Virtualization Vendor XDS Quietly Impressing Channel

Digital virtualization vendor XDS makes its appliances and services available to the market directly, but consulting solution providers like EyeIT of Alexandria, Va. have found value in integrating the company's unique offerings for clients.

XDS, headquartered in Durham, N.C., offers a scalable virtual hosted desktop server that connects directly to its own patent-pending digital dial tone service, called SIMtone VDU. SIMtone is a new network technology developed by XDS that enables on-demand delivery of digital services to devices such as desktops, thin clients, cell phones and PDAs. According to the vendor, SIMtone allows delivery of any digital service to which the user has subscribed, to any local or remote device using LAN/WAN or Internet connectivity without a local copy of the data, application or supportive hardware and software being required.

"A large portion of our business is with the intelligence community, the Department of Defense and on the communications side of financial institutions in the Fortune 500, as well as some work with SMBs," said EyeIT president and CEO Jim Ward, an XDS reseller.

"Remote access is something that every business needs. Virtualization, the need to have the data secured and not have lots of copies floating out there, is very important. All the agencies recognize that. So keeping that data stored in a centralized location and accessing it through a virtualized environment means that even if the remote access device is lost or stolen, it's not a security issue."

In addition to its SIMtone VDU Virtual Desktop Server and other appliances that tie in to its own SIMtone data center, XDS offers SIMtone Connect!, an offering aimed at enterprises and solution providers that gives them the tools to build their own data centers.

"We have a service that looks like and behaves like a dial-tone. We designed this to be saleable in numerous ways. There are a number of enterprises and resellers who are seeing value in hosting virtualized desktops. There is a great value-added opportunity here," said XDS CEO and Chairman, Mario Dal Canto.

"You can add more services, like integrating VoIP into the desktop services. There are great channel opportunities with XDS, but it's a new service and the actual deployment through the channel will take some time."

Ward said he's already sold on those opportunities.

"Frankly, XDS has a very unique offering for taking advantage of the virtualization environment. We have customers looking for a virtualized desktop environment, others looking for remote access. XDS is great for both," he said.