Phoenix Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: PTEC), the global leader in core systems firmware, and SupportSoft, Inc. (Nasdaq: SPRT), a leader in software and services that make technology work, today announced a plan to develop the industry's first remote PC management solution that would allow users to continue running key productivity applications while the Windows operating system is being remotely diagnosed and repaired. The parties anticipate that the new solution will be built on Phoenix's new HyperSpace™ platform which hosts instant-on applications or appliances before, during and after Windows Vista™ boots up and shuts down.
"This is a significant step forward in realizing our vision for PC 3.0™, which is based on a completely new architecture for personal computers developed by Phoenix," said Woody Hobbs, President and CEO of Phoenix Technologies. "We want the PC to be manageable as soon as it is purchased, usable as soon as it is turned on and fixable as soon as it acts up. The combination of HyperSpace and SupportSoft's technologies could dramatically improve user uptime and productivity, which are currently disrupted whenever the PC OS is 'down' or does not perform as expected. For the first time in the industry, users will remain productive using applications in the HyperSpace environment while Windows is being remotely diagnosed and repaired or updated."
HyperSpace enables new capabilities that can benefit both PC OEMs and end users. These new capabilities are possible because HyperSpace runs independently of the OS, so its functionality is available even if Windows crashes. The availability of the SupportSoft agent within HyperSpace could enable OEMs to provide support services to end users while allowing them to continue to use applications such as email, web browsers and media players, also running within HyperSpace. Phoenix is working with numerous software and hardware vendors to optimize HyperSpace and provide associated applications.
"Our work with Phoenix Technologies is designed to further our mission of 24/7 remote management servicing and provisioning," said Josh Pickus, President and CEO of SupportSoft. "When a PC crashes due to malicious programs or other reasons, the system is inaccessible making it impossible to diagnose the failure's cause and often making data stored on the disk drive inaccessible. As a result, the PC is unavailable when it's needed most and sometimes requires an onsite visit by skilled technicians. With Phoenix HyperSpace we have the opportunity to be able to provide remote maintenance services even when Windows is down and run diagnostic programs while the user continues uninterrupted."
HyperSpace is enabled by Phoenix HyperCore™, a virtualization platform that allows the independent Linux-based operating system to run alongside Windows. HyperSpace doesn't compromise the functionality and performance of Windows and associated applications. In fact, by allowing SupportSoft's remote management capabilities to operate outside of Windows, it actually could enable Windows Vista to function more efficiently. The HyperSpace platform hosts instant-on applications or appliances before, during and after Windows Vista boots up and shuts down.
"A PC software appliance is a dedicated PC partition or virtual machine providing a single application or function, without the complexity of a full PC OS," said Brian Gammage, VP and Gartner Fellow, Client Computing Research at Gartner. "By adopting an appliance approach, individual functions, such as firewalls, asset management, TV recorders or media players, will be delivered as separate modules that run alongside, rather than on top of, the standard PC OS. Software appliances will become a major PC development platform, rivaling OS integration as a major focus of PC industry R&D efforts for targeted security and management functions."