VMware Announces Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Alliance

New Alliance Formed to Speed Adoption and Deployment of Virtual Desktop Infrastructure


PALO ALTO, Calif., April 24, 2006 — VMware, Inc., the global leader in virtualization software for industry-standard systems, today announced the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Alliance. The Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Alliance is a technology alliance of hardware, software and service providers for building joint virtual desktop offerings.

Desktops are the most underutilized and most difficult to manage IT asset in the enterprise. Today's business and technology climate has created a new set of desktop management problems such as ensuring data security and privacy within outsourcing and off shoring arrangements and with remote workers as well as ensuring desktop standardization, security and compliance. Using VMware Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, IT administrators host and centrally manage desktop virtual machines in their data center while offering end users a full desktop experience that can be accessed anytime and anywhere.

"Now with VMware Virtual Desktop Infrastructure in place, anytime someone needs a new computer, it is easy and inexpensive to create a thin client," said Jim Jones, network administrator for WTC Communications. "A new user, even one with an old laptop, can remote desktop protocol (RDP) to a virtual XP box, and it works beautifully."

"Enterprises have been using VMware virtual infrastructure to host desktops on their servers for more than four years for increased security and manageability and we continue to see strong customer interest for VMware Virtual Desktop Infrastructure. Just as the Web has transformed many applications into a hosted service, virtualization is transforming the entire desktop into a server hosted environment that is always on, dynamically scalable and centrally secured and managed," said Brian Byun, vice president of products and alliances at VMware. "Today we are excited to announce the formation of the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Alliance to accelerate the development and adoption of desktop virtualization."

As part of the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Alliance, VMware plans to collaborate with each member to create, test and integrate joint desktop hosting offerings based on VMware virtual infrastructure and the partner's hardware or software product. Customers will have the freedom and flexibility to choose their preferred partner and deploy a best in class enterprise desktop solution that meets their business needs.

VMware has engaged a number of technology vendors to form this alliance including Altiris, Appstream, Ardence, Check Point Software Technologies, ClearCube Technology, Devon IT, Dunes Technologies, Fujitsu, Fujitsu-Siemens, Hitachi, HP, IBM, Leostream, NComputing, NEC, Platform Computing, Propero, Provision Networks, Route1, Softricity, Sun, Wyse Technology and Zeus Technology.

"Together with VMware, Provision Networks is making desktop access virtualization a reality for enterprise adoption," said John Brennan, vice president of corporate strategy at Provision Networks. "We are excited about being part of the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Alliance, a novel program aimed at addressing real customer objectives."


About VMware, Inc.
VMware, an EMC company (NYSE: EMC), is the global leader in virtual infrastructure software for industry-standard systems. The world's largest companies use VMware solutions to simplify their IT, fully leverage their existing computing investments and respond faster to changing business demands. VMware is based in Palo Alto, California. For more information, visit www.vmware.com or call 650-475-5000.