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Kingston U Expands Desktop Virtualization to All HTML5-Enabled Devices

• By Leila Meyer
• 02/28/12

Kingston University is providing its students and staff with access to the university's entire online student learning environment from any device running an HTML5-enabled browser.

In August 2010, Kingston University in London, England began the process of implementing the Quest vWorkspace desktop virtualization solution and Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V virtualization technology to provide its students and staff with virtual access to their university desktop and learning resources anywhere, any time, on a wide range of devices. The goal was to provide students with the flexibility to use their own computers and also to support the university's 1,500 distance learning students.

The university is now expanding its virtualization initiative to include Ericom AccessNow for Quest vWorkspace, which will enable students and staff to access their desktops and applications from any HTML5-enabled device, including Windows, Mac, Linux, Chromebook, iPad, iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, and Playbook. AccessNow for Quest vWorkspace runs entirely inside the browser, without the use of agents or plugins. Users simply open their browser, enter the URL for the university's server, and log in. They then have full access to their university desktop and learning resource applications within their Web browser.

Ericom AccessNow runs natively in Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and any other browser with HTML5 and WebSockets support, without Flash, Java, or any other software installed on the client. It works on all devices, regardless of CPU architecture, and has a consistent user interface across all devices.

"We want to make our systems as accessible as possible from every device possible," said Daniel Bolton, technical architect, Kingston University in a prepared statement. "AccessNow--Ericom's HTML5 RDP client--enables us to reach more users in different ways. If a user needs a quick, simple way to connect to a Quest vWorkspace desktop comprising core, good old-fashioned Microsoft Office and software like IBM SPSS, or to other inline applications, from whatever device, Ericom AccessNow is the best way to do that. This is especially true now that we're beginning to see more and more students with the Google Chromebook wandering about campus."

Kingston University serves approximately 25,000 undergraduate and graduate students and employs nearly 3,000 faculty and staff at its four campuses in Kingston upon Thames in southwest London. It was established in 1899 as the Kingston Technical Institute and was granted university status in 1992.