ITMS Integration with Universal Windows Platform

Products

• Software Management Solution
• Client Management Suite
• IT Management Suite

Issue/Introduction

As Microsoft will distribute its applications through its Universal Windows Platform, is there any plan to integrate it with ITMS or how it will handle this to supervise and or install Microsoft Store products?

This information also pertains to Windows or Microsoft Store apps.

Environment

ITMS 8.5, 8.6, 8.7

Resolution

Regarding whether we have plans for our software management functionality to support such applications.  We believe that UWP (Universal Windows Platform) apps were formerly known as Windows Store apps and Metro-style apps. 

 

We have an enhancement request logged in that regard under "SWM/SMF: Support for Windows Metro Apps".  However, we are not currently planning any work in this area.  We can add your company to the request list so we can prioritize when we can review this area in our product.

 

One thing to mention, we already have inventory support for such apps if that is what you are looking for. In ITMS 8.5 we've added in Inventory solution some support for Windows Apps:

Ability to gather inventory data for Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) virtual applications and Microsoft Windows store applications.

You can now gather information about the following software: Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) virtual applications Microsoft Windows store applications

See:

Methods for Gathering Software Inventory

On Windows computers, you can gather information about the following applications:

• The applications in the Add or Remove Programs list of managed computers (MSI cache).
• Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) virtual applications
• Microsoft Windows store applications

 

 

Note:

A customer could still potentially use our product to distribute such applications.  However, the customer would need to put all of the required files in the software's package folder and manually create command lines, etc.

Such deployment was ever verified on our side but these instructions should theoretically allow proceeding with it: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-store/distribute-offline-apps.

Note that UWP apps are not packaged as typical Windows executables so installation using DISM, MDM or creation of provisioning package is required to deploy them.

 

Step-by-step in how to do this is outside of what is currently supported since it is not currently part of our product and it hasn't be tested/implemented.

Additional Information

Add-AppxProvisionedPackage (DISM) | Microsoft Learn

Add-AppxPackage (Appx) | Microsoft Learn

You can Provision and register MS Store apps with PowerShell and Dism. Normally you would need a License file to install MS Store apps outside of MS Store but you can skip the SkipLicense when installing on Enterprise or Server OS if the software doesn’t require a license.