2. Technotics Inc. wants to upgrade the OS of all Windows XP-based desktops to Windows 8. However, the employees of the organization are using various applications that are developed according to the specifications of the Windows XP architecture. These applications may not run if the systems are upgraded to Windows 8. It means that the applications may also need to be changed or upgraded with the OS. This will be a time-consuming task. Therefore, the organization has assigned you the task of analyzing the compatibility of the currently running applications prior to the deployment of Windows 8. Identify and explain the application compatibility process and the tools that you can use for the same. In addition, identify and explain the components of the network infrastructure that you need to assess while planning for desktop deployment.

The application compatibility process involves the following stages:

1.             Identifying the applications that need to be tested for compatibility with the new OS in a testing environment
2.             Running the applications on the new OS in a testing environment and identifying the incompatibilities
3.             Resolving application compatibility issues by using the tools provided by application vendors
4.             Deploying the applications and distributing the application compatibility solutions to the testing machines for hosting the applications
5.             Identifying the post deployment application compatibility issues that might arise, creating solutions, and distributing solutions

The tool that can be used to check application compatibility is Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT). It helps you to check the compatibility of the existing
applications including line-of-business applications with the new OS, which you plan to deploy on the desktops.