Nutanix announced that it has
entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Mainframe2, Inc.
("Frame"), a leader in cloud-based Windows desktop and application
delivery. With Frame, Nutanix customers will be able to deliver
desktops-as-a-service (DaaS) from multiple clouds, combining the
consumer-grade simplicity and web-scale design of cloud applications
with the functionality of traditional virtual desktop applications. The
closing of the acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions.
According
to Gartner, "by 2019, 50% of new VDI users will be deployed on DaaS
platforms." The report goes on to state that, "interest in DaaS has
resurfaced as a hot topic with midsize organizations that have
progressed and matured their cloud strategies." (Gartner, Inc., When
Midsize Organizations Should Select Desktop as a Service, Nathan Hill,
Refreshed: July 19, 2018 | Published: 31 January 2017) Taking advantage
of Frame's cloud-native architecture, Nutanix will extend the service to
Xi Cloud and Google Cloud Platform, while continuing support for
popular third-party clouds like AWS and Azure. This will provide
customers with a genuine multi-cloud deployment model, consistent with
Nutanix's philosophy of customer choice.
Based
on recent research from IDC, the DaaS software market is forecast to
grow to $2.99 billion in 2021 at a compound annual growth rate of 32.1%
(IDC Worldwide Desktop-as-a-Service Software Forecast, 2017-2021, Robert
Young, June 2017, IDC). The rapid adoption of cloud-native applications
is fundamentally altering how applications and services are delivered
to users. Modern ‘born in the cloud' applications are inherently
elastic, delivering on-demand scalability - and are built to support
multiple organizations from a single cloud. Frame embodies these same
principles for delivering DaaS. Its web-scale architecture incorporates
auto-scale functionality providing impressive performance at any scale,
while natively supporting multiple tenants with complete isolation of
users, desktops and data.
Frame
is built from the ground-up to support multi-cloud delivery models,
allowing IT teams to deliver virtual desktops from public clouds and
their own enterprise datacenter - with common tooling and management
constructs. Leveraging a multi-cloud architecture for DaaS provides
easier migration of applications across environments, more seamless
disaster recovery and a single IT environment for delivering both
traditional and cloud-native applications.
Cloud-based
delivery has also elevated end user expectations. With Frame, users get
a high-performance desktop experience in just minutes, without having
to install proprietary client software. Applications can be instantly
accessed from an online ‘app marketplace' from anywhere to maximize
customer delight and productivity.
With
Frame, Nutanix will address customer requirements for DaaS in the
mid-market, while continuing its long-standing support for large-scale
VDI projects delivered via enterprise datacenters. This includes
continued support for VMware Horizon View, as well as remaining Citrix
Ready certified for Citrix XenDesktop and XenApp. Frame simply provides
Nutanix customers another deployment option for delivering virtual
desktops.
"Companies
desperately need a cloud-native desktop solution for their multi-cloud
environments which combines the performance of on-prem offerings with
the flexibility and cost optimization of the cloud. That's why we built
Frame," said Nikola Bozinovic, Founder and CEO at Frame. "Nutanix shares
our vision of simplifying critical IT functions so companies can save
money, save time and still achieve exceptional performance no matter
their underlying infrastructure, and we're so proud to be joining the
family."
Frame
is the only global, infrastructure-independent platform built to
deliver Windows applications from the cloud. Companies from across
industries rely on Frame to run even the most graphically-intense 3D
tools for visualization, science and engineering, and cutting-edge
design. Through Frame Platform Government Edition and Frame on Microsoft
Azure Government, government agencies can take advantage of a secure,
next-generation end-user computing platform which is designed to meet
government requirements, including FedRAMP and NIST 800-171.
"Frame's
cloud-native technology represents everything we believe to be true in
the market - customers want easy-to-use, high performance and cost
optimized solutions that just work across the entirety of their
infrastructure," said Sunil Potti, Chief Product and Development Officer
at Nutanix. "We are committed to providing our customers with a robust
multi-cloud DaaS offering through Frame while working with our partners
to enable best-in-class enterprise VDI. We are delighted to add the
Frame technology, and the innovative thinkers behind it, to our family."
Availability
Frame
will be available following the closing of the acquisition on
third-party clouds from AWS and Azure. Availability on Nutanix Xi Cloud
and Google Cloud Platform will be announced at a later date.