I have right now an unmodified .iso of a windows 7 32bit and 64bit installation disk. And I need to integrate to that some applications (office, adobe reader etc) and windows updates so that when windows are installed the above applications/updates are already installed and working.

Requirements:

1. My output has to be a install.wim image containing the new/improved windows installation files because the deployment is done via a pxe server and a custom windowsPE enviroment.
2. The procedure to create the install.wim has to be as automatic as possible. I can't create it manually every time I want to incorporate a new windows or application update to the image.

The image will be installed on 100+ computers so it needs to be 'generic'.

I've never done something like this before but from what I searched a possible solution to this issue would be:

1. To create a reference installation (preferably on a vm so I can take snapshots) complete with its applications/updates/settings.
2. After the complete setup I take a snapshot of the installation
3. Run C:\Windows\System32\sysprep\sysprep.exe /oobe /generalize /shutdown to sysprep the machine.
4. Boot to a WindowsPE enviroment and capture the .wim image using gimagex.
5. Deploy the .wim and enjoy the rapid installation times. :D

Does that sound ok? Would you recommend anything else? Right now the applications are installed after the installation of windows is complete. So the total installation time is quite long. That's why I need a different approach.