VMware has introduced new and expanded capabilities, which include a suite of new workplace solutions and new features in VMware Workspace ONE Intelligent Hub built specifically to help customers bring employees back to the office safely. VMware is also introducing enhancements to its flagship virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) platform, VMware Horizon 8, for more secure delivery and management of virtual desktops and applications across the hybrid cloud.
“Our announcements on solutions for the re-imagined workplace with Workspace ONE Proximity and Workspace ONE Campus, together with the launch of the first, truly modern platform for virtual desktops and apps are strategic and mission-critical to the distributed workforce. Strong adoption of our solutions validates our commitment to meet customers’ needs as they adapt to the new normal.” said Shankar Iyer, senior vice president and general manager, End-User Computing, VMware.
Designed to help VMware customers enable office experiences of the future, the new workplace solutions powered by the Workspace ONE platform solutions are, two new privacy-centric mobile applications – VMware Workspace ONE Proximity and VMware Workspace ONE Campus.
With Workspace ONE Proximity, customers can help return employees to the office by utilizing Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons to give employees insight into potential exposure, notify colleagues of changing conditions, and help recount whereabouts and interactions within an office. As organizations re-design their workplaces, Workspace ONE Campus will be designed to leverage the same beacon infrastructure to support desk and meeting room booking, and wayfinding, further elevating the future workplace experience. Implementing these new workplace solutions will help organizations leverage the infrastructure they already have in place to support vital reopening tasks and future workplace initiatives, such as: Self-reporting and automatic proximity notifications, Tools to help employees recall their whereabouts, Admin visibility into areas that require deep cleaning, Occupancy limits and physical distancing, Omnichannel communication strategies, Digital badge for entry, kiosks, printing, and more, Desk and conference room booking and Office navigation.
VMware is introducing Horizon 8, designed to help IT teams more efficiently manage and easily scale virtual desktop and application delivery from a single control plane across public and private clouds. Unlike legacy VDI products, VMware Horizon 8 empowers IT with Instant Clone technology that rapidly provisions full-featured, personalized virtual desktops and applications, powered by proprietary integration with industry-leading VMware vSphere technology. The modern platform further simplifies and automates Day Two management of images, applications, profiles, and policies by leveraging VMware App Volumes and Dynamic Environment Manager technologies to save IT time and reduce costs. VMware Horizon 8 introduces several new key capabilities including: Expanded Hybrid and Multi-cloud Deployment Options, New Instant Clone Capabilities, VMware Horizon REST APIs, Unified Communications and Collaboration Support and Linux-Hosted Applications.
Customers leveraging VMware Horizon 8 can also use the same control plane to deploy and manage hybrid environments that extend to VMware Horizon Cloud on Microsoft Azure, one of VMware’s desktop-as-a-service offerings. VMware Horizon Cloud on Microsoft Azure supports the features of Microsoft Windows Virtual Desktop, including Windows 10 Enterprise multi-session, and recently added support for VMware App Volumes, giving customers the ability to package an application once and deploy it to any VMware Horizon platform. This reduces the size and complexity of base images reducing IT time and cost, and cross-platform integration means that customers can consolidate resources and simplify management.
By leveraging more unique integrations with trusted VMware infrastructure and technology, VMware Horizon 8 helps IT teams deliver more secure virtual workspaces that protect their network while extending the best digital workspace experience to all desktops and applications. By using VMware Workspace ONE Access, IT can establish and verify end-user identity with built-in multi-factor authentication, and it serves as the basis for conditional access policies for VMware Horizon virtual desktops and applications. Additional security features from VMware technologies across the network, like NSX Advanced Load Balancer (Avi Networks) and VMware SD-WAN by VeloCloud, can be leveraged by VMware Horizon. With next-generation endpoint protection from VMware Carbon Black, IT can prevent, detect and respond to advanced attacks with a cloud-native platform supporting VMware Horizon virtual desktops and applications. These intrinsic security elements help facilitate a zero-trust security model that protects access to virtual desktops and applications enabled across public and private clouds.
VMware Workspace ONE Proximity is currently in beta and more information on VMware Workspace ONE Campus will be available in the coming months. VMware Horizon 8 is expected to be available in VMware’s Fiscal Q3 FY21, ending on October 30, 2020.
