VMworld Desktop Announcements

So we have been meaning to provide this update since the event but have only just got round to it – apologies.

So what announcements were made?

• VMware Horizon App Manager will support Windows apps through ThinApp
• The mobile phone hypervisor, MVP, will be Horizon Mobile
• View 5.

VMware Horizon App Manager

The vision of VMware Horizon is pretty neat, and VMware is extending this vision further to include the deployment ThinApp packages.

The process behind the publishing of the application through Horizon involves the addition of a DLL to the ThinApp package which allows Horizon to manage it.  Once the change is made you direct your Horizon environment at the Thinapp store whereby a Horizon scan is performed.  Once the scan is complete you then compile your application catalog and align them to the users for self subscription.

Horizon will be the ideal platform for Thinapp application delivery and is long overdue.  Once end user take up of Horizon is seen it is clear that the delivery of SaaS applications and other web based applications will become the next phase of deployment again fueling adoption.

At the moment Horizon is aimed at View desktops for integration and is understandable but as the product evolves the future focus will be on all Windows desktop environments, and you can also imagine Google Chrome OS and other mobile devices.

VMware MVP (Horizon Mobile)

It is hard to believe that it has been nearly three years since VMware acquired Trango to provide the MVP capability.  The concept is a type II hypervisor model, in that you own a phone a native (personal) OS, then you have a second Android OS (corporate) instance that runs in a VM on top of the native OS. The corporate VM can run a different version of the Android OS from the personal one, and it can be totally controlled by the IT department through native management or integrated as part of your MDM strategy.

The corporate VM can be connected to a VPN while the personal environment is not. All of the apps and encryption can be controlled by IT.

VMware is branding this as Horizon Mobile.

VMware View 5

VMware also announced the next version of VMware View – version 5.  The key features of View 5 are:

• View Media Services for 3D Graphics
• View Media Services for Integrated Unified Communications
• View Persona Management
• PCoIP Extension Services
• PCoIP Optimisation Controls
• PCoIP Continuity Services
• View Client for Android
• Enhanced Security Settings
• vSphere 5 support.