Repetition is a daily reality for packaging teams. When a vendor releases an update for an app that is important to your organisation, you rebuild it over and over again for Intune, AVD, Windows 365, and older formats. Each version is tested and maintained separately and, even then, there are some legacy apps that block MSIX moves entirely.
Capsule by Access IT Automation was designed to solve these problems.
It is a packaging technology that captures an app once in a single, signed .EIPX master. This can then be delivered in the way individual desktops need it.
One File Holding the Whole Application
The .EIPX format is central to how Capsule works. It is a single master package that contains everything that an app puts on a machine. It also carries a signed record of what that is. This is what your team packages, tests, and keeps. Every delivery format is then produced from it.
Key features of the .EIPX format include:
- Nothing is left behind. The master holds files, registry, shortcuts, icons, file types, shell registrations, COM registrations, services, drivers, virtual printers, and the settings needed between sessions.
- Using the master, you can produce MSI, MSIX, and Intune packages, as well as a WinGet manifest, a mountable VHDX, or a CimFS layer.
- Since you can produce MSIX packages, Capsule is a route for legacy apps that normally block an MSIX move.
- Each master is signed with a key held your own Azure Key Vault.
Now you have the master; what next? How do desktops receive it? Capsule has that covered too.
Four Ways to Put an App In Front of People
Different desktops need different delivery. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach that works in this part of EUC. What you need is a master that serves all requirements, and that’s what you get with Capsule.
In fact, there are four different ways to put apps in front of people. Plus, you don’t need to pick one of the four, as they can be mixed across your estate based on app, group, or desktop type:
- Native – a normal installation through Intune or the Capsule Agent.
- Isolated – the app runs in its own bubble with nothing installed into Windows. No admin rights are needed, and you get a clean removal.
- Layered – the app attaches on a VHDX or CimFS virtual disk at sign-in. The golden image stays golden.
- Streamed – the app starts before it has fully arrived for fast first launch and reduced bandwidth.
Furthermore, Capsule manages the life of the app beyond the first installation. For example, previous versions keep working if an upgrade fails, groups can roll back, and entitlements follow the person, regardless of desktop.
Products Overview, Including the Free Start
You have three Capsule products to choose from, including a free tier.
Capsule Studio and the .EIPX Format (Free)
Think of Capsule Studio as the packaging workbench. It runs in a browser on Azure and allows teams to capture EXE, MSI, App-V, and MSIX sources. They can also edit files, registry, shortcuts, and file types, as well as test in a disposable Azure clean room. The result of that test is recorded and published natively to Microsoft Intune.
Capsule Deploy (Licensed)
Capsule Deploy is the delivery console for your IT operations. You can assign apps to Microsoft Entra groups so they follow the person, and any version can go to any group, including rollback. Access changes reach people immediately, and streamed, isolated, and layered delivery are all possible.
Capsule Store
Capsule Store is a self-service storefront for your organisation. Each user can see a personal shelf of the apps they are entitled to. They can then request the apps they need, get approval, and receive them, all in one simple flow.
See It First at Utrecht
You can learn more about Capsule here. It will also get its live premiere at AppManagEvent on Friday 9 October. Access IT Automation Co-Founder and CTO David Butler-McAllister will be giving a demo at his speaker session, and you can chat to the team at our stand. See you in Utrecht!
