Reimagining VM Application Management for an AI-Powered, Secure Future

Microsoft

Nov 18, 2025

The Next Evolution in VM Software Management

Enterprises today face two simultaneous shifts that are transforming how virtual machine (VM) software is built, delivered, secured, and managed:

AI-driven automation is accelerating productivity — applications and configurations are now being generated, packaged, and deployed faster than ever before.
Rising security threats and global outages demand stronger administrative controls, trusted software sources, and local resiliency.

Traditional VM software deployment methods—such as scripts, custom images, or manual updates—can’t keep pace with these demands. They introduce risks like configuration drift, inconsistent environments, and limited visibility post-deployment.

Azure VM Applications provides a managed, end-to-end solution for VM software lifecycle management that enables faster publishing, secure deployment, and consistent governance at cloud scale.

End-to-end software management using Azure VM Applications

Achieving Faster Application Publishing & Deployment

Modern AI agents, DevOps workflows, and automated build pipelines are generating workloads at unprecedented speed. Azure VM Applications allows teams to match that pace with a reliable and managed way to deliver software into Azure Virtual Machines (VMs) and Virtual Machine Scale Sets (VMSS).

Key Benefits

Package anything – Package any binary, configuration script, app, file, or AI model into a reusable VM Application. VM Applications can act as a payload carrier, configuration service, app deployment engine, and monitoring service.
Publish & deploy faster – Publish within seconds, deploy or update independently without affecting other VM components.
Improved cross-team development – Different teams can publish independently. Deployment teams can deploy multiple published apps together or independently.
Deploy larger workloads – Deploy up to 25 applications (2 GB each) per VM without rebuilding images, making it ideal for workloads with large payloads like AI models, gaming apps, media rendering tools, data processing frameworks, etc.
Faster deployment than scripts – Applications are locally replicated within each Azure region or zone, enabling faster deployments than internet-based scripts.
Automation-ready integration – Works seamlessly with Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, Jenkins, and GitLab Pipelines for CI/CD.
Instant updates through templates and APIs – Use ARM templates, PowerShell, or REST APIs to inject new app versions into existing workloads within seconds.

In short: Azure VM Applications turn traditional VM management into a modern, modular, and version-controlled process that keeps up with AI-scale automation.

Strengthening Security and Regional Resilience

The growth in security attacks across the software lifecycle and global service dependencies makes it essential to control what runs inside your VMs and where it comes from. Azure VM Applications enhances both security and operational resilience through trusted, locally managed publishing.

Key Benefits:

Private app repositories – Create private galleries and share to specific subscriptions and tenants. Published VM Applications are stored within your organization’s Azure environment.
Automatic regional replication – Apps are automatically replicated across Azure regions and zones for low-latency access and business continuity during outages.
Granular admin controls – Apply Azure Policy to inject and enforce apps and their versions across the infrastructure, ensuring compliance with security and governance standards.

Result: Localized control, compliance, and resilience—ensuring secure VM operations even under regional or global disruptions.

Managing the Complete Software Lifecycle

Azure VM Applications go beyond deployment. They embed management, governance, and monitoring directly into the platform—removing the need for separate tooling or manual oversight.

Key Benefits:

Versioned deployments for safe rollout and rollback.
Modular monitoring – Monitor the presence and state of each VM component across VMs and VMSS.
Unified monitoring and governance – Leverage Azure Resource Graph and Azure Policy for compliance and visibility.
Improved troubleshooting – Use Activity Logs and Resource Graph to track what’s running and changes across operations.

This unified approach replaces custom scripts and manual processes with a managed, traceable, and auditable software delivery model.

How to Publish and Deploy a VM Application

Publishing and deploying a VM Application in Azure is straightforward.

Step 1: Create and Publish

Upload your application package to an Azure Storage account.
Publish VM Application

Portal: Navigate to Azure Compute Galleries → Select a gallery → Create VM Application definition.

Add VM Application version

Portal: Navigate to Azure Compute Galleries → Select a gallery → Select VM Application definition → Add version.

Step 2: Deploy to VM or VMSS

Add during VM or VMSS creation
- Portal: Create VM/VMSS and add VM Applications under Advanced settings.
Update existing VMs or VMSS
- Portal: Navigate to Virtual Machines → Extensions + Applications under Settings → Add application.
Automate with CI/CD
- Integrate with Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, Jenkins, or other CI/CD tools using PowerShell or CLI commands.