VMware expands its digital workspace portfolio

At VMworld 2016 Europe, VMware has introduced an addition to its digital workspace portfolio with VMware Workspace ONE Essentials, a new standalone secure digital workspace solution for unified access to business data and applications.

"Since its launch earlier this year, the many innovations available in VMware Workspace ONE demonstrate VMware's momentum in this category and the strong customer adoption is evidence of its ability to address real-world problems," said Sanjay Poonen, Executive Vice-President & General Manager, End-User Computing and head of global marketing and communications, VMware. "Continuing down this path, we are also excited about our continued partnership with Microsoft that showcases the technology preview of Skype for Business with Horizon. This is a critical part of the Workspace ONE platform that will enable customers to optimize the delivery and use of their industry-leading collaboration software on any device."

Companies are turning to Workspace ONE to power their digital transformations and Workspace ONE Essentials is a new edition for companies that have implemented a bring-your-own (BYO) initiative and enables unmanaged devices to access business applications and services through an identity-defined workspace. The solution includes user authentication and an application catalogue so IT administrators can have control and visibility into the access of business applications for enterprise security. End-users benefit from consumer simplicity with unified access to all approved business resources needed for productivity, application self-service, and SSO using any device or platform. End-users benefit from consumer simplicity with unified access to all approved business resources needed for productivity, application self-service, and SSO using any device or platform.

Collaboration with Microsoft to Deliver Optimized Skype for Business Experience in Horizon

VMware will demonstrate a technology preview during the general session at VMworld on October 19 that showcases VMware and Microsoft collaborating to enhance the Microsoft Skype for Business experience in Horizon virtual desktops and published applications. The solution will create a direct peer-to-peer endpoint virtual channel and offloads media processing to the endpoints, resulting in an improved end-user experience while reducing the strain on data center infrastructure. In general, the use of Skype for Business in a virtual desktop offers secure collaboration to keep corporate data secure in the data center and prevent data leakage. It also offers simple management with greater visibility, policy management and control through centralized deployment and application updates. Lastly, it delivers a consistent end-user experience across any device and platform along with lower IT infrastructure costs.

"Microsoft and VMware have a long history of collaborating to bring modern desktop and application solutions to customers and those efforts continue with the technology preview of Skype for Business on Horizon 7. Microsoft providing Skype API's to VDI vendors such as VMware enables both companies to offer great Skype deployment options to their customers. Virtualization provides benefits such as secure collaboration by avoiding remote data loss, simplified desktop management, and a consistent experience for virtualized users," said Andrew Sinclair, General Manager, Skype Marketing, Microsoft.