It has been an incredibly exciting 2.5 months since VMware completed the acquisition of Thinstall in late January. We have been moving at an incredible pace; we've already released our first public beta, announced several major new features intended for GA of the product in early 2H2008, and have been meeting with customers, partners, and analysts to let them know where we're headed and what the road ahead looks like. All the while, we have continued to keep the current version on the market and available for sale.
When I meet with customers and partners, some common questions come up consistently and I thought I'd share my answers to those questions a bit more widely.
Yes. 100% yes! One of the key reasons VMware acquired Thinstall was because we saw a gap in the current marketplace around application virtualization. The market, frankly, seemed artificially inhibited. We intend on opening the application virtualization market up and making software widely accessible to any existing or new customers without additional software, hardware, or unrelated support investments. We believe that this is a unique and compelling way to deliver application virtualization.
VMware plans to continue sales of the existing Thinstall products both standalone and in integrated fashion. In addition to incorporating elements of the Thinstall technology into many of its existing virtualization products, including VDI, ACE, Workstation and VI3, VMware will continue to sell this technology as an independent, standalone offering.
What are the future pricing plans for Thinstall?
When I talk to customers, the current price of Thinstall is almost never an objection to purchase. While pricing is always subject to change based on market conditions or inclusions of additional value, one of the key reasons VMware left the Thinstall technology on the market immediately after the acquisition is that we believe it continues to be fairly priced for our customers given the value it delivers.
VMware has a long history of not pre-announcing pricing for any of its products until those products are placed on the pricing list. This tradition will not broken for the VMware-branded version of Thinstall.
*How will Thinstall and VDI work together? *
In a nutshell, Thinstall makes VDI better. We love that this is the case and that customers can make their VDI environments better immediately - without any additional requirements. Customers who combine VDI and Thinstall will be able to:
- Create fewer desktop images by separating applications and desktops. This is a huge time-savings for administrators!
- Reduce storage costs. One of the very coolest features of Thinstall technology is its ability to stream applications directly into memory - without requiring a local cache - so that VDI images can be kept clean and small, yet easily configurable.
- Improve application compatibility. One of VDI ‘s trademark strengths is that it allows administrators to take the current image, as it is now, and place it onto a server for access anywhere. Many of our customers struggle with application deployment into their current image - and Thinstall helps tremendously in reducing that complexity. By avoiding application compatibility challenges, administrators get the applications they need our to the end-users, on demand, without an expensive compatibility testing matrix.
- Deliver desktops and applications independently. VMware's vision is to enable our customers to deliver desktops as a service for their end-users. It's a compelling vision, and Thinstall technology helps accelerate this vision. Customers who combine VDI and Thinstall will be able to acheive a significantly more agile deployment model for both OS and applications.
How will Thinstall be supported now and in the future?
Customers I have had the chance to speak with offer a giant sigh of relief when they learn that we are moving as quickly as we have been to get the newly acquired Thinstall organization fully integrated into VMware. Beta in just one month! 2nd Beta with 3 to 4 months, and a planned launch in a timeframe potentially as fast as 6 months from acquisition! One of the most compelling customer-facing synergies of this acquisition will be the increase in available support we'll extend to our entire customer base.
VMware has full intention of supporting the VMware-branded version of Thinstall 24/7, 7 days per week through our world-class Global Support Services organization. This is a big win for our customers and we are very much looking forward to offering that support upon release in the early 2H2008.
Where can I get more info?
At vmware.com:
http://www.vmware.com/go/thinstall
At thinstall.com
http://www.thinstall.com
Project North Star - the current VMware beta version of Thinstall:
http://www.vmware.com/beta/northstar
VMware community forum on Application Virtualization:
http://communities.vmware.com/community/beta/northstar
Right here:
Start posting responses or requests for other topics to discuss.
We would love to hear your thoughts!
Ed Albanese,
Product Management,
VMware Application Virtualization Technologies
