and seeing our endpoint management automation tool in action, you probably have a million questions. While some of those probably pertain to your company’s unique situation, a lot of questions are asked by almost everyone whom we give a product demo for.

How To Immediately Tighten Up Your Endpoint Security With IT Automation

Mon, 15 Jan 2018 00:00:00 +0100

2018 started off with a big bang for the IT industry because the newly-discovered CPU flaws, Meltdown and Spectre, could affect almost any processors in computers and mobile devices made in the past 20 years.

This is especially scary since these flaws can be exploited to gain access to encryption keys, passwords and other sensitive information by breaking the critical operating system memory defenses and then bypassing fundamental isolation layers — including those used by virtualization and container technologies!

How To Prevent IT-Caused End User Productivity Loss

Mon, 01 Jan 2018 00:00:00 +0100

Raise your hand if your organization experienced network slowdowns or even an outage in the past 12 months.

Now, what if I told you that every time this happens, it costs your business anywhere from $1 million (typical mid-size company) up to $60 million (large enterprises) a year? A recent IHS study found that the actual costs to fix the downtime issues amount to only about 5% of that cost — the other 95% are caused through loss of productivity (78%) and lost revenue (17%)!

The Impact Of IT Automation On Your IT Help Desk Employee Productivity & Motivation

Thu, 14 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0100

As the digital age exits its infancy and enters full-scale saturation of business and personal environments, more and more workforces are experiencing the benefits of IT automation in dedicated IT departments or companies.

Others, however, remain suspicious that IT automation can help them. They wonder if this step might not create more harm than good, especially when it comes to accuracy or job security. “If we automate everything’, the thinking goes, ‘then what will be left for us to do? Plus, can we really trust software in place of human oversight? What happens if something goes wrong and only the robots are in charge?”

Why Employees Would Rather Clean Toilets Than Contact IT Support & What You Can Do About It [Infographic]

Wed, 06 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0100

Recently, I came across a rather shocking number: Every year, IT issues prevent employees from doing any work for up to 2 days a year and cause employees to be unproductive for a wopping 6 full work days — costing businesses an estimated £62.4 billion (or $84.21 billion) in salary! This is not including the loss of revenue the company could potentially face because of it. For example, 58% of respondents couldn’t provide service to customers because of IT failure and 50% of employees missed a deadline due to technical difficulties.

5 Smart End-User IT Automation Ideas That Will Boost Your Bottom-Line

Tue, 10 Oct 2017 00:00:00 +0100

EUX plays a pivotal part of your business. Keep your skilled employees happy and working productively with these 5 tips.

Over the past weeks, we talked a lot about how the role of the CIO is changing to drive IT-enabled innovation and Digital Business Transformation initiatives because it is simply not enough to just “Keep the Lights On” anymore. We also explained how enterprises accumulate massive, compounding IT debt that hinders even the most forward-thinking executives from putting their well-meant plans into action. However, we also showed how IT Automation can be a way to significantly reduce IT workload and maintenance creep.

Your Foundation To Enabling Digital Business Transformation

Thu, 05 Oct 2017 00:00:00 +0100

The race for digital transformation is on and you don’t want to be last.

When Gartner analysts Hank Marquis and Milind Govekar presented the keynote at Gartner IT Operations and Strategies & Solutions Summit in Orlando last May, they drove home one major point: we are on the brink of reaching the cusp of an industry-wide Digital Business Transformation. And whoever can successfully implement it first will reap the biggest benefits — catapulting their businesses out of their competition’s reach.

The Ever-Increasing Compounding IT Debt Dilemma

Mon, 02 Oct 2017 00:00:00 +0100

Utilize the resources you have, and put your valuable budget to good use.

While there probably isn’t a more exciting time to be part of an enterprise IT team than right now with all the technological advances in cloud computing, artificial intelligence, automation, and the Internet of Things, it can also be challenging.

What You Need To Know About Microsoft’s Windows 10 Marketing Message

Fri, 18 Aug 2017 00:00:00 +0100

There’s a big announcement and it’s time to pay attention…

If you have read any of the Microsoft marketing material regarding migrating to Windows 10 in the past three years, you know that the software giant heard past complaints and frustrations about past transitioning pains loud and clear.

3 Steps To Help You Define Your IT Automation Strategy

Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0100

Implement an IT strategy that will help transform your business.

Any good consultant will tell you that the basics for all IT planning exercises are the same: figure out where you are, define where you want to go, and then finally define how you are going to get there. A strategy for IT Automation or Evergreen IT is no different, although the steps will be unique to each organization. While most companies have an idea of where they are and where they want to be, the devil is in the details.

SCCM & Access Agent

Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0100

How the conversation goes…

Interviewer: Makes sense. Can you talk a little bit about how you work with SCCM group policies and any of that in that direction to ensure endpoint– if I was an IT pro trying to use Agent and I’m really thinking, how can I use this? I know I have SCCM, I know I’m using group policies, maybe even Windows update services, etc, how can I make the most out of that tool to ensure security?