Enterprises could soon have a new, less painful way to manage legacy apps

Software-as-a-service (SaaS) is upending the way enterprises get work done. It offers apps in the cloud, lets end-users control them, and allows them to work from anywhere with their own devices.

Many companies, however, are still stuck with legacy apps installed on office computers. And they’re likely to stay that way for a long time. Attribute that to inertia from the money sunk into these systems, the perceived lack of security in cloud apps, and the pains associated with migration to the cloud.

Singapore startup Apvera has an alternative. It promises a way to manage apps that marries the best of legacy software with the benefits of SaaS. On top of that, it is able to offer security during app usage.

While the product is still in development, the company has already raised S$500,000 (US$388,000) from SPRING TECS, a Singapore government grant scheme.

Apvera gives you the the ability to use another computer from within the current one you’re using, through a system and interface provided by Apvera. That computer contains all the software – like Microsoft Office, ERP tools, or expense management – which are licensed to your company through the platform.

Apvera manages all of these, serving effectively as a portal (accessible from your browser) to an enterprise’s desktop apps. It gives them a SaaS-like nature. While the performance won’t be as smooth as using an app native to your computer, it shouldn’t be different from using a web app, says Paul Kim, vice president of product at Apvera. “We aim to target 20 percent of the apps out there that 80 percent of all business users consume the most,” he adds.

Paul Kim is the vice president of product at Apvera.

For end-users, such a system brings convenience in that you can access your enterprise apps anywhere. It’s single sign-on for all your legacy apps.

For enterprises, it offers user behavior monitoring in ways that wasn’t possible before with desktop apps. Since all user interactions occur through Apvera’s pipe, it can inform enterprises about how often purchased apps are being utilized and how exactly they’re being used, as well as highlight suspicious activity.

Finally, it frees IT admins from manually installing software onto every system, since everything can now be pre-approved on the cloud. An initial release is targeted for the end of Q2 2015.

“There’s a lot of cross-contamination right now with the bring-your-own-devices trend. So for end-users, we’re offering a demarcation between work and personal stuff. For enterprises, we’re selling security and the ability to understand user behavior,” says Kim.

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Enterprises could soon have a new, less painful way to manage legacy apps