View 4.5 Release
Recently a very exciting software release from VMware took place. VMware introduced View version 4.5. While the name may allude that it is a “partial” upgrade instead of a full “.0” release don’t let this fool you. In addition to support for Windows 7 there are many substantial enhancements in the latest release. First a quick overview of the View product in general. VMware View is a software application that allows you to virtualize the desktop.
A virtualized desktop is accessed from a remote server, instead of on the local storage of a remote device. This allows remote users to access all of the applications, programs, processes and data from a central location. This also allows users to access their specific desktop on any capable device such as a personal computer, thin client, smartphone or notebook computer. View helps provide secure access to an increasingly mobile workforce allowing users to securely access to applications and data from any device where and when a user needs it.
Great! Why would I want to virtualize the desktop? A virtual desktop can provide several advantages over traditional full workstations including easier management, simpler provisioning, lower cost of deploying new applications, desktop image and management capabilities, secure remote access and a longer refresh cycle for client desktop infrastructure.
View 4.5 provides these features as well as some new enhancements. Some of these enhancements include better management capabilities, tired storage enhancements that provide cost savings and application independence.
Here are some scenarios of how VMware’s View 4.5 could help your organization. If you have multiple locations View can be a great tool for managing desktops and allowing centralized support for remote users. If you are looking to standardize or upgrade to Windows 7 VMwares Thin App which comes with part of the View bundle can help ease the transition by virtualizing applications so that your legacy applications that may rely on an older OS can function on Windows 7. If you are trying to prolong your hardware refresh cycle virtualizing your desktop will allow you to take advantage of your existing investment because of the fact that you will be relying on the central server to provider your published applications rather than relying on the local resources of a desktop.
Technology is constantly changing an improving. Think about your business challenges and determine if View may be able to help your organization with some of your initiatives.
-Jon Eyberg, PEI
