Windows Installer Types and Their Market Prevalence: Our New Research
Our WinGet census of 15,880 packages: 56.9% use a setup-engine EXE, 16.6% an MSI and 1.6% MSIX. Only 7 of 50 popular products publish an MSIX.
Application modernisation
MSIX packaging, legacy app capture, Windows migration blockers, Intune delivery, and EtherApps Forge.
Legacy applications are the reason Windows migrations slip. Packages fail silently, installers need rework, and nobody has a reliable inventory of what is still in use. These articles cover MSIX packaging, legacy application capture, Intune delivery, App Attach, and the blockers that stall an operating system upgrade. They also cover EtherApps Forge and how agentic automation can take on packaging backlogs while keeping the audit trail and the data inside your own environment.
33 articles
Every blog post on Application modernisation
AI and the ISV Release Cycle: What It Means for Packaging Teams
What our Windows patching research evidences about AI-assisted discovery and faster vendor releases, kept apart from our interpretation.
Windows CVE Volume in 2026: What Patching Teams Should Measure
Windows and Office CVEs went from 679 to 941 to 2,438 across three complete years while mean CVSS held near 7.3. What the numbers say and what to measure.
Windows Patching When Disclosure Moves at AI Speed: Our New Research
New company research: Windows and Office CVEs rose 159.1% in the latest complete year while mean CVSS stayed near 7.3. What it measured and what it did not.
How to Convert an EXE to MSIX, Start to Finish
Convert a legacy EXE installer to a signed MSIX package: prepare a clean machine, capture, fix what breaks, sign, validate and deploy through Intune.
App-V to MSIX: The Four Things That Break Every Time
Environment variables, shortcuts, scripts and file type associations behave differently in MSIX. What changes, why, and what to do about each one.
The State of Application Packaging in 2026: Evidence Over Assertion
Our free 2026 report on application packaging: measured MSIX results, Microsoft platform changes, published packaging prices and a transparent cost model.
App-V Server Is Ending. App-V Is Not.
The April 2026 date applied to App-V server components, not to App-V itself. Here is what actually ended, what did not, and how to plan without panic.
MSIX at Scale: What 3,261 Automated Packaging Cases Tell Us
New open-access research: an automated workflow built MSIX packages for 90.68% of 3,261 Windows application cases, and 80.04% passed a recorded smoke test.
Building MSIX in GitHub Actions Without the Windows SDK
Package and sign MSIX on a GitHub Actions Windows runner without installing the Windows SDK or hunting for MakeAppx.exe on the image.
How to Package a PSADT v4 App for Intune
Wrap a PowerShell App Deployment Toolkit v4 package into an intunewin file: folder layout, install and uninstall commands, detection rules and exit codes.
Which PSF Fix-up Do I Need? A Symptom-Led Guide
Your app packages cleanly as MSIX then misbehaves. Match the symptom to the right Package Support Framework fix-up, and know when PSF is the wrong answer.
Build and Sign MSIX in CI/CD Without the Windows SDK
How to package, sign and validate MSIX on a build agent with no Windows SDK installed, using makeappx-compatible verbs and the Windows packaging engine.
Legacy to MSIX: How to Convert Legacy Windows Applications
A practical legacy to MSIX guide: what counts as legacy, conversion routes compared, what PSF fixes, and when MSI or IntuneWin fits better.
EtherApps Forge Is Now Listed on Microsoft Marketplace
EtherApps Forge, EfficientEther's AI-assisted application packaging platform, is now on Microsoft Marketplace alongside EtherInsights and EtherAssist.
App-V to MSIX Migration: How to Plan the Move and What Breaks
An App-V to MSIX migration guide: assess the estate, convert App-V 5.1 packages, fix runtime gaps with PSF, sign, and deploy through Intune.
AVD to Windows 365 Migration: Comparing Costs and Knowing When to Move
How AVD and Windows 365 costs really compare, when to move personal or pooled desktops, and how the Windows 365 migration API helps. Directional guidance.
EtherApps Forge 1.0.6: PSF Fix-ups and MSIX Packaging for Developers
EtherApps Forge 1.0.6 adds Package Support Framework fix-ups for legacy apps and forge_msix, a drop-in makeappx replacement for developers and ISVs.
Free Windows 365 TCO Calculator: Check If Migrating From AVD Pays
Use the free Windows 365 TCO calculator to compare your current Azure Virtual Desktop run cost against Windows 365 Enterprise and Flex. Directional, no signup.
AI-Assisted Packaging Without the Data Risk: Why EtherApps Forge Runs on Your Tenant, Not Our SaaS
Why EtherApps Forge runs on your own tenant with Azure AI Foundry: customer-owned AI packaging, no training on your data, total control.
New Research: Native MSIX or App Attach for Azure Virtual Desktop?
EfficientEther publishes open-access research comparing native MSIX and App Attach for Azure Virtual Desktop across delivery and risk.
How to Repackage an Application When the Installer Is Lost
When the installer is gone and the vendor is unreachable, reverse packaging captures the app from a live installation and rebuilds a signed, deployable package.
How to Evaluate MSIX and AI Packaging in a 7-Day EtherApps Forge Trial
Plan a 7-day free trial of EtherApps Forge, a capture-first MSIX packager that is simple to set up, trial, and test on a real Windows application.
Package Support Framework: New Research on MSIX and App Attach Risk
Our latest R&D paper looks at where the Package Support Framework adds compatibility, and where it adds governance and security risk.
Concurrency Before Configuration: Choosing Flex, One-to-One and Shared Access in Windows 365
Desktop model choice gets clearer when you measure overlap, not headcount.
EfficientEther Introduces EtherApps Forge AI Controller
EtherApps Forge AI Controller enters private preview for customer-controlled agentic app packaging with MSIX, App Attach, and AI models.
A Capture-First Path to MSIX for Complex Windows Applications
When installer media is missing, outdated, or incomplete, live application capture becomes the practical route to modern packaging.
Which Desktops Should Leave First? A Practical Segmentation Model for Windows 365
Move the predictable majority early and treat true exceptions as a separate design problem.
MSIX Has Cleared the Technical Debate. Packaging Operations Now Carry the Risk
The format is mature. The delivery model is where modernisation programmes still win or stall.
AI Agent-Based Packaging Is Unblocking Legacy App Modernisation
How intelligent automation is accelerating application delivery, cutting packaging costs, and helping stalled migration projects move forward again.
EfficientEther Unveils New EtherApps Forge Release for Enterprise Application Migration
EtherApps Forge expands application migration, AI app packaging, remediation, and secure assistant integration for enterprise app estates.
EfficientEther and TMurgent Integrate for MSIX Packaging and Compatibility
EtherApps Forge integrates with TMurgent TMEditX to combine MSIX capture, manifest editing, and Package Support Framework capability.
EfficientEther Launches EtherApps Forge
EtherApps Forge launches as an AI-assisted application capture and packaging platform for legacy Windows apps, Windows 11, AVD, and Cloud PC.
Where this work leads
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