VMworld is upon us once again, and we’re excited to share our latest innovations for VMware Horizon. Organizations are embracing the cloud to get flexibility and scalability as well as to drive new use cases like disaster recovery, datacenter extension and cloud bursting. While unlocking new use cases brings exciting opportunities, manageability issues and complexity can follow. As leaders in desktop and application virtualization, we are committed to helping our customers simplify and streamline how desktops and apps are managed, secured and accessed as part of the digital workspace – on-premises, in the cloud or in a hybrid or multi-cloud configuration. We are excited to announce several innovations that simplify application and desktop management across on-premises, private and public clouds.
Horizon Services for Multi-Cloud
Today we announced Horizon Services for Multi-Cloud which delivers an array of centralized services for global, cross-cloud Horizon deployments. Built on the Horizon Control plane, these services address key management challenges such as global entitlement, image and lifecycle management, and monitoring. Let’s drill down.
It starts with automated brokering across multi-cloud environments. We began the journey to automated brokering with Cloud Pod Architecture (CPA), which provides a large, unified desktop and application brokering environment managed through a single, centralized entitlement layer. Multi-Cloud Brokering – next evolution of CPA – is a cloud-based service that will extend brokering across clouds. IT admins will be able to automatically route end-users to a virtual workspace – either on-prem or in the cloud – based on predetermined criteria set by the IT admin, such as location. For example, if an end-user is traveling, they can be routed to the nearest public cloud datacenter, reducing latency and ensuring an optimal user experience. Or if there is a site failure, the end user can be automatically rerouted to an alternate site. Today, CPA supports automated brokering between global Horizon 7 deployments on-premises and on VMware Cloud on AWS. Soon, Multi-Cloud Brokering will extend this functionality to Horizon Cloud on Microsoft Azure..
Another key challenge in hybrid cloud virtual desktop and app deployments is managing images and applications across clouds and sites. Horizon Services for Multi-Cloud includes management services that streamline cross-cloud management by consolidating images and application packages in a single repository. As a result, an IT Admin can use the same images and application packages across Horizon 7 deployments globally, avoiding silos and sync issues between images on different sites. For example, admins can simply import images from Horizon 7 on-premises to Horizon 7 on VMware Cloud on AWS.
Centralized monitoring and help desk services provide visibility into performance and health of cloud deployments, allowing admins to proactively monitor, troubleshoot and remediate their environment from a single, cloud-based console. Additionally, admins have visibility of capacity and utilization information across global Horizon 7 and Horizon Cloud deployments – on-premises and in the cloud.
And finally, Horizon Services for Multi-Cloud delivers automated installation of Horizon 7 on VMware Cloud on AWS for streamlined deployment. Automated updates and lifecycle management will further simplify management across multi-cloud by giving admins the best of both worlds – control and automation.
Simplified Application Management with App Volumes
Simplification of application management takes App Volumes and JMP technology to the next level with enhanced manageability and lifecycle management. With App Volumes, admins are able to virtualize their applications, separating them from the operating system and drastically reducing image size and sprawl. As a key pillar of VMware’s JMP technology, it also helps enable delivery of stateless desktops, which offer many management advantages such as zero downtime updates and the ability to destroy the desktop at logoff to enhance the security posture.
To further simplify application management, we are developing technology to support and simplify workflows across the lifecycle of an application – from version update to retirement. We do so by decoupling packaging from the delivery of applications. Now, you can package individually and use a workflow to easily provide updates to users when needed. App packages can now be created and published for multi-cloud, allowing customers to package once and deploy everywhere! There is much more to know about this exciting new technology; stay tuned for more information and a public beta coming soon.
Horizon Cloud on Microsoft Azure, extending support for Windows Virtual Desktop
Horizon Cloud on Microsoft Azure gives organizations the ability to connect their own instance of Microsoft Azure to the simple, intuitive Horizon Cloud control plane, creating a secure, comprehensive, cloud-hosted solution for delivering virtualized Windows applications and desktops. With the pending release of Microsoft Windows Virtual Desktop, VMware has partnered with Microsoft to extend the functionality of Windows Virtual Desktop to customers using Horizon Cloud on Microsoft Azure.
Organizations extending Windows Virtual Desktop to Horizon Cloud on Microsoft Azure will receive all the benefits of Windows Virtual Desktop, such as Windows 10 Enterprise for multi-session, extended Windows 7 support, and FSLogix capabilities, in addition to all the modern, enterprise-class features of Horizon Cloud, such as:
• Broad endpoint support with an enhanced remote experience
• Global brokering and a cloud-optimized architecture
• Flexible desktop options and configurations
• User environment and application management
• Support for hybrid and multi-cloud environments
If you’d like to participate in the upcoming Tech Preview program, register now to be notified when it’s launched.
Desktop-as-a-Service planned for VMware Cloud on AWS
We are excited to announce plans to create a Desktop-as-a-Service offering on VMware Cloud on AWS that gives organizations another option to get a higher level of service by outsourcing management of the Horizon platform to VMware. Stay tuned for more announcements and information.
Fast, scalable, and secure desktop and app access with Avi Networks
With VMware’s acquisition of Avi Networks, Horizon customers will be able to take full advantage of Avi Networks software –defined application delivery services – allowing them to move away from legacy, hardware-based Application Delivery Controllers (ADCs). Integration between Horizon and Avi Networks application services platform will provide customers with the ability to deliver fast, scalable, and secure desktop and app access from anywhere.
Collaboration Support for Zoom and Microsoft Teams
As customers look towards empowering employees with collaboration and unified communications across virtual desktops and apps, we are excited to support apps like Zoom and Microsoft Teams. Customers can leverage the Zoom optimization pack with Horizon today. Support for Microsoft Teams with Real-Time Audio and Video is also available today – with an even more optimized experience coming soon.
Subscription Upgrade Program
Now, Horizon customers can reap the benefits of hybrid cloud more cost-effectively than ever before with Horizon Universal licenses, which gives customers subscription pricing and the flexibility to deploy on-premises or in any cloud. With the VMware Subscription Upgrade Program for Horizon, Horizon 7 customers will be able to upgrade existing perpetual licenses to Horizon Universal License at a price reflecting the additional value, allowing them to deploy anywhere – on-premises or in the cloud.
We’re excited about these new announcements and look forward to showcasing these at Horizon VMworld 2019 and beyond. Be sure to attend our breakout sessions and visit us in the VMware booth to learn more.
