As we near the end of 2010, one can only wonder if the desktop virtualization market will finally take hold in 2011 as the pundits have been predicting.
What does seem clear is that a battle for control will continue to escalate in 2011 for virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) dominance. While the VDI market is trying to "find itself," companies from the very large to the very small are attempting to make a name for themselves in this space while also establishing that VDI is ready for prime time and can be implemented in a cost-effective manner.
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One of those smaller companies going up against giants like Citrix, Microsoft, and VMware is an Austin-based startup called Virtual Bridges. The company has been focused on constructing a purpose-built VDI solution since its inception back in 2006, long before the term "VDI" was even coined.
What's holding back the VDI market? According to Jim Curtin, CEO of Virtual Bridges, VDI has been too expensive, too complex, and an incomplete solution.
Curtin adds, "Traditional virtualization vendors have tried to take solutions that have been successful for servers and retrofit them for the desktop. It hasn't worked and as a result, they've given VDI a bad rap."
Because of that, something Virtual Bridges is calling VDI Gen2 was born. Curtin said VDI Gen2 solutions offer a fresh approach to VDI, solving the cost, coverage, and complexity pitfalls of the past and delivering to the consumer a VDI solution that is affordable, adoptable, and adaptable.
To help push its version of desktop virtualization, Virtual Bridges announced a new version of its flagship offering, VERDE (Virtual Enterprise Remote Desktop Environment) 5, a platform that makes it easier to manage VDI deployments installed locally, in branch offices, or in the cloud.
Virtual Bridges has been moving at a fairly fast pace innovating and enhancing its VERDE solution. Version 3 launched in December 2009, and version 4 debuted four months later, improving on the previous release by upgrading the command-line management interface to include a much needed Web interface. It also added multiple display protocol options and RDP connection brokering to help deliver a better end-user experience. VERDE 5 builds on those previous additions with further enhancements and a few new key features that help make the new product stand out even more.