It's great to see that MED-V is now available to customers with the new version of MS Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) for customers with Software Assurance.
See Ran's post http://blogs.technet.com/mdop/ . Following are excerpts from Ran's post:
MED-V provides deployment and management of virtual Windows desktops to enable key enterprise scenarios. MED-V 1.0 helps enterprises upgrade to the latest version of Windows even when some applications are not yet compatible. MED-V builds on top of Microsoft Virtual PC to run two operating systems on one device, adding virtual image delivery, policy-based provisioning and centralized management.
A recent http://download.microsoft.com/download/B/F/3/BF301FEC-601E-4262-844B-895DEC3BA8A8/EMA_Microsoft-MED-V_B%5b1%5d.pdf emphasized some of the customer benefits of using MED-V: "We found that MED-V really solved our application compatibility problems. It allowed us to deploy the applications that we were having difficulty with, where third party vendors were not providing a supported version. Where we used to have hundreds of images, we were able to move to one [Windows] Vista image, and use MED-V to deploy [legacy] applications on top of that," said IT Deployment Manger at Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, an organization of 22,000 staff members.
"We are really happy with MED-V. We can virtualize the applications that are made only for XP, and they work fine, with all the functionality intact," said a large European telecommunications company with almost 80,000 employees.
For a look-back at Kidaro's perspective prior to acquisition being completed, http://virtualization.sys-con.com/node/466857 with Kidaro CEO from May 2008, or http://www.virtual-strategy.com/VSM-Podcasts/Kidaro-s-Desktop-Virtualization-at-Work.html from February 2008. We http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/press/2008/mar08/03-12ExpandVirtualizationPR.mspx in March 2008, about 18 months after http://www.virtualization.info/2006/10/kidaro-enters-desktop-virtualization.html their first desktop virtualization product.
Two other items caught my eye.
- Ran's post said there are 14.4 million MDOP customers. There were 4.5 million seats in March 2008 according to http://blogs.technet.com/virtualization/archive/2008/03/12/Kidaro-to-be-added-to-Microsoft_2700_s-desktop-virtualization-products.aspx . Wow, that's something. Wonder what the SA haters will say about that?
- The new version of MDOP includes the update to App-V 4.5, which adds support for Windows 7 beta. See Karri's post http://blogs.technet.com/mdop/archive/2009/02/26/get-your-applications-virtualized-on-windows-7-beta-with-microsoft-app-v.aspx .
Patrick
