VMware Demos Horizon Suite, Announces Extension to iOS

By Wolfgang Gruener August 31, 2012 5:05 PM

Tags :

VMware targets BYOD trend.

VMware previewed Horizon Suite, an integrated platform that will organization allow to adopt the BYOD trend and enable mobile workers to connect to a company's applications from anywhere using a device of their choice.

The product is designed to create a multi-device workspace, in which applications look and feel the same independent of the device and screen that accesses it. Horizon is a combination of a file-sharing service that is similar to Dropbox, a feature that translates any Windows application for display in HTML5-compliant browsers, ThinApp, the Horizon Application Manager and Horizon Mobile, which will be extended to support iOS devices.

As a result, the platform will allow organizations to use Windows, Android, iOS, Web and SaaS applications in a single workspace and provide a consistent cross-platform experience.

VMware hopes that organizations dealing with frequent software and platform transitions will be looking at this product to simplify their IT.

“Migration to Windows 7 and 8, bring your own device (BYOD), and the cloud are challenging IT organizations with new complexities and risks,” said Boaz Chalamish, senior vice president and general manager, End-User Computing, VMware, in a prepared statement. “VMware’s continued investment and innovation in end-user computing will help IT organizations free the desktop, redefine the corporate workspace and embrace a new way of working in the post-PC era.”

The Horizon Suite is currently in alpha stage and is expected to become available to customers sometime next year.

Wolfgang Gruener is a contributor to Tom's IT Pro. He is currently principal analyst at Ndicio Research, a market analysis firm that focuses on cloud computing and disruptive technologies, and maintains the conceivablytech.com blog. An 18-year veteran in IT journalism and market research, he previously published TG Daily and was managing editor of Tom's Hardware news, which he grew from a link collection in the early 2000s into one of the most comprehensive and trusted technology news sources.