Notes

Softricity's SMS Announcement -- What does this really mean intended for the Application Virtualization Market
For the past few days I? ve already been organizing my ideas about Softricity? t February 6, 06 announcement how these people will be doing work with the Microsoft Manageability Team to offer application virtualization and streaming in Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS). What did the headline really say? What can we learn from this for Microsoft? What can we learn from this for Citrix? t Project Tarpon in addition to Altiris? s Computer software Virtualization Solution? Most of all, what does this kind of mean for an individual?

Psychological Announcement just about all about?

To start with, let me explain the basic principles of this extremely important announcement. To be able to summarize, Softricity provides partnered with Ms to offer a product that combines Softricity SoftGrid : including application virtualization, on-demand streaming in addition to self-provisioning? straight into Microsoft company Systems Management Storage space (SMS). Because of this any kind of SMS customer may now virtualize their very own applications and make use of them throughout their prevailing SMS application application. They can force out virtualized apps using SMS? delivery push methods, stream them on-demand employing Softricity? s draw methods, and that they can use SMS? s metering and asset management equipment to discover and even track both MSIs and virtualized applications.

Softricity is giving two version regarding the product. SoftGrid for SMS General allows you to do all the stuff you can do using SoftGrid (virtualization plus streaming) from within just SMS. SoftGrid intended for SMS VX (virtual extensions) just enables you virtualize? in addition to uses the TXT push delivery to find the virtualized applications to end-users.

With this solution, there is no longer a purpose for a SoftGrid Management Console and, with the VX type (virtualization only, simply no streaming), the SoftGrid Server. The only requirement is good for programs to be virtualized through Softricity? s Sequencer. This process is extremely similar to most traditional presentation tools, so generally it means of which if you could have the SMS deployment, a person don? t include to change very much in your procedure to find the benefits associated with virtualization and streaming.

What does this specific mean for Softricity?

This is massive for Softricity! Wht is the announcement amounts to is a concept for the market of which Microsoft has picked out its partner regarding virtualization and loading. Besides the technical rewards of this headline, it is significant to recognize that Microsoft is working together with Softricity to sell this specific solution to their SMS user bottom. The reason with regard to this is certainly that this benefits both parties mainly because well as the end-user. Softricity advantages by being determined as the first player for virtualization and streaming? in addition to the capability to enter a market exactly where Microsoft currently holds 40% of the enterprise and thirty of SMB application seats. Microsoft benefits because they can today say they fix many of typically the underling issues that have caused difficulties and organized TXT deployments. Within my simple opinion, this announcement is ground breaking as you are nowadays capable to manage the application deployment, updates, removal, licensing compliance, and asset products needs with 1 solution.

What does this mean intended for Microsoft?

Much of the complaining about SMS, whether by users or the press, can get boiled down to 1 thing: the problem associated with application conflicts. With regard to more information in this problem with TEXT and other EDS solutions, please go through my To Install delete word paper.

Right now with SoftGrid with regard to Microsoft SMS, presently there is the opportunity for SMS to be able to eliminate many associated with the issues that features held up the adoption. Most of the cons complete in my? To set up or Not? paper (conflicts, testing, and so on. ) are negated by deploying these applications through application virtualization via SoftGrid. To put it simply, this implies Microsoft has dealt with SMS? s short-comings, enabling as the almost all complete solution regarding application deployment on the market today.

What does this kind of mean for Citrix?

Since Microsoft has now partnered with Softricity, the question after that becomes where this particular leaves Citrix? s Project Tarpon and even Altiris? s Software program Virtualization Solution? Allow? s talk about Citrix Project Tarpon first.

Citrix? t Project Tarpon was first announced from Citrix iForum 2006. Citrix describes it as a? streaming? remedy. It is basically Citrix? s entry in to the software distribution and systems supervision market, designed in order to distribute applications to a desktop and address application issues by utilizing their? Application Isolation Surroundings? technology found in their flagship product or service, Presentation Server four. 0 (which, when you read the? To Install or perhaps Not? paper, We believe is not true application virtualization). As Project Tarpon remains to be in first, with out official beta and/or technical termes conseillés have been made obtainable to us/me, I will be not able to go into how Citrix products comes close and competes with Microsoft SMS apart from what is currently detailed in my To Install or Not paper.

But website have to question just what will happen after they start to contend with SMS. Right now there? s without doubt the best thing proceeding for Citrix will be their channel. They will have one of the biggest and the most loyal resellers in the market. Just look what they did with Citrix Gain access to Gateway. Acquired through Net6, Citrix surely could use their huge channel to take the SSL VPN market by storm. Yet , it will be going to be interesting to view what happens when Project Tarpon lastly ships and they start competing along with Microsoft. Citrix might find that doing well in a marketplace Microsoft currently dominates may be some sort of little bit tougher than even they could muster. We will certainly have to wait in addition to see.

For more information upon Citrix Application Streaming (Project Tarpon) make sure you visit:
[http://www.citrix.com/English/ps2/technology/feature.asp?contentID=22714]

What does this mean for Altiris?

Unlike Citrix, Altiris at present has a beta version of computer software virtualization solution about the market with plans to incorporate it into their own broader application deployment solution. Altiris currently holds 6% associated with the enterprise in addition to 10% of SMB application deployment market, and has solutions for almost every feature of server plus application deployment and management (they are Microsoft? s amount one competitor within the systems management space). This has always given Altiris the leg up upon any new area of application deployment they want to be able to dive into, nevertheless with the Softricity / Microsoft arrangement, Altiris has identified that their opponent in traditional application deployment, Microsoft, will be marketing towards them. Thus Altiris has become a much more direct competitor to Microsoft SMS. Simply because Microsoft is extremely competitive in typically the enterprise space plus because SMS is practically given away to be able to Microsoft enterprise buyers, it seems like to myself that Softricity features the upper hands in gaining even more market share inside the application virtualization market.

For a lot more information on Altiris Software Virtualization make sure you visit: http://www.altiris.com/Products/SoftwareVirtualizationSolution.aspx

What does this mean for you?

And so what does this imply to you? With no going in to too much detail about the problems many of us face around implementing and managing software, I will just simply say that we all have always got a problem using application deployments because of to the characteristics of distributed network computing. We are usually required to perform asset inventory and computer software license metering expected to license contracts and industry compliance regulations which may be carried out using some of the several products on the market. Along with the new Microsoft company / Softricity collaboration there is the opportunity to standardize on the sector leader, Microsoft System Management Sever (SMS), while overcoming app conflicts with the Softricity SoftGrid intended for Microsoft SMS.

Regarding course, this is definitely only one element of the unified treatment for the program management and deployment challenge. Microsoft TEXT MESSAGE coupled with Softricity SoftGrid for SMS, Terminal Services and Citrix, and RES PowerFuse (as reviewed in The Quest for Unified Management) guarantees excellent software response as well as functionality for end-users simply by allowing them to be able to compute via work stations, laptops and port servers, while the backend system and application administration, guard licensing and training, asset control is controlled through two easy-to-use tools.

Added Resources:

View the Recognized Softricity announcement webinar. Presented by Softricity? s Don Potts, Microsoft Alliance Office manager and Jeff Fisher, Director of Business Development.
http://www.softricity.com/news/webinar-archive.asp?eventID=sms20060209

Look at the Application Loading for Desktop Software section of the particular iForum 2005 Standard Session Keynote. Introduced by: Mark Templeton, Citrix president in addition to CEO.
[http://www.citrixevents.com/English/news/videoset.asp?eventID=104&cID=2155&section=News]

Listen closely to the Altiris Software Virtualization Remedy Podcast. Presented simply by Steve Morton, Altiris? s VP involving Product Advertising Scott Jones, Software Virtualization Solution Product Manager.
http://news.altiris.com/podcast/Altiris_Podcast_1_SVS.mp3

In regards to the Author

Douglas Brown runs http://www.dabcc.com, a site committed to design and even development of approaches, methodologies, authoring, schooling, training, outsourcing plus software products that add immediate worth to server-based calculating and on-demand electronic application computing entire world. Douglas worked with Citrix Systems, Inc. as an Elderly Systems Engineer from 2001 to 2005 in which moment he was voted Devices Engineer of the Year 2002 by his peers and even management at Citrix. He was awarded the Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) by Microsoft Firm in 2005 in addition to 2006 for his / her contributions to typically the industry. Mr. Brown has earned globally recognition for the dedication to supplying server-based computing professionals with proven alternatives for implementation, structure design, time-saving programs, performance tips and even best practices. DABCC. com is one of the most frequently visited sites around the globe for server-based processing information and marketing opportunities.
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