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Cisco and VMware to Deliver Integrated Virtual Desktop Solution

Cisco and VMware to Deliver Integrated Virtual Desktop Solution

New Cisco Validated Design, Channel Initiatives to Accelerate Virtual Desktop Deployments

SAN JOSE, Calif. and PALO ALTO, Calif. — Nov. 16, 2010 — Cisco and VMware today announced a desktop virtualization solution based on Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) and VMware View™ 4.5.  Cisco and VMware are supporting this solution with new channel initiatives that will help channel partners accelerate deployment of virtual desktop solutions that scale to meet customers’ business needs and regulatory requirements while reducing risk and total cost of ownership (TCO).

Key Facts / Highlights:

Cisco and VMware Help Accelerate Virtual Desktop Deployments

  • Cisco Desktop Virtualization Solution with VMware View will simplify the physical and virtual infrastructure and management associated with desktop deployments, providing an excellent user experience, coupled with a foundation optimized for performance and availability.
  • The Cisco Desktop Virtualization Solution with VMware View will provide customers with:
    • Consistent security policy implementation and administration through UCS Manager and VMware View integration.
    • A streamlined operational model that helps enable deployment of virtual desktops to users in minutes.
    • A lower cost per seat realized through greater hosted desktop density, fewer components to purchase and manage, and reduced storage costs.
    • Consistent access to the desktop environment across locations and devices, with exceptional application responsiveness and graphics performance.
  • Two new Cisco Validated Designs (CVDs) based on Cisco UCS and VMware View 4.5 will help customers mitigate some of the risks to successful virtual desktop implementations, and will be pre-tested to help customers and channel partners accelerate the deployment of the combined solution.
  • The new CVDs are scheduled to be available next month based on the Cisco UCS and VMware View 4.5 combined solution with support for Cisco Nexus 1000V as well as EMC and NetApp storage solutions respectively. 
  • Scalable Cisco UCS starter packs and expansion packs optimized for VMware View-based desktops will enable customers to smoothly scale from proof of concept to full production deployments supporting tens of thousands of virtual desktops.
  • The Cisco Desktop Virtualization Solution with VMware View will be one of the core modules of the Cisco Virtualization Experience Infrastructure (VXI) system, which delivers a superior collaboration and rich media user experience, based on fully integrated, open and validated end-to-end desktop virtualization solutions.

Cisco and VMware Channel Initiatives:

Cisco and VMware also introduced new channel initiatives designed to help partners accelerate virtual desktop deployments for customers, including:

  • New Solution Enablement Toolkit (SET) based on VMware View and Cisco UCS.
  • Funding for partner-led assessments that use professional services IP jointly created by Cisco and VMware.
  • Twelve-city road show educating mutual Cisco and VMware partners across the United States and Canada, showcasing the Cisco Desktop Virtualization Solution with VMware View.
  • Demand generation and marketing initiatives that provide customizable marketing campaign tools including seminars in a box, ongoing lead generation, and follow-up and qualification campaigns targeted toward virtual desktop opportunities.

Supporting Quotes:

Soni Jiandani, vice president, Server, Access and Virtualization Technology Group, Cisco

“This solution builds on Cisco’s relationship with VMware in accelerating the adoption of our virtualization solutions. By combining our innovation in unified computing with VMware View™ desktop virtualization we are helping our customers quickly benefit from the operational savings of desktop virtualization.”

Chris Young, vice president and general manager, End User Computing, VMware

“VMware is committed to providing customers with secure, scalable and high-performance virtual desktop solutions that deliver the best user experience while lowering costs and management overhead. We’re excited to work with Cisco on new channel initiatives to provide partners the support they need to help get these solutions into customers’ hands faster.”

Greg Bowden, group vice president, Data Centre Solutions, Dimension Data

“Dimension Data’s clients want to accelerate their desktop virtualization strategies, without an increased deployment or security risk. As a global channel partner with Cisco and VMware, we are excited by this announcement as it creates a greater opportunity to deliver desktop virtualization solutions that are more cost effective, simpler to deploy and easier to manage.”

Steve Kaplan, vice president, Data Center Virtualization Practice, INX

“Cisco and VMware have a great track record of collaborating on high-impact solutions and helping partners deliver them to customers. The new CVD and partner programs they announced today will be a great help to our team in providing customers with cohesive, unified and highly secure virtual desktop solutions that are scalable and easy to manage.”

Nino D’Auria, CEO, Lutech

“The virtual desktop solution from Cisco and VMware is the right approach, especially considering that it has become more and more important for organizations to reduce their total cost of ownership (TCO) and optimize the lifecycle management of their hardware infrastructure.  Additionally this desktop virtualization solution helps enable companies to quickly adapt themselves to a possible change in the business. We have collaborated with Cisco and VMware for many years, and their desktop virtualization solution lets us expand our offering for virtualization infrastructure with a ground-breaking technology and with competitive implementation costs.”

Technorati Tags: Cisco, VMware, Desktop Virtualization, VXI, Virtual Desktop, VMware View, Unified Computing, UCS

Supporting Resources:

RSS Feed for Cisco: http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/rss.html

About Cisco

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO), the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate, this year celebrates 25 years of technology innovation, operational excellence and corporate social responsibility. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com.

About VMware

VMware (NYSE: VMW) delivers virtualization and cloud infrastructure solutions that help enable IT organizations to energize businesses of all sizes. With the industry leading virtualization platform – VMware vSphere™ – customers rely on VMware to reduce capital and operating expenses, improve agility, ensure business continuity, strengthen security and go green. With 2009 revenues of $2.9 billion, more than 190,000 customers and 25,000 partners, VMware is the leader in virtualization which consistently ranks as a top priority among CIOs. VMware is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the world and can be found online at www.vmware.com.


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VMware, VMware View and VMware vSphere are registered trademarks and/or trademarks of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. All other marks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies. The use of the word “partner” or “partnership” does not imply a legal partnership relationship between VMware and any other company.