So we just http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/press/2008/mar08/03-12ExpandVirtualizationPR.mspx a desktop virtualization vendor based in Silicon Valley and with R&D in Israel. http://www.kidaro.com/about/ entered the desktop virtualization management market http://www.virtualization.info/2006/10/kidaro-enters-desktop-virtualization.html with their Kidaro Managed Workspace product. With this acquisition, Kidaro's product will lead to new capabilities within https://partner.microsoft.com/global/40043418 for customers with Software Assurance. We'll be shipping this solution under the name Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization within MDOP - the timing wasn't disclosed.
Kidaro's Managed Workspace product allows enterprise data and applicatiosn to run within a "transparent virtual machine wrapper." Kidaro's product is built upon Microsoft Virtual PC, and the wrapper provides "enterprise class" management, deployment and a clean user experience. You can read more on Kidaro's site. With this acquisition, the wrapper becomes http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/virtualpc/overview.mspx . I know ... it's http://blogs.technet.com/virtualization/archive/2007/07/10/microsoft-virtualization-and-virtual-pc-2007.aspx since we've blogged about Virtual PC on http://blogs.technet.com/virtualization/archive/2007/07/23/virtual-server-or-virtual-pc.aspx - but http://blogs.msdn.com/virtual_pc_guy/ is the definitive source for Virtual PC blogs.
I'm told that the three founders of Kidaro will be joining Microsoft and play similar roles here, and that the plan is to keep Kidaro's R&D team in Israel. That makes sense since Microsoft already has an http://www.microsoft.com/Israel/rnd/ .
So if you're keeping track, this acquisition is roughly 45 days after we announced the acquisition of http://blogs.technet.com/virtualization/archive/2008/01/21/Calista-joins-the-Microsoft-virtualization-product-lineup.aspx . Here's how Neal explained Calista's software:
I am sure by now, you are wondering, “who is Calista Technologies, and what exactly do they do?” Well, think of us as the people that have set out to create technology which, when IT departments deploy centralized desktops and applications, ensures that users will enjoy the same rich user experience as with a locally executing desktop: Full 3D graphics with support for DirectX, Vista Aero and WPF applications, full frame rate video with 100% coverage for all media types, and fully synchronized audio. Except that “their” desktop is actually running in the data center, and they are accessing it remotely using Microsoft’s remote desktop protocol (RDP).
We haven't said how Calista's software will be packaged, but there's expectations for improvements to Terminal Services and presentation virtualization capabilities in Windows Server. But no word yet. And roughly 20 months ago
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2006/jul06/07-17SoftricityPR.mspx
, which has resulted in somewhere around 4.5 million seats of
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/softgrid/default.aspx
being
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004187912_virtualization18.html
. Added together (and reading tea leaves) we're seeing changes to how customers want to adopt/deploy client apps and client computing, and virtualization will play a key role. See
http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsvista/archive/2008/01/22/microsoft-virtualization-day-helping-it-professionals-do-more-with-less.aspx
from Jan. 22 for more perspective.
Patrick O'Rourke
