VMware Announces Fourth Generation of Desktop Virtualization Software

Market Leader Sets A New Standard With Feature-Packed Release Optimized For The Power User

PALO ALTO, Calif., March 24, 2003 — VMware, Inc., the global leader in virtual machine software for industry-standard systems, today announced VMware Workstation 4, the latest generation of its powerful virtual machine software for the desktop. VMware Workstation lets users run multiple operating systems--including Microsoft Windows, Linux and Novell NetWare--and their applications simultaneously on a single PC in fully networked, portable virtual machines.

Since its introduction in 1999, VMware Workstation has revolutionized software development by dramatically simplifying and accelerating the way software is developed and deployed, allowing developers to shorten development cycles, improve hardware utilization, increase productivity and bring products to market faster.

"VMware Workstation allows us to simultaneously run several operating systems on a single PC. The ability to handle multiple functions, whether we are installing and testing new applications or migrating information from one operating system to another, gives us greater efficiency in serving our customers whether they are Humana associates or external customers. VMware Workstation has streamlined our daily workflow and the technical support services we offer," said Anthony Staples, systems software analyst in Information Technology at Humana. Humana is one of the nation's largest publicly traded health benefits companies, with approximately 6.6 million medical members.

VMware Workstation provides the ultimate development environment and is now a defacto standard for developers. The portability of virtual machines makes it possible for development teams to share development environments and pre-packaged operating system and application testing configurations. In addition, VMware’s software architecture enables virtual machines to be moved between desktops running VMware Workstation and development and test servers running VMware’s enterprise-class server products.

"SPL works with a team of more than 300 developers at client sites all over the world. Thanks to VMware Workstation now our developers can load any version of our software that they need and can keep multiple versions at the ready to service SPL's clients. With support from VMware Workstation, one SPL developer can handle virtual machine builds and complex software distribution easily. If you have a need for version control or complex distributions of software, VMware Workstation is the only way to go," said Jeff Singleton, Global Delivery Support for SPL Worldgroup. SPL Worldgroup is a leading provider of customer management solutions to the global energy, water, waste management and services industries.

Today VMware Workstation is used by more than 1.4 million users worldwide for software development, testing and deployment; application compatibility and operating system migration; training and sales demos; and software help desk and technical support.

"VMware Workstation allowed us to keep a critical application in its original Windows 95 environment when we migrated users to Windows 2000. Our users now have a much more productive work environment with Windows 2000 and the Office productivity suite, and we didn't have to absorb the costs of migrating a complex and heavily modified Windows 95 application. We also didn't have to furnish a second computer for every user just to support the 16 bit application," said Pat Jerich, director of IT Operations for Donaldson. Donaldson is a leading worldwide provider of filtration systems and replacement parts.

VMware Workstation 4 is a feature-packed release optimized for the power user. New and enhanced features include:

Snapshots - Users can take a snapshot, a point-in-time copy of a running virtual machine state, save it and then revert back to it at any time
Full Debug Support - Users can attain the full functionality of native program debugging within a virtual machine with support for both user- and kernel-level debuggers
Drag and Drop and Shared Folders - Users can easily share files between host and guest virtual machines by a shared folder or drag and drop file icons between systems
Tabbing Between Virtual Machines - Users can switch between virtual machines with the click of a mouse
Improved Sound and Video - Users can listen to music in virtual machines with high fidelity via support for a new industry-standard SoundBlaster sound device and take advantage of upgraded high performance graphics when streaming video
New Operating System Support - Support for a number of additional operating systems as host and/or guest: Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Red Hat Linux 8.0 and 8.1 beta, Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS, SuSE 8.0 and 8.1, SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 8, Mandrake Linux 9.0, and Novell NetWare 5 and 6

"VMware Workstation 4 responds to our customers' needs and we've taken a great product and made it even better," said Diane Greene, president and chief executive officer of VMware.

Pricing and Availability

VMware Workstation 4 will be available for both Windows and Linux host operating systems in April, 2003. The electronic software distribution will be available for $299 via the VMware Store ; the boxed version for $329. The product will also be available from VMware resellers including CorpSoft, Programmer's Paradise, Software House International and Software Spectrum and through VMware authorized distributors including Ingram Micro, Lifeboat Distribution and Synnex.

Registered customers who purchased a full version of VMware Workstation 3.2 on or after February 19, 2003 will be eligible for a free electronic download distribution upgrade license to VMware Workstation 4 via the VMware Store once the product is released. Registered customers of VMware Workstation 3.x who purchased prior to February 19, 2003 will be eligible for an electronic download distribution upgrade license to VMware Workstation 4 for $99 and $129 for the boxed version. A full-featured trial version can be downloaded directly from the VMware Web site.

About VMware, Inc.

VMware, Inc. is the global leader in virtual machine software for industry-standard systems. With more than 5,000 customers worldwide and 80% of the Fortune 100, VMware provides companies with a proven set of enterprise products and solutions to consolidate their server infrastructure, improve software lifecycle management and provide application compatibility in mixed operating system environments. Based on the company's patented technology, VMware's products enable companies to flexibly scale and control their infrastructure to quickly respond to business demands, improve return on investment and dramatically reduce total cost of ownership. VMware is based in Palo Alto, California. For more information, visit www.vmware.com or call 650-475-5000.

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