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Virtual Iron and Provision Networks Introduce New Bundled VDI Solution to Streamline the Management and Support of Desktop Computing Infrastructure

Posted on: Monday, 16 April 2007, 09:00 CDT

Virtual Iron Software (www.virtualiron.com) and Provision Networks (www.provisionnetworks.com) today introduced a new bundled, server-hosted, virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) solution that targets the challenges of managing, securing and maintaining today's Windows-based, enterprise desktop infrastructure. The joint solution, which is available immediately, simplifies desktop management, shortens refresh cycles, and reduces hardware and software costs. It delivers all the benefits of server virtualization to desktop infrastructure and provides the first economically attractive alternative for desktop virtualization.

Desktop computing makes up an increasingly large part of the enterprise computing infrastructure today. As distributed end points, desktops are among the most difficult to secure, manage and maintain. Refresh cycles, compliance, ongoing maintenance and user support are huge undertakings. These challenges put IT resources under tremendous pressure and significantly increase total cost of ownership. The Virtual Iron/Provision Networks Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) solution hosts individual Windows desktop PCs inside virtual machines running on servers in the data center. This thin-client architecture is significantly easier to secure, maintain and support and it enables an organization's complete Windows desktop environment to be securely accessed and serviced centrally.

"Server-based virtual desktop infrastructure offers significant benefits including better manageability and security while reducing cost of acquisition and operations," said John Humphreys, Director of IDC's Enterprise Virtualization program. "Virtual Iron and Provision Networks' joint solution reduces both the cost and complexity of VDI and is aligned to bring all the benefits of server virtualization to desktop computing."

"Heartland Financial has adopted several virtualization technologies with tremendous success and we expect server-based virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) to provide similar ROI as part of our long term virtualization strategy," said Marti Vandemore, CIO at Heartland Financial. "We have engaged RapidApp, a leading service provider in the virtualization space, to deliver their QuickStart service offering and a server-based, hosted VDI environment utilizing Virtual Iron and Provision Networks' technologies."

The joint solution enables a fully isolated, customizable and secure environment where users are able to work with standard desktop operating systems and applications. Virtual desktops can be user-customized and provisioned on demand instantly, providing performance and user experience that are comparable to a desktop personal computer. This allows enterprises to replace legacy desktops with virtual desktops for many usage scenarios such as call centers, offshore development, and secure, remote access. The benefits of VDI are numerous and include:

reduced hardware costs

reduced IT support costs

streamlined upgrade path for faster adoption of new software; i.e. Microsoft Vista

increased IT staff productivity and reduced employee downtime

reduced power and cooling requirements

increased data and IP security

Server-hosted VDI also provides capabilities not available in standard PCs, such as the infrastructure for high availability and disaster recovery that can further reduce downtime and improve end-user productivity.

The Virtual Iron/Provision Networks VDI solution provides a complementary alternative to both terminal services and fat-client desktop virtualization at a significantly lower total cost of ownership. The joint solution provides for a personalized client experience very similar to that of a dedicated PC including fast performance, a fully isolated and secure environment and standard desktop operating systems. Unlike a distributed desktop approach, Virtual Iron and Provision Networks provide centralized management of the virtualized desktop infrastructure. Software can be easily deployed and upgraded, ongoing patch management is made simpler, applications can be load balanced and corporate IP can be more securely protected, especially from contract or outsourced employees.

"Virtual desktop infrastructure has the potential to significantly reduce the operational costs in IT organizations facing certain desktop deployment scenarios," said Ron Oglesby, chief technology officer of virtualization consultant Rapid App. "Using this approach, our clients have the ability to deploy a centralized desktop at a much lower cost than some of the existing alternatives. With their joint solution and price point, Virtual Iron and Provision Networks have changed the economics of VDI and have finally made it financially attractive to a large segment of the market."

Virtual Iron provides enterprise-class server virtualization and virtual infrastructure management capabilities for unmodified Windows and Linux at one-fifth the cost of comparable alternatives. Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is one of several common use cases addressed by the product. The Virtual Iron platform combines an open source hypervisor with advanced virtualization services and policy-based management. It also leverages new hardware--assist capabilities available on x86 servers to deliver near native performance. Provision Networks' Virtual Access Suite (VAS) is a comprehensive framework that leverages Virtual Iron's virtual infrastructure to transform the physical desktop computer and its applications into on-demand virtual services. More than a traditional connection broker, VAS empowers a hosted desktop infrastructure with extensive virtual machine provisioning, management and monitoring capabilities, as well as a complete enterprise access and application delivery solution.

"Intel has long supported server virtualization, which delivers a superior way of managing industry standard data center assets and has ushered in a new era of economics, flexibility and manageability," said Boyd Davis, marketing GM of Intel's Server Products. "This joint offering from Virtual Iron and Provision Networks will fully utilize the power of Intel Xeon 5300 Quad-Core performance, energy efficiency and built-in virtualization to enable a broad range of enterprise server solutions."

"Over the past few years, Provision Networks has been a pioneer in enterprise virtual desktop solutions with leading companies spanning the globe," said Paul Ghostine, CEO and co-founder of Provision Networks. "Companies continue to explore new ways to reduce expenses and drive efficiencies in this area. With our joint VDI solution, Virtual Iron and Provision Networks are delivering a powerful solution set to help IT organizations achieve these goals more quickly and efficiently."

"With our joint VDI solution, Virtual Iron and Provision Networks continue to open up new segments of the market and change the economics of virtualization, "said John C. Thibault, president and CEO of Virtual Iron Software. "Not only does our solution drive down the cost of physical desktop infrastructure, it also provide the enterprise with significant operational and environmental benefits such as reduced resource requirements, reduced power and cooling costs and increased IP security."

Pricing for the joint solution starts at $120 per desktop license and is available immediately through both Virtual Iron's and Provision Networks' distribution channels, which include over 400 resellers and channel partners worldwide. For detailed information on the joint solution, please click here.

The companies have made a number of other supporting resources available as well:

A free, five (5) virtual desktop download of the joint solution is available at both Virtual Iron and Provision Networks.

A demo of the VDI solution available at VDI Download.

A joint white paper titled Server-Hosted Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) - The Future of Desktop Computing as well as a Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) model on server-hosted virtual desktop management.

In addition, Virtual Iron and Provision Networks will be hosting a joint Webcast on May 8th. To register, or for more information, please click here.

About Provision Networks

Provision Networks is a global provider of server-based application delivery and dynamic desktop deployment solutions. Provision Networks solutions embrace and extend the Microsoft Terminal Services platform and Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, delivering resilient, scalable and dynamic on-demand access for enterprises worldwide.

Provision Networks produces and markets three product suites through a global network of value-added resellers:

Provision Networks Virtual Access Suite -- Enterprise Edition

Provision Networks Virtual Access Suite -- Standard Edition

Provision Networks Virtual Access Suite -- for the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure

With a world-class client list, comprised of some of the world's largest commercial enterprises, and government organizations, Provision Networks is the most trusted name in application and access infrastructure virtualization. To learn more about Provision Networks and our enterprise access solutions, please visit us at www.ProvisionNetworks.com.

About Virtual Iron Software, Inc.

Virtual Iron provides enterprise-class software for server virtualization and virtual infrastructure management at one-fifth the cost of comparable alternatives. Its solutions enable companies to dramatically reduce the complexity and cost of managing and operating their data center. Virtual Iron delivers advanced virtualization capabilities that exploit industry standards, open source economics and built-in hardware-assisted acceleration. It is available for free download at http://www.virtualiron.com/free. Organizations use Virtual Iron for server consolidation, rapid provisioning, business continuity, capacity management and policy-based automation to deliver significant improvements in utilization, manageability and agility. The company is privately held and based in Lowell, Massachusetts. For more information, visit http://www.virtualiron.com or email info@virtualiron.com.

Provision Networks, the Provision Networks product names, and the Provision Management Framework are registered trademarks or trademarks of Provision Networks in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. All other marks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.

Source: Business Wire

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