Robin Wauters

Neocleus today unveiled the next phase of its corporate strategy focused on enabling existing PC Lifecycle Management (PCLM), Security and Help Desk solutions to transform personal computers (PCs) into highly manageable, multi-purpose desktop environments, and dramatically improve security and lower total cost of ownership (TCO).

Neocleus’ first phase focused on delivering a bare metal, client-focused type 1 hypervisor and piloting solutions to test this technology. The hypervisor provides a solid technical foundation for evolving client PC architecture, but alone is not enough; only with the ability to manage a client PC hypervisor through enterprise-class tools will the true transformation of the PC be realized.

With its next stage, Neocleus is providing enterprises a way to utilize current systems management infrastructure, protecting process and tools investments. The company is delivering NeoSphere, an extensible client virtualization platform that ties existing PC management systems with advanced virtualization technology. Using NeoSphere, independent software developers can rapidly create a new breed of virtualized client solutions that make it easy for enterprises to control, protect and repair the desktop.

The platform enables a new client computing model where, for instance, an anti-virus agent can run in a protected area outside of Windows, where it is impervious to malware attacks, or a help desk agent can troubleshoot Windows even if Windows is inoperable.

NeoSphere provides abstracted management and hardware resource services, exposed through virtualization programming interfaces (VPIs). NeoSphere allows different applications, agents and operating system instances to run in their own protected space, or “virtual machine.” The software agents and applications sit outside the confines and complexities of today’s PC architecture. The core of the NeoSphere platform is its Virtual Runtime Environment (VRE), which sits at the hardware level and transforms the computer resources into a highly flexible execution environment.

NeoSphere comes with the Neocleus type 1 client hypervisor (based on XEN); however, it is built so that tomorrow’s client hypervisors will work with it as well. It also includes a Virtualization Developer’s Kit, enabling virtualized client applications that abstract the complexities of the hypervisor and the hardware dependencies, reducing PC control to simple VPIs so that less code is needed.

Voonami announced today that it is launching its Virtual Desktop Service on the UTOPIA network.

The Virtual Desktop Service utilizes thin client technology to offer customers the benefits of cloud computing at their desktop. Voonami is the only UTOPIA service provider offering cloud computing and virtual desktop services over UTOPIA’s fiber network using its green data center solutions.

The “cloud” is simply data stored on remote servers or super computers located in secure data centers rather than on an individual desktop computer. Most users today access this technology through applications like web-based email programs. Voonami’s Virtual Desktop Service replaces individual personal computers with zero clients, a much smaller device, that communicates with a super computer located in Voonami’s disaster proof data centers to access all of the company’s software, applications and data. These super computers are all redundantly secured and backed up, meaning that all your data is safe, secure, and accessible from anywhere.

By moving your software and applications to a secure data center, the zero client system increases speeds, ensures your data is protected, eliminates capital expenditures for new hardware and PC maintenance costs, decreases the risks of theft, ensures application and software version control, and offers seamless telecommuting capabilities. Companies are able to increase their memory or hard drive space dynamically while having increased efficiencies and access to the latest technology, all managed by Voonami.

Stratavia announced today the public beta of Data Palette Express, a downloadable version of their data center automation software that can be deployed for free on up to 10 servers.

Data Palette Express includes many of the features offered by Data Palette Enterprise including point-and-click application provisioning, code deployments, and maintenance for enterprise-class application servers and databases. The beta release of Data Palette Express will be available on March 15^th.

Data Palette Express is a limited version of Data Palette that can be deployed on up to 10 servers for free, and ships with out-of-the box operations for application stack lifecycle management. Data Palette Express includes features for installations, patch deployments, code releases, user maintenance, and backup operations – all from a Web-based self-service console.

Customers have the option to upgrade their free version of Data Palette Express to the commercial Enterprise edition of Data Palette that offers broader deployment rights, full support and out-of-the-box functionality for VMware SpringSource, IBM WebSphere, Microsoft IIS, and Oracle WebLogic application servers as well as Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, IBM DB2, and Sybase ASE databases running on all UNIX, Linux and Windows platforms. Stratavia also offers a hosted version of Data Palette Enterprise that is available through their network of hosting partners via the “Automation by Stratavia” program.

Launched today by Flexiant, the software and services company, Extility is a licensed virtualised cloud platform delivering all of the benefits of real-time server estate management to end-users through its unique user interface and API.

Central to these end-user benefits is the ability to shape server requirements to meet and exceed the demands of a perpetually shifting market landscape, allowing provisioning and reconfiguration of servers in seconds or minutes rather than hours or days. Licensees of Extility will not only enjoy the competitive edge of providing world class scalable services to existing or new business the savings springing from Extility’s unified platform mean that they will be able to do so at realistic prices in a market projected to comprise of over 20% of corporate IT infrastructure within five years (Source: Gartner).

Extility’s licensees will see substantial capital expenditure savings, streamlining of technical resource and progressive efficiencies in server utilisation, allowing them more effectively to achieve business acquisition and profitability targets. Reduced energy consumption will slash operating costs and significantly shrink carbon footprint – a central consideration in an increasingly environmentally conscious business ecosystem. Importantly, in these times of challenging margins and market fluidity, sales gestation periods will be shortened dramatically through accelerated delivery timescales, in turn reducing time to invoice and to attain positive, profitable cash flow. Extility will significantly enhance licensee profiles and product offerings through seamless branding and bringing real commercial gains to their customers.

FlexiScale 2.0 brings new opportunity to the Cloud Virtualisation reseller market and exciting new functionality to end users: Leading edge differentiation and value creation

FlexiScale 2.0, is a complete rebuild of Europe’s first cloud platform using Flexiant’s revolutionary Extility technology. FlexiScale 2.0 not only allows end-users to benefit from a wholly scalable hosting infrastructure but also reaches out to the wider world of IT services delivery companies with the opportunity to extend their offering to existing customers, whilst differentiating their services in a progressively demanding market place where most IT services have been, or are seen to have been, commoditised.

Flexiant’s Resellers and Affiliates will be able to rapidly leverage their existing customer base to take advantage of FlexiScale’s platform independent infrastructure, bringing immediate improvement to bottom-line performance, whilst delivering highly dependable world class services to their customers.

Currently in its final Beta testing cycle, FlexiScale 2.0 will launch on 23rd March 2010. Additional information will be released closer to the launch date indicating how and where you can participate in this exciting opportunity. In the interim, Flexiant’s channel development team is seeking to sign up early adopter resellers across a range of sectors.

VMware today announced that its Board of Directors has authorized the purchase of up to $400 million of its Class A common stock through the end of 2011.

Stock will be purchased from time to time, in the open market or through private transactions, subject to market conditions.

The Company expects the equity purchase program to help partially offset dilution from its equity programs and believes it to be an appropriate use of proceeds from the exercise of employee stock options.