VMware Announces Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Alliance
New Alliance Formed to Speed Adoption and Deployment of Virtual Desktop Infrastructure
PALO ALTO, Calif., April 24, 2006 — VMware, Inc., the global leader in virtualization software for industry-standard systems, today announced the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Alliance. The Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Alliance is a technology alliance of hardware, software and service providers for building joint virtual desktop offerings.
Desktops are the most underutilized and most difficult to manage IT asset in the enterprise. Today's business and technology climate has created a new set of desktop management problems such as ensuring data security and privacy within outsourcing and off shoring arrangements and with remote workers as well as ensuring desktop standardization, security and compliance. Using VMware Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, IT administrators host and centrally manage desktop virtual machines in their data center while offering end users a full desktop experience that can be accessed anytime and anywhere.
"Now with VMware Virtual Desktop Infrastructure in place, anytime someone needs a new computer, it is easy and inexpensive to create a thin client," said Jim Jones, network administrator for WTC Communications. "A new user, even one with an old laptop, can remote desktop protocol (RDP) to a virtual XP box, and it works beautifully."
"Enterprises have been using VMware virtual infrastructure to host desktops on their servers for more than four years for increased security and manageability and we continue to see strong customer interest for VMware Virtual Desktop Infrastructure. Just as the Web has transformed many applications into a hosted service, virtualization is transforming the entire desktop into a server hosted environment that is always on, dynamically scalable and centrally secured and managed," said Brian Byun, vice president of products and alliances at VMware. "Today we are excited to announce the formation of the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Alliance to accelerate the development and adoption of desktop virtualization."
As part of the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Alliance, VMware plans to collaborate with each member to create, test and integrate joint desktop hosting offerings based on VMware virtual infrastructure and the partner's hardware or software product. Customers will have the freedom and flexibility to choose their preferred partner and deploy a best in class enterprise desktop solution that meets their business needs.
VMware has engaged a number of technology vendors to form this alliance including Altiris, Appstream, Ardence, Check Point Software Technologies, Citrix, ClearCube Technology, Devon IT, Dunes Technologies, Fujitsu, Fujitsu-Siemens, Hitachi, HP, IBM, Leostream, NComputing, NEC, Platform Computing, Propero, Provision Networks, Route1, Softricity, Sun, Wyse Technology and Zeus Technology.
"Altiris provides systems management for both physical and virtual environments with unique capabilities for virtual machine deployment," said Tyler Smith, vice president of business development at Altiris. "Management automation will be integral to the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Alliance and necessary for efficient desktop hosting, hardware optimization, IT control and security. With the recent release of Altiris Software Virtualization Solution, we now look to offer application-level virtualization for the hosted desktop."
"We believe that the VMware Virtual Desktop Infrastructure creates a vastly more flexible working environment than the traditional static systems," said Srinivasa Venkataraman, AppStream COO. "AppStream's on-demand application streaming platform builds on this advantage by applying similar flexibility to the next layer up —the applications. We also improve disaster recovery by removing applications from the equation, significantly reducing recovery time. This cohesive, layered approach greatly enhances the total value of VMware Virtual Desktop Infrastructure."
"Virtual desktops are game changing in terms of improved security, lower administration costs and increased business," said Jeff Hibbard, vice president of marketing at Ardence. "VMware's Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Alliance is creating the ecosystem necessary to deliver the right desktop, to the right person, to do the right job, at the right time. Ardence is collaborating enthusiastically with VMware to make on-demand computing a reality."
"Desktop security has become instrumental for enterprises that have a large remote worker pool as well as disaster recovery and regulatory compliance issues to face," said Ken Fitzpatrick, CMO of Check Point Software Technologies. "By deploying endpoint security from Check Point with VMware Virtual Desktop Infrastructure and leveraging products in the Check Point portfolio like VPN-1 Pro and Connectra, enterprises can provide layered protection to the servers hosting VMware Virtual Desktop Infrastructure. We see our collaborative efforts with VMware as another way of providing customers with the highest level of desktop security available."
"Citrix believes that virtual desktop infrastructures will be an important deployment model for enterprises facing an increasingly distributed end-user population," said David Jones, corporate vice president for business development and corporate affairs for Citrix. "Citrix has been delivering virtualized applications and desktops since our inception, and our Citrix Access Infrastructure, in tandem with the VMware Virtual Desktop Infrastructure capabilities, addresses the needs of enterprises who now require a virtualized OS infrastructure down to a remote desktop user. We've worked with VMware in the past, and look forward to expanding our efforts with VMware in virtual desktop infrastructures as well."
"ClearCube has been delivering centralized client computing solutions since its launch of PC blades in 2000," said Raj Shah, CMO of ClearCube Technology. "In 2004, we embraced desktop virtualization with our Grid Center software that dynamically allocates connections between thin clients, blades and virtual machines. Today, ClearCube is pleased to bring its experience in centralized computing to the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Alliance and help promote desktop virtualization as a way for organizations to improve computing resource utilization."
"The Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Alliance will offer administrators a clear path to virtualizing the desktop and reducing costs," said Joe Makoid, President of Devon IT. "By combining Devon IT thin client terminals with VMware virtualized desktops, customers will have a powerful alternative to traditional costly desktop PCs."
"We are delighted to extend our cooperation with VMware to desktop hosting," said Stefan Hochuli, CTO of Dunes Technologies. "We shall provide a single integrated orchestration platform for virtual servers and hosted desktops alike. Automating repetitive processes will augment the agility and flexibility of IT operations resulting in measurable improvements in service quality and increased user satisfaction at reduced cost."
"Today VMware is already a major building block in Fujitsu Siemens Computer's dynamic data center strategy," said Jens-Peter Seick, vice president of enterprise server business at Fujitsu Siemens. "The VMware Virtual Desktop Infrastructure approach will enable us to solve customer requests, to experience equivalent consolidation effects for dedicated desktop scenarios, as they already achieved in the server space. Based on the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Alliance, Fujitsu Siemens Computer will develop complete end-to-end solution stacks, combining flexible FUTRO Thin Client solutions with latest server infrastructure like the PRIMERGY blade ecosystem."
"HP is excited to continue our long history of collaborative efforts with VMware in delivering resource and cost-saving virtualization tools to our joint customers," said Rick Becker, vice president and general manager of HP BladeSystem Division. "Customers rely on HP's desktop virtualization portfolio which includes HP thin clients, HP management software, HP services and our HP BladeSystem portfolio. We feel customers will continue to benefit from HP and VMware's virtualization collaboration as the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Alliance evolves."
"IBM and VMware teamed last year to launch the first offering of IBM Virtualized Hosted Client Infrastructure, which delivers full desktop functionality to any client from highly reliable and secure IBM System X and BladeCenter servers," said Juhi Jotwani, director of IBM BladeCenter Solutions and Alliances. "IBM is proud to be a charter member of the Virtual Desktop Alliance and as a leading IT services provider we look forward to continuing our collaboration with VMware and other members of the alliance to develop and deliver joint desktop hosting solutions to help customers increase the efficiencies and utilization of their computing resources."
"Leostream is excited by VMware's Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Alliance because it formalizes the successful integration of Leostream's Virtual Desktop Controller with VMware virtual infrastructure —a product-proven combination that enables virtual desktop deployments to successfully scale to thousands of users," said David Crosbie, CEO of Leostream.
"By participating in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Alliance and utilizing VMware Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, NComputing will provide customers with more choices for their remote access protocols and thin client technologies," said Klaus Maier CTO for NComputing.
"NEC is very supportive of the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Alliance as NEC has already developed and deployed our PC virtualization thin client solution 'VirtualPCCenter'," said Katsumi Inoue, general manager of 2nd Computers Software Division of the Computers Software Operations Unit at NEC. "By adding VMware Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, NEC can deliver more options and respond to a broader range of customer needs. Moving forward, NEC will deliver better thin client solutions to customers using VMware Virtual Desktop Infrastructure."
"We are pleased to extend our partnership with VMware as a charter member of the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Alliance," said Chris Purpura, vice president of strategic alliances and new ventures at Platform Computing, "VMware Virtual Desktop Infrastructure is a key component of an overall enterprise virtualization strategy enabled by joint solutions from VMware and Platform. The Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Alliance will provide customers with comprehensive solutions for integrating hosted desktops into their virtual environments."
"Propero is proud to be a member of the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Alliance driven by VMware," said Steve Peskin, Co-CEO for Propero. "With the combination of VMware virtual infrastructure and Propero's user virtualization software, users can securely access their virtual desktop or applications seamlessly from within their browser. This partnership will enable customers to create a best in class enterprise desktop solution that simplifies IT infrastructure and reduces costs."
"Together with VMware, Provision Networks is making desktop access virtualization a reality for enterprise adoption," said John Brennan, vice president of corporate strategy at Provision Networks. "We are excited about being part of the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Alliance, a novel program aimed at addressing real customer objectives."
"We are anticipating strong adoption of the VMware Virtual Desktop Infrastructure platform as customers adopt smart business continuity programs that include the return on investment that Route1's MobiKEY can offer," said Andrew White, CEO of Route1. "Our alliance with VMware will enable organizations to simply and cost-effectively deploy the combination of virtualized environments built with VMware's Virtual Desktop Infrastructure and Route1's SAFE Response solution."
"Softricity is excited to be working with VMware to enable the server-hosted desktop solution. Customers now have a truly on-demand infrastructure for both desktops and the applications that run within them," said Bill Corrigan, vice president of product management at Softricity. "By combining VMware's machine virtualization with Softricity's application virtualization and on-demand streaming delivery, applications can now run within each server-hosted desktop without the need for installation or compatibility testing, reducing the number of operating system images that need to be managed and further reducing the costs of desktop management."
"Sun is committed to enabling customers to migrate to a more secure desktop environment," said Alan Brenner, vice president of Sun Client Systems Group. "Sun's Secure Global Desktop Software and Sun Ray products combined with VMware virtual infrastructure can transform an enterprise by delivering desktop environments and applications with superior security and end-user mobility."
"Wyse is very excited to be working with VMware on the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Alliance. Hosted desktops on VMware virtual infrastructure are a perfect fit for a Wyse thin computing solution. This winning combination provides enhanced manageability and security for our enterprise customers," said Ali Fenn, vice president of business development and alliances for Wyse Technology. "Our strategic relationship with VMware is a key component of our strategy to team with industry leaders to provide customers with integrated end-to-end thin computing solutions."
"Increasing workforce mobility raises the challenge of providing remote applications and desktops securely, reliably and cost effectively," said Paul di Leo, CEO of Zeus Technology. "Performance and reliability is key to realizing productivity. Zeus is delighted to be working with VMware in applying our ZXTM traffic management solutions to accelerate the adoption of desktop virtualization."
About VMware, Inc.
VMware, an EMC company (NYSE: EMC), is the global leader in virtual infrastructure software for industry-standard systems. The world's largest companies use VMware solutions to simplify their IT, fully leverage their existing computing investments and respond faster to changing business demands. VMware is based in Palo Alto, California. For more information, visit www.vmware.com or call 650-475-5000.
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