Microsoft is making a slew of announcements at this week's Build conference, and one of the less sexy but more important ones is Desktop App Converter, which is the formal name for Project Centennial, which was first announced during Build 2015.
Desktop App Converter gives developers the ability to convert Win32 and .NET applications into the AppX format used by Universal Windows Platform apps, and then make them available on Windows Store. The UWP conversion takes the desktop app and makes it deployable to any Windows 10 device, from desktops to tablets to smartphones and even the XBox. It also means developers can add UWP-specific features such as Cortana and push notifications to their apps.
While the converter remains in preview for an unspecified time, the news of its apparently imminent arrival brought cheers from the crowd at Build. That's evidence of the massive base of Win32/.NET applications out there that can take advantage of the converter—by Microsoft's estimate, it's more than 16 million.
Many of these are internally developed enterprise applications that won't necessarily be made available for commercial sale, but the Windows Store deployment option would still provide companies with a secure distribution channel for employees. Microsoft is obviously interested in growing the number of available apps in Windows Store as quickly as possible.
There's another consideration in play here as well, says Constellation Research VP and principal analyst Holger Mueller. Namely, it's to get those armies of Win32/.NET developers busy using Microsoft's newer development tools and platforms.
For example, perhaps the highest-profile announcement at Build concerned CEO Satya Nadella's "conversation as a platform" vision, which sees the future of application experiences driven by interaction with intelligent bots. While many of those 16 million Win32/.NET desktop applications will remain in use for years to come, they are part of a legacy Microsoft is trying to move past, while providing a bridge to the future.
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