VMware extends virtual workspaces to mobile devices

VMware has assembled a package that combines its desktop virtualisation software with its tools for managing mobile devices, giving administrators a unified suite to manage all of their end-users’ application requirements.

The company launched the VMware Workspace Suite at VMworld, being held this week in San Francisco.

VMware Workspace, available now, unifies VMware’s virtualised end-user computing products into one bundle in much the same way VMware’s vSphere suite collects the company’s server virtualisation products, said Sanjay Poonen, VMware’s executive vice president and general manager of end-user computing, in a keynote talk at the conference yesterday.

The new package consists of VMware’s AirWatch mobile management software, AirWatch Secure Content Locker, VMware Horizon 6, and VMware Workspace Portal.

Both of the mobile device oriented AirWatch titles came from VMware’s purchase of the company of the same name, in January for $1.5 billion.

With this package in place, enterprise mobile users can now access their Windows applications, cloud software services and web applications from a single location, the VMware Workspace Portal.

Administrators can manage all these user applications through the VMware vCloud Automation Center and VMware vCenter Operations Manager.

“This is great for IT because it can simplify management. They can manage everything in one place with consistent management across different devices,” said Kit Colbert, VMware’s chief technology officer for end-user computing, during Poonen presentation. “End users can connect any device of their choice up to the cloud and get a consistent experience.”

Poonen made a number of other announcements at the conference around VMware’s efforts in advancing the state of end user computing.

VMware has partnered with Google and Nvidia to improve the performance of applications being streamed to Google Chromebooks through VMware Blast and Nvidia’s Grid virtual GPU technology. It has also worked with SAP to have AirWatch software work with SAP’s own mobile management software SAP Mobile Place.

The company has embarked on a new effort, called Project Meteor, that uses HTML5 to deliver virtualised applications to the desktop and mobile devices.

Source : cio.co.uk