Quest Software, Inc. today announced that Quest vWorkspace, a platform-agnostic virtual desktop management solution, integrates with Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager and Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V). Through this integration, vWorkspace adds automation and improved management-level support, enhanced user experience and flexibility throughout the virtual desktop lifecycle.

The solution will be featured this week during Microsoft Management Summit 2009 (MMS), in booth No. 209. Multiple webcasts and an eight-city road show are planned for later in the year. For more information on the joint solution, please visit www.vWorkspace.com/aWinningPartnership.

“Organizations are evaluating desktop virtualization solutions because they can provide their workers with more flexible access to data and applications, while making it easier for IT departments to control assets and provision just the right applications and data to the user,” said Dai Vu, director of virtualization marketing, Server and Tools Business at Microsoft Corp. “Quest vWorkspace provides customers with a rich virtual desktop experience through integrated management across existing physical and virtual desktops with Microsoft System Center, and cost-effective virtualization with Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V.”

“We are happy to be able to leverage our existing investment with Quest vWorkspace to roll out our virtual desktop infrastructure on Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V platform,” said Robert Roos, senior IT infrastructure architect with ROC West-Brabant, a leading educational institution in the Netherlands. “Having this single desktop management framework support both our VDI and terminal services infrastructures is crucial.”

Quest vWorkspace uses the native Microsoft Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) to add significant user experience enhancements, creating an Experience Optimized Protocol (EOP) that empowers graphics and multimedia acceleration, bi-directional audio, local text echo, universal print driver, and USB device support.

Benefits of the integration of Quest vWorkspace with Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager include:

• Full management of the desktop lifecycle, including provisioning, sys-prepping, intelligent placement and power management of virtual desktops, as a result of management-level integration with System Center Virtual Machine Manager, Microsoft App-V and Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V.
• Dynamic computer group pooling with assignment-type flexibility for pre-assigned desktops or assignments upon first use. Computer groups can also be easily changed or mixed on demand and full group task automation, for actions such as powering up or down complete groups based on policy, are also enabled.
• Increased desktop management efficiency by enabling the flexibility to administratively elevate power users or administrators within a pooled or assigned desktop or provision desktops to any Active Directory Organizational Unit.
• Reduced management overhead through the integration of user profile management within the single Quest vWorkspace management console.

“Successful VDI deployments are best driven by a tightly integrated delivery platform and management stack,” said Chris Wolf, senior analyst, Burton Group. “Organizations that realize substantial TCO savings following VDI deployments do so by rearchitecting business and IT processes in order to streamline all aspects of desktop management: provisioning, application delivery, profile management, and lifecycle management. Solutions that yield the TCO savings required to fund VDI projects while providing the user experience expected by many information workers are well positioned for rapid uptake.”

Where to Learn More

To learn more consider one of the following opportunities:

• Joint recorded webcast produced and hosted by TechTarget to air starting 4/27/2009.
• Four additional live VDI webcasts starting in June 2009.
• Eight in-person, half-day symposiums starting in September, which will visit Irvine, Calif.; Silicon Valley, Calif.; Dallas; Chicago; Boston; New York; Reston, Va.; and Atlanta.
• A joint Microsoft/Quest whitepaper detailing the advantages of implementing Quest vWorkspace with Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager.
• For detailed information on the joint solution from Quest and Microsoft, please visit www.vWorkspace.com/aWinningPartnership.