CRN's 2012 Virtualization 100: Part 2

Virtualization 100: Part 2

Trying to come up with a list of 100 vendors who represent the changes happening in the virtualization industry is a tough task. The biggest problem is defining what virtualization is in an industry where it appears that almost anything can be virtualized. It was easy when vendors only talked about server virtualization or storage virtualization. Now, even keeping up with the vendors themselves is a difficult task. They range from giants like VMware and Microsoft to tiny startups, many of whom have either been recently acquired or are in the process of being acquired as larger companies build their technology base.

CRN's annual Virtualization 100 is a who's who of virtualization players, spanning every facet of the market from desktop virtualization to virtualization management to storage and server virtualization.

Also, be sure to check out the first part of the Virtualization 100 to see if your virtualization partners made the cut.

NComputing

Location: Redwood City, Calif.
Expertise: Desktop Virtualization

NComputing helps solve cost and complexity issues related to desktop PCs and clients. Is virtual desktop solutions reduce acquisition costs by 75 percent, energy costs by 90 percent, and maintenance by 75 percent compared to PCs.

NetApp

Location: Sunnyvale, Calif.
Expertise: Storage

NetApp offers solutions for server, desktop and storage virtualization that work with all of the industry's leading hypervisors and help customers transition to the cloud, including FlexPod data center solution and OnCommand management software portfolio.

Netuitive

Location: Reston, Va.
Expertise: Virtualization Management

Netuitive's management software provides a holistic view of virtual and physical environments. Proprietary Behavior Learning Engine technology automatically correlates streaming performance and resource utilization data for optimal performance.

NextIO

Location: Austin, Texas
Expertise: Server Virtualization

NextIO develops rack-level I/O consolidation and virtualization solutions that simplify server I/O and enable complete connectivity among a wide variety of data center resources. It addresses data center requirements for multiple industry segments.

Novell

Location: Provo, Utah
Expertise: Comprehensive Virtualization Portfolio

Novell provides technology to help companies migrate and consolidate business-critical Windows, Linux and Unix workloads in virtual data center environments. Portfolio also includes virtualization-based disaster recovery solution.

nScaled

Location: San Francisco
Expertise: Comprehensive Virtualization Portfolio

NScaled offers Recovery-as-a-Service solutions, including backup, disaster recovery and archiving. NScaled's hybrid cloud architecture provides virtualized compute, networking and storage both on-premises and off-site.

Oracle

Location: Redwood Shores, Calif.
Expertise: Server Virtualization

Oracle’s server virtualization products support x86 and SPARC architectures and include hypervisors and virtualization built into the operating system and hardware. Oracle VM enables customers to improve application deployment and management.

Pano Logic

Location: Menlo Park, Calif.
Expertise: Redwood City, Calif.

Pano Logic’s Pano System is an end-to-end, hardware-and-software purpose-built VDI solution that centralizes computing in the data center, replacing end users’ PC or thin client with a cloud-ready zero client that eliminates endpoint device support.

Parallels

Location: Renton, Wash.
Expertise: Desktop Virtualization

Parallels is a global leader in hosting and cloud services enablement, and desktop virtualization software. The Parallels Desktop for Mac software empowers businesses and consumers to run Windows and Mac applications side-by-side on a Mac without

PHD Virtual

Location: Philadelphia
Expertise: Virtualization Management

PHD Virtual develops and provides backup and comprehensive monitoring software solutions for virtual IT environments. Multiple hypervisors are supported and the software can be deployed in minutes without requiring additional hardware or software.

Pivot3

Location: Austin, Texas
Expertise: Server Virtualization

Pivot3 was founded in 2003 on the idea that today's stack of virtual servers, shared storage and networks could be simplified to drive down complexity and cost while dramatically increasing scale-out performance with its Pivot3 vSTAC appliances.

Proxmox

Location: Vienna
Expertise: Security

Proxmox provides antispam and antivirus mail gateway appliances used by customers with just with a few e-mail users to those with several thousand e-mail accounts. Its open-source Proxmox Virtual Environment leverages Linux virtualization technologies.

Quest Software

Location: Aliso Viejo, Calif.
Expertise: Virtualization Management

Quest provides a comprehensive virtualization and cloud management suite. Products include vRanger, vWorkspace, vFoglight and ChangeBase, with which enterprises can map capacity plans, reduce application latency and quickly recover after disasters.

Quorum Labs

Location: Fremont, Calif.
Expertise: Server Virtualization

QuorumLabs develops disaster recovery solutions that enable recovery of critical systems after a storage, system or site failure. Available as an appliance or hybrid cloud solution, QuorumLabs’ onQ systems automatically maintain up-to-date and ready-to-run.

Red Bend Software

Location: Waltham, Mass.
Expertise: Virtualization Management

Red Bend Software improves mobile devices and services with standards-based solutions, including vLogixMobile, for software management, device management and mobile virtualization that work on any mobile phone.

Red Hat

Location: Raleigh, N.C.
Expertise: Server Virtualization

Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization 3 is a complete virtualization management solution for server and desktop virtualization and the first enterprise-ready, fully open-source virtualization platform.

Reflex Systems

Location: Atlanta, Ga.
Expertise: Virtualization Management

Reflex Systems provides enterprise software solutions that vastly improve the ability for organizations to manage, scale and automate virtualized data centers and private clouds.

RES Software

Location: Plymouth Meeting, Pa.
Expertise: Workspace Virtualization

RES Software is helping IT organizations manage increasingly complex and hybridized technology environments with software that makes IT easier and less costly to manage. RES Software helps enterprises overcome the impacts of IT consumerization.

Riverbed

Location: San Francisco, Calif.
Expertise: Desktop Virtualization

Riverbed makes optimization software and appliances that overcome latency, limited bandwidth and an inability to prioritize interactive traffic in all VDI environments. It is also the charter member of the Teradici Network Solutions Partner Program.

Savvis

Location: St. Louis
Expertise: Comprehensive Virtualization Portfolio

Savvis, a global collocation, managed services and cloud provider and pioneer in utility computing, understands and harnesses the latest advances in technology, such as virtualization and support process automation.

Scense

Location: Rotterdam, Netherlands
Expertise: Workspace Virtualization

Scense delivers workspace virtualization solutions regardless of what kind of device is used in a heterogeneous environment. Scense decouples the application and user layer from the hardware and OS, a cost-effective solution.

Solarwinds

Location: Austin, Texas
Expertise: Virtualization Management

SolarWinds provides a powerful, affordable IT management software worldwide. SolarWinds Virtualization Manager offers a comprehensive virtualization management solution for VMware and Microsoft Hyper-V capacity planning, and more.

Spoon.net

Location: Seattle, Wash.
Expertise: Application Virtualization

Spoon is a pioneer in application virtualization and cloud computing technologies. Spoon enables enterprises and schools to centrally manage, update, ad deploy applications for install-free execution, with no conflicts.

Stratus Technologies

Location: Maynard, Mass.
Expertise: Server Virtualization

Stratus solutions provide uptime assurance beyond virtualization. FtServer platforms eliminate server downtime, critical to protecting VM densities, infrastructure management product and apps deployed on VMware ESX and Microsoft Hyper-V.

Symantec

Location: Mountain View, Calif.
Expertise: Comprehensive Virtualization Portfolio

Symantec helps organizations secure and manage virtual environments with security, backup and recovery, storage, availability and desktop virtualization solutions for mission-critical environments. Its software helps organizations move to the cloud.

Teradici

Location: Burnaby, B.C.
Expertise: Desktop Virtualization

Teradici develops CoIP technology, a unique remote display protocol, which makes network delivered computing a viable corporate computing reality. Teradici enables an exceptional end-user experience for data-center-based computing.

ThinLaunch

Location: Eagan, Minn.
Expertise: Desktop Virtualization

Thin Desktop and Thin Browse are applications that install on a PC and/or thin client. They give administrators complete control over the client device and user interaction with the device. It complements technologies from Citrix, Microsoft and VMware.

Tresys Technology

Location: Columbia, Md.
Expertise: Virtualization Management

Tresys VM Fortress is a Linux desktop lockdown package that lets administrators secure Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) version 4 or 5 systems, and provision and secure "sandboxes," which may be preloaded with one or more virtual images.

Tricerat

Location: Columbia, Md.
Expertise: Virtualization Management

TriCerat includes IT System Administration, Printer Driver Virtualization and User Profile Management. It develops these tools for the major OS platforms, including Windows, Mac OSX and iOS.

UC4 Software

Location: Bellevue, Wash.
Expertise: Virtualization Management

UC4 Software is the world’s largest, independent IT process automation software company. UC4’s Virtualization Management platform works across all environments, so companies can manage physical, virtual and cloud resources from one console.

Ultra Electronics AEP Networks

Location: High Wycombe, UK
Expertise: Security

Ultra Electronics AEP Networks provides trusted security everywhere and secures data and voice communication regardless of device, environment or location. Its technology allows IT departments to connect end users to their corporate applications as securely and reliably as possible. Solutions are designed to provide high levels of security, be fast to implement and offer flexible licensing options for cloud-based infrastructures.

Unidesk

Location: Marlborough, Mass.
Expertise: Desktop Virtualization

Unidesk is the alternative to application virtualization, profile management, image management and storage reduction tools in VDI. Unidesk layers software with Citrix XenDesktop or VMware View organizations use to provision persistent virtual desktops.

Userful

Location: Calgary, Alberta
Expertise: Desktop Virtualization

Userful provides cloud-managed virtual desktops with more than 800,000 seats of its solutions sold. The Useful solution provides secure customization, control and monitoring of thousands of computer stations from a simple administration Web site.

VaraLogix

Location: Austin, Texas
Expertise: Virtualization Management

VaraLogix Q allows seamless automation of physical, virtual and cloud environments. It automatically discovers, manages and corrects the configurations of middleware, databases, operating systems and environments within the deployment process.

VCE

Location: Richardson, Texas
Expertise: Comprehensive Virtualization Portfolio

VCE creates an integrated, virtualized infrastructure using technologies from Cisco, EMC and VMware. VCE with its Vblock Infrastructure Platform accelerates the adoption of converged infrastructure and cloud-based computing models.

VDIworks

Location: Austin, Texas
Expertise: Desktop Virtualization

VDIworks is a provider of management and enablement software for virtualization, DaaS and cloud computing. Its solution is built on 10 years of pioneering work in centralized computing and virtualization. , resource optimization, management and reporting.

Veeam

Location: Columbus, Ohio
Expertise: Virtualization Management

Veeam provides innovative backup, replication and virtualization management solutions for VMware vSphere and Windows Server Hyper-V. Products include Backup & Replication for VM backup and Veeam ONE for unified realtime monitoring.

Verdasys

Location: Waltham, MA
Expertise: Security

Verdasys Digital Guardian is a proven information security platform for VDI environments. Digital Guardian extends the security features of VDI to enforce role-based data access and control policies for internal and remote users and system administrators.

Virtual Bridges

Location: Austin, Texas
Expertise: Desktop Virtualization

Virtual Bridges combines online, offline and remote branch VDI solutions to offer anytime/anywhere access to virtual desktops. VERDE is a single solution that provides a high-quality experience to all users, whether connected, disconnected or at a branch.

Virtual Computer

Location: Westford, Mass.
Expertise: Desktop Virtualization

Virtual Computer offers an ntelligent desktop virtualization solution that combines centralized management with local execution on the industry’s first Type-1 client hypervisor. Virtual Computer NxTop lets IT manage thousands of desktops and laptops.

Virtustream

Location: Bethesda, MD
Expertise: Security

Virtustream provides a variety of services related to virtualization and cloud computing, backup-as-a-service, data center consolidation, disaster recovery, collocation, and dynamic infrastructure-as-a-service.

VKernel

Location: Andover, Mass.
Expertise: Virtualization Management

VKernel, a subsidiary of Quest Software, is a leading provider of virtualization management software. VKernel’s solutions provide performance monitoring, capacity planning, resource optimization, chargeback and reporting across server and storage systems.

VM6 Software

Location: Montreal
Expertise: Virtualization Management

VM6's VM6mcp helps MSPs create a distributed on-premise or centralized multitenant cloud. It combines virtualization with shared storage, clustering, and intuitive management and monitoring on Windows.

VMware

Location: Palo Alto, Calif.
Expertise: Comprehensive Virtualization Portfolio

VMware is a provider of virtualization and cloud infrastructure solutions that enable businesses to transform the way they build, deliver and consume IT resources in a manner that addresses their unique business needs.

Wanova

Location: Campbell, Calif.
Expertise: Workspace Virtualization

Wanova provides a centralized endpoint management and recovery solution that provides the manageability benefits of VDI, but runs image natively on the endpoint without a client hypervisor. Wanova Mirage centralizes the entire endpoint to the cloud.

WorldDesk

Location: Menlo Park, Calif.
Expertise: Desktop Virtualization

WorldDesk frees all aspects of a user's Microsoft Windows workspace from the underlying OS and device. With WorldDesk, users can their personalised desktop around on any device, from a simple USB drive to a smartphone or iPod.

Wyse Technology

Location: San Jose, Calif.
Expertise: Desktop Virtualization

Wyse makes thin clients and software designed for virtual desktop infrastructures. PocketCloud enables access to a PC, Remote Desktop Services, Terminal Server, VMware View and other virtual machines from an Apple iPhone, iPad or Android device.

Xangati

Location: Cupertino, Calif.
Expertise: Virtualization Management

Xangati’s suite of Infrastructure Performance Management solutions accelerates cloud computing and virtualization initiatives by providing visibility and realtime continuous insights into the entire infrastructure.

Xsigo Systems

Location: San Jose, Calif.
Expertise: Network Virtualization

Xsigo provides data center fabric solutions, including the Xsigo I/O Director and the Xsigo Server Fabric, which virtualize the connections from servers to networks and storage, transforming multiple individual connections into a single high-speed fabric.

Zenith Infotech

Location: Warrendale, Penn.
Expertise: Comprehensive Virtualization Portfolio

Zenith Infotech specializes in business continuity, server, and desktop virtualization and telepresence solutions. The company provides an on-premise appliance, which serves as a gateway for cloud backups and as a host for virtual servers.