Dell delves into desktop virtualisation market

Dell has announced new desktop virtualisation products, looking to grow is already significant investment into the market.

Today the company launched three new products, aiming to provide end-to-end solutions, whilst addressing the needs of businesses of any size.

First up is the DVS [Desktop Virtualistion Solutions] Simplified Appliance. This product is aimed at the mass market, providing a “plug and play” solution with an "all-in-one desktop virtualisation appliance."

It includes a Dell server preconfigured with all the virtual machines and management software necessary for a VDI deployment, along with Citrix’s hypervisor, meaning companies can set up the solution in a matter of hours and get straight on with virtualising their desktops.

Kumar K. Goswami, vice president of products at Citrix, said: “This-easy-to-deploy and easy-to-manage appliance expands our ability to deliver on the vision of empowering efficient workplaces that support mobility, the freedom to Bring Your Own Device and streamlined IT management to businesses that may have previously lacked the resources and infrastructure needed for desktop virtualisation.”

"Combining the simplicity of the solution with the market presence that Dell has in the desktop space, we are excited about the opportunity to reshape the desktop virtualisation market.”

The second release, DVS Enterprise, targets companies with more complex IT requirements. It includes Dell’s latest PowerEdge 12G servers, as well as storage and networking elements from the firm, but gives users the choice of either Citrix or VMware hypervisors to make the desktop virtualisation solution come together.

Although for more complicated environments, deployments can range from 50 users up to the thousands.

The product has already been adopted by the University of Connecticut to help with its distance learning programme.  

Jeremy Pollack, director of IT for the University Of Connecticut School of Business, said the solution was “helping us accomplish our goal of expanding student access to the university’s resources, from anywhere, anytime.”

He added: “The desktop virtualisation solutions from Dell are powerful and easy to implement and allow us to run demanding applications in a VDI environment.”

The final addition to the portfolio was the DVS Simplified DaaS offering. This Desktop as a Service product is based on Desktone’s software platform but uses Dell’s data centres and services to expand the reach of the smaller firm’s product.

Dell already provides its own enterprise level DaaS product but claims this addition gives it a wider target audience, allowing those companies who want an instant solution to get what they need.

Peter McKay, CEO of Desktone, said: “This is the revolutionary step in cost and scale that the industry has needed in order to accelerate the adoption of virtual desktops.”

Although desktop virtualisation is clearly a growing area in the technology industry, the announcement has come just days after Dell confirmed it was buying Wyse Technologies for an undisclosed sum.

The company specialises in desktop virtualisation with a strong partnership with Citrix, so questions have arisen as to why Dell have gone to market with Desktone before the acquisition has been completed.

However, today did see Microsoft launch updates to its own desktop virtualisation portfolio, with an Version 5.0 of its Application Virtualisation (App-V) product, as well as a new solution for keeping a consistent appearance across different devices when virtualising, named User Experience Virtualisation (UE-V) Beta.

It seems desktop virtualisation is now being taken more seriously by the traditional firms and we expect to see many more offerings developed in the coming year.