Liquidware, the leader in adaptive workspace management, today announced the release of Liquidware ProfileUnity and FlexApp v6.8 with new industry-first features, including FlexApp layering support for object-based cloud storage (Amazon S3, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure), and FlexApp Cloud Apps - turnkey pre-packaged cloud-hosted app layers that are ready for use.

Until now, Server Message Block (SMB) file shares have been a requirement of application layering solutions for hosting the delivery of applications. SMB file shares require servers and operating systems for the purpose of making a file share available to host layers. FlexApp is the industry's first solution to support object-based cloud storage APIs natively, thus eliminating the complexity of maintaining servers in the cloud for file shares. FlexApp Cache is also an industry-first feature being introduced to lend high-availability of layers on less than dependable networks.

[ Learn more: Read the VMblog Expert Interview Q&A with Jason E. Smith of Liquidware ]

Native support for multi-cloud services provides further benefits to organisations that use FlexApp to layer applications, by providing a seamless transition to cloud-based DaaS (Desktop as a Service), delivering built-in high-availability, and lowering storage costs.

"Companies are increasingly embracing multi-cloud/hybrid-cloud strategies," said Shannon Kalvar, IDC Research Manager. "This shift makes it imperative for application virtualisation vendors to technically enable this strategic direction in a seamless fashion."

A summary of the new features in ProfileUnity and FlexApp v6.8 reveals:

• FlexApp Support for Cloud - FlexApp now supports saving and hosting application layers to object-based storage with multi-cloud support, including Amazon S3, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure
• FlexApp Caching - FlexApp applications now start immediately as blocks of data continue to load from the cloud or SMB. Benefits include faster execution of apps and enhanced FlexApp stability on unreliable networks.
• FlexApp Cloud Apps - FlexApp now features over a dozen pre-packaged cloud-hosted applications. These apps are ready to deploy for pilot projects and easily cloned for production environments
• FlexApp Application Layering Support for Amazon AppStream - FlexApp enables one AppStream server to publish multiple applications, minimising the number of base images and servers used to deliver AppStream applications
• Licensing Server - ProfileUnity and FlexApp's management console will now act as a licensing server to enable true concurrent license models. Benefits include accurate in-use ProfileUnity and FlexApp license counts, especially helpful in healthcare, government, and education
• Faster ProfileUnity and FlexApp client execution - startup of the agent has been streamlined, reducing login times for most customers by several seconds
  

"Our FlexApp layering solution has led with many industry firsts since its introduction seven years ago," said Jason E. Smith, VP of Product Marketing, Liquidware. "With the advent of object-based cloud storage for FlexApp layers, the innovation in this release is game-changing. Through the use of API-level integration, ProfileUnity and FlexApp enable organisations to easily consume cloud storage while delivering multiple benefits for the enterprise. FlexApp again delivers industry firsts with new functionality, and is moreover multi-cloud ready with support for all three major public clouds, including Microsoft Azure, Amazon S3, and Google Cloud."

In related news earlier this year, Liquidware ProfileUnity became the first User Environment Management solution to leverage object-based storage for user profiles. User profiles, from native cloud without the use of SMB, offer similar benefits to customers by readying them for seamless DaaS transitions, providing built-in high availability from multi-clouds, and lowering the cost of storage.