VMware Launches vClient, Aims To Create Desktops That Follow Users Anywhere

• By Chris Riedel
• 09/22/08

In an announcement at VMworld last week, VMware unveiled plans to deliver a portfolio of solutions intended to turn virtualized desktops into "universal clients." The initiative, dubbed vClient, begins with a series of products called VMware View.

VMware View extends the company's current Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) to include both server- and client-hosted virtual desktops, allowing them to run on any laptop or desktop computer, and giving users a "single view" of their computing environment. The solution is intended to provide organizations greater flexibility, as well as enhanced security when managing virtual environments.

"The desktop of the future will not be a single device like a laptop or a thin client--it will be all the richness and personalization of their desktop experience accessible from any location," said Paul Maritz, president and chief executive officer, VMware, in a prepared statement. "Users want a desktop that follows them wherever they go while IT wants to manage those environments securely, cost effectively, and more easily than they do today. VMware is addressing both ends of the spectrum with our vClient Initiative and our new VMware View product portfolio will satisfy both stakeholders' priorities...."

Some of the technologies that make up VMware View include client virtualization, allowing for the efficient management and administration of user devices and applications; VMware View Composer, providing image management that helps to reduce storage needs while at the same time decreasing provisioning time; and Offline Desktop, allowing users to access their server-hosted desktop from their local machine.

Products included in the vClient initiative will be introduced beginning in 2009.