Frame, the secure cloud workspace platform, announced today that it has closed a $16 million funding round from Bain Capital Ventures, Microsoft Ventures and In-Q-Tel, with participation from previous investor CNTP. The company will use the investment to accelerate the market shift from legacy on-premises desktop virtualization to the secure and scalable Frame cloud platform.

Frame delivers virtual applications and desktops to any device, anywhere, using hyperscale cloud services like Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services. It helps organizations increase security, improve mobility, lower their capex and reduce management costs.

Frame's unique extensibility allows customers to create purpose-built cloud workspaces and connect them easily with other cloud services, like identity and storage. End users retain the rich, full-featured experience of desktop applications on all devices, including PCs, Macs and Chromebooks. Current users include Adobe, Autodesk, HP, Siemens and a number of public sector organizations.

"Frame is the new technology leader in the multi-billion-dollar desktop virtualization industry," said Salil Deshpande, managing director at Bain Capital Ventures. "Unlike prior-generation VDI, Frame is programmable and extensible, has rewritten the technology stack from the ground up on modern protocols and standards, has been battle-tested by many developers, ISVs, IT organizations and government agencies and is commercially viable today."

"Cloud-based application delivery is orders of magnitude faster and simpler to deploy than traditional VDI," said Patrick Moorhead, founder of Moor Insights & Strategy, a leading research and analyst firm. "With gigabit-class cellular networks soon available to all mobile devices, enterprises can reimagine the computing model by offering ubiquitous access to applications from any device."

"Frame delivers unparalleled business value to enterprises worldwide, giving millions of applications the most direct path to run from the cloud to a diverse set of browser-equipped endpoints," said Nagraj Kashyap, corporate vice president at Microsoft Ventures. "We look forward to supporting Frame in their growth as they transform the end-user computing industry."

"Frame takes virtual desktops to the next level by delivering a solution that operates completely within a web browser at performance levels we have not seen before," said George Hoyem, managing partner, Investments at In-Q-Tel. "The ability to reduce security risks with zero-footprint virtual desktop clients, while simplifying management of desktop software, is attractive to our government partners."

The rise of Software-as-a-Service demonstrated benefits of device-independent, browser-based application distribution. Frame now provides the same benefits and ease of use to any enterprise, instantly modernizing IT operations in industries with sophisticated workflows and no SaaS alternatives, such as manufacturing, AEC/EPC and digital content creation.

"Until now, desktop virtualization was a powerful idea that rarely delivered a great user experience. It was too slow, complicated and inflexible," said Nikola Bozinovic, founder and CEO of Frame. "Frame is the first solution that truly delivers on the promise of desktop virtualization in the cloud. We built it from day one to take full advantage of the cloud, so it's faster, simpler and more scalable than anything that came before it."

As part of the investment, Salil Deshpande, managing director from Bain Capital Ventures, joins the Frame board of directors.