You can use the next version as a platform for running applications, in addition to using it as a platform for running virtual machines. The applications can be packaged to run directly on top of the next version. The format of how the applications are packaged and managed is called VMware vApp.
vApp has the same basic operations as a virtual machine, but can actually contain multiple virtual machines or multiple services. In the VI client, vApp is both represented in the Host and Clusters view and the VM and Template view. Each view has a specific summary page with the current status of the service and relevant summary information, as well as operations on the service. The distribution format for vApp is OVF. Importing and exporting a vApp is performed as you would import or export a virtual appliance.