New capabilities support component-based installation development used by software ISVs

Maidenhead, UK – May 17, 2011 - Flexera Software, the leading provider of strategic Application Usage Management solutions for application producers and their customers, today announced the launch of InstallAnywhere 2011, the leading multiplatform development solution for software producers needing to deliver a professional and consistent installation experience for cross-platform desktop and server applications.  More than 70,000 independent software vendors and enterprise customers use Flexera Software’s InstallShield and InstallAnywhere solutions to deploy their software on more than 550 million desktops around the world.  InstallAnywhere 2011 features multiple enhancements supporting distributed and component-based install development and deployment.

“As software teams implement agile development practices, they need more flexible ways to author, build and package installations,” said Maureen Polte, senior director of product management at Flexera Software.  “This release supports the evolving needs of agile teams to develop, package, install and iterate in the fast-paced, dynamic environments that mark today’s development shops.”

InstallAnywhere 2011 contains a host of new features and functions designed to streamline the installation process including:

Single Uninstaller for All Installation Components: Allows the installation developer to decide when and if components should be uninstalled if the main product is uninstalled, thus eliminating the need for the installer to manually code this logic in non-Windows environments.

Single Installer Progress Bar: When an installation contains multiple components, a single progress bar is shown to the user, giving a more accurate picture of installation progress. 

Extended External Resource Bundle Support: All components of an installation program can now use the same external resource bundles, thus reducing the time and effort to localize installation dialogs.

Enhanced Installation Logging:  All components of an installation program can now write to their own installation log and can be consolidated into a single log file.  All logging related settings have been consolidated into a single log settings task.

Expanded Platform Support: Support for the latest and most updated platforms including Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard), SUSE Linux 11.3, Ubuntu 9.10, Solaris 11, HP-UX 11i, AIX 7.1, IBM i5/OS, Z/OS, RHEL 6 and Fedora 14.

Complex Rule Expressions with Multiple Operators: The ability to write complex rule expressions (and/or/not) with the application logic, supporting set up authors to better mirror their complex business logic.

Java Virtual Machine (JVM) Enhancements & Runtime Download: Support for the latest versions of JVM for Sun, IBM, Apple and HP (ver 1.4x, 1.5x and 1.6x), with advanced search enhancements for the developer to put in their installer.  Users also have the option to download a JVM from the Internet in real time if one is not found on the end user machine, saving time and providing a smaller footprint for the installer package.   

“Signed” Installations: Support for custom code archives or their dependencies as signed Java Archives (JARS), enabling InstallAnywhere to extract files and make use of Java to verify the signature, thus ensuring the safety of these custom code JARS.

"As the market leader in installation software we are constantly striving to improve the installation process for today’s dynamic development shops,” said Polte.  “From the company that set the standard for installations with InstallShield, this release of InstallAnywhere brings that experience and knowledge to the table for multiplatform developers.”