INSTALLER TECHNOLOGY

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Introduction to Windows Installer Technology
How do you take thousands of applications and standardize them to provide consistent and stable software packaging? The answer is with Windows Installer technology. It provides stability and resiliency, and eases the burden on IT systems administrators who are charged with software delivery tasks

The Microsoft® Windows® Installer reduces the total cost of ownership (TCO) by enabling enterprises to efficiently install and configure software. The installer can also enable software with new capabilities to advertise features without installing them, to install products on demand and to add user customizations.

Installation Package
An installation package or an MSI contains all the information the Microsoft® Windows® Installer requires to install or uninstall an application. In its simplest terms, an “MSI package” can be thought of as a set of rules with instructions that regulate how resources are installed on the desktop. By providing a consistent/logical framework for installing resources and simultaneously enabling the customization of the appropriate configuration settings, software packaging produces a more robust and manageable global enterprise.

Benefits
Some benefits of application packaging to MSI standards are:

• Once packaged, applications can be quickly installed on a range of desktops in multiple locations, saving on administrative costs, simplifying licensing issues and minimizing support and repair expenditures.
• Simplifies management of new user setup along with the revision and distribution of software repairs and new applications to existing users.
• Helps eliminate uncontrolled software downloads and installation, enables applications to be safely removed and reduces non-business traffic on a corporate network.
• Using the .MSI format ensures that the installation doesn’t break other applications that have already been installed.