VMware Unveils Desktop Disaster Recovery Service, Tool To Manage Enterprise BYOD

VMware took the wraps off two new end-user computing products at the opening of the VMworld Barcelona conference Tuesday, both of which aim to give IT organizations more control over how their Mac users, contractors and remote workers use corporate virtual desktops.

VMware, which recently rebranded its Horizon DaaS service as Horizon Air, is developing a Desktop Disaster Recovery-as-a-Service, Dave Grant, senior director of end-user computing product marketing at VMware, said in a recent interview.

For a small reservation fee, VMware will host a customer's desktops and apps in the cloud. When a disaster happens and the customer needs to access them, VMware charges a monthly fee for their use until the customer is able to restore their IT operations, according to Grant.

[Related: VMware Unveils New Services, Pay-As-You-Go Pricing For vCloud Air Public Cloud]

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The cost of VMware's Desktop DR-as-a-Service depends on how quickly customers need to access their desktops and apps and what size machine they'll need, Grant said. It's licensed per reserved desktop with prices starting at $5 per desktop per month. It's expected to be available this quarter.

Grant said desktops and end users are usually neglected in traditional disaster recovery strategies, and the new service aims to fill this gap. Horizon DaaS was VMware's name for Desktone, the cloud Desktop-as-a-Service vendor it acquired last October.

VMware is currently testing the Desktop DR-as-a-Service with six storage partners, evaluating how their infrastructure scales as well as the storage costs involved, Grant said.

One VMware partner told CRN he's intrigued by the new service, which is more than just a "reboxing" of VMware's Mirage product. "It looks more like standby capacity for desktops should you need to quickly spin up 1 or 1000," said the partner, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of his vendor relationships.

A second new product making its debut at VMworld, called Horizon Flex, lets IT departments provision and manage virtual desktops and apps running on local PCs, with control handled by a central policy server, Grant said.

Not only does Horizon Flex address the IT challenges of Macs in the enterprise, it's also a way for IT organizations to make their employees happy by letting them use whatever device they want, Grant said.

Horizon Flex, slated for launch this quarter, will be licensed per device with prices starting at $250, Grant said.

PUBLISHED OCT. 15, 2014