VMware Enhances Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Solution with General Availability of VMware Virtual Desktop Manager 2
Complete Desktop Virtualization Solution Now Available for the Enterprise and Supported by Dell, HP, IBM, NEC and Wyse Technology
PALO ALTO, Calif., January 30, 2008 — VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW), the global leader in virtualization solutions from the desktop to the data center, today enhanced its Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) solution with the new VMware Virtual Desktop Manager 2. Available immediately, VMware Desktop Manager 2 allows users to securely connect to their virtual desktops in the data center and gives IT administrators an easy and cost-effective way to manage virtual desktops. Major industry leaders, including Dell, HP, IBM, NEC and Wyse Technology, have embraced and extended VMware’s virtual desktop solution, making it a complete desktop virtualization solution for the enterprise.
VMware VDI integrates VMware Infrastructure 3 and VMware Virtual Desktop Manager 2 and provides an easy-to-manage desktop virtualization solution that takes advantage of virtualization technology used by more than 100,000 organizations. VMware VDI streamlines desktop management, reduces operational costs and provides business continuity capabilities that until now were available only for mission-critical server applications. By leveraging the capabilities of VMware Infrastructure 3, no other desktop virtualization solution offers comparable enterprise-class performance, reliability, security, manageability and seamless integration in a single solution.
VMware Virtual Desktop Manager 2 is a desktop management server that connects users to virtual desktops in the data center. With VMware Virtual Desktop Manager 2, end users can securely access their virtual desktops using either a personal computer or thin client. The product’s easy-to-use interface lets administrators manage thousands of desktops at once, and reduces the time it takes to provision a new desktop from hours to minutes.
“With VMware VDI, we’ve taken our desktop virtualization implementation to the next level and made our investment in VMware virtualization go even further,” said Steve Beaver, systems administrator at Florida Hospital. “VMware’s enterprise-class Virtual Desktop Manager 2 gives us a tightly integrated desktop virtualization solution that lets us rapidly provision new desktops to end users, reduce our support costs and manage desktops more efficiently across our organization.”
“The addition of VMware Virtual Desktop Manager to VMware VDI provides us with a complete desktop virtualization solution that extends our existing investment in VMware Infrastructure,” said Ian Mellor, network infrastructure and application consultant at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers. “This end-to-end solution enables us to leverage robust business continuity and disaster recovery capabilities while simplifying management, reducing operating costs and increasing control of our desktop deployments. Our users benefit from increased service levels while our IT staff benefits from reduced complexity.”
“Our customers are deploying VMware desktop virtualization solutions in greater and greater numbers,” said Jeff Jennings, vice president of desktop products and solutions at VMware. “Our expanded VDI solution now provides these organizations with a complete and integrated end-to-end desktop virtualization solution. Customers can now manage virtual desktops with greater levels of operational efficiency, flexibility, and security.”
VMware also works with numerous ecosystem partners to embrace and extend its desktop virtualization solution.
“Dell is simplifying client computing with Flexible Computing Solutions - validated offerings that centralize data and image control by combining hardware, software, services and support,” said Darrel Ward, director of Dell Product Group. “VMware’s Virtual Desktop Manager will help us build on our flexible approach to alternative computing with centralized data control and system management, while providing users anytime, anywhere desktop access.”
“HP and VMware have collaborated on solutions that leverage HP ProLiant and BladeSystem servers, HP Thin Clients and VMware virtualization,” said Scott Farrand, vice president of Industry Standard Server Software at HP. “The new VMware VDI offering provides manageability, security and reliability to enhance HP’s Remote Client Solutions portfolio, and complements HP platforms for our joint customers.”
“Desktop virtualization plays a key role in reducing complexity and costs for today’s end users,” said Jan Jackman, Global Technology Services VP of End User Services at IBM. “VMware Virtual Desktop Manager 2 is included as part of our Virtual Infrastructure Access (VIA) service product, which is offered as a project-based, managed service. This enables our joint customers to benefit from increased levels of manageability, mobility, reliability and security all for a low monthly fee per end user.”
“VMware’s VDI solution is an excellent platform for NEC’s Virtual PC Center solution because it supports virtual desktops running Microsoft Windows XPe,” said Ken Hertzler, director of Server Platform Group at NEC Corporation of America. “NEC looks forward to working with VMware on continued support of VMware Virtual Desktop Manager.”
"VMware Virtual Desktop Manager complements our support for the VMware VDI solution in our thin client products," said Curt Schwebke, CTO of Wyse Technology. "As desktop virtualization continues to gain traction as a game-changing tactic to reduce IT complexity, we'll continue to engage with VMware to develop effective desktop solutions for our mutual customers."
Availability, Packaging and Pricing (in USD):
VMware VDI and Virtual Desktop Manager 2 are available today. Pricing for VMware VDI is based on a list price of $150 per concurrent user and is packaged into two bundled offerings: the VMware VDI Starter Edition and the VMware VDI Bundle 100 Pack. Both bundles include VMware Infrastructure Enterprise Edition for VDI (which consists of VMware ESX Server 3.5 and VirtualCenter 2.5) and the VMware Virtual Desktop Manager 2. The VMware VDI Starter Edition, which enables 10 virtual desktops, has a list price of $1,500. The VMware VDI Bundle 100 Pack, which enables 100 virtual desktops, has a list price of $15,000. Customers may add on to either edition by purchasing additional licenses in increments of 10, based on the list price of $150 per concurrent user.
A la carte pricing for VMware Virtual Desktop Manager 2 is also available to current VMware VDI users for $50 per concurrent user, and it can be bundled with VMware Infrastructure. Customers can also download a 60-day evaluation of VMware VDI from www.vmware.com/download/vdi/eval.html.
All prices here are list prices for purchase directly from VMware.
For additional information about VMware VDI, please visit: www.vmware.com/products/vdi/.
About VMware
VMware (NYSE: VMW) is the global leader in virtualization solutions from the desktop to the data center. Customers of all sizes rely on VMware to reduce capital and operating expenses, ensure business continuity, strengthen security and go green. With 2007 revenues of $1.3 billion, more than 100,000 customers and more than 10,000 partners, VMware is one of the fastest growing public software companies. VMware is based in Palo Alto, California and on the web at www.vmware.com.
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