Notes

Softricity's SMS Announcement : What does this particular really mean regarding the Application Virtualization Market
For the past few weeks I? ve been organizing my feelings about Softricity? s February 6, 2006 announcement on how that they will be functioning with the Microsoft company Manageability Team to be able to offer application virtualization and streaming in Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS). Precisely what did the headline really say? What does this mean for Microsoft? What can we learn from this for Citrix? t Project Tarpon and Altiris? s Software Virtualization Solution? Most of all, what does this specific mean for you?

Psychological Announcement all about?

To start with, allow me explain the fundamentals of this really important announcement. To be able to summarize, Softricity offers partnered with Microsoft to offer a product that integrates Softricity SoftGrid : including application virtualization, on-demand streaming in addition to self-provisioning? right into Ms Systems Management Machine (SMS). Because of this any SMS customer can easily now virtualize their particular applications and make use of them throughout their prevailing SMS application application. They can press out virtualized software using SMS? distribution push methods, stream them on-demand applying Softricity? s draw methods, and they will can use TEXT? s metering in addition to asset management tools to discover plus track both MSIs and virtualized software.

Softricity is providing two version involving the product. SoftGrid for SMS Simple allows you to do everything an individual can do along with SoftGrid (virtualization and even streaming) from within SMS. SoftGrid with regard to SMS VX (virtual extensions) just enables you virtualize? in addition to uses the SMS push delivery to find the virtualized applications to be able to end-users.

With this particular solution, there is no longer a need for a SoftGrid Management Console in addition to, using their VX version (virtualization only, zero streaming), the SoftGrid Server. The only requirement is for apps to be virtualized through Softricity? t Sequencer. This procedure is extremely similar to most traditional product packaging tools, so basically it means that if you might have an SMS deployment, you don? t possess to change very much in your method to have the benefits of virtualization and loading.

What does this mean for Softricity?

This is large for Softricity! What the announcement amounts to is a concept towards the market that Microsoft has picked out its partner for virtualization and loading. Beyond the technical positive aspects of this statement, it is essential to realize that Microsoft is working together with Softricity to sell this kind of solution to their own SMS user bottom. The reason regarding this is that it benefits both parties just as well as the particular end-user. Softricity rewards by being chosen as the first choice player for virtualization and streaming? and even the capacity to enter in a market wherever Microsoft currently keeps 40% of the enterprise and 30% of SMB application seats. Microsoft increases because they can now say they fix many of the underling issues of which have caused troubles and organized TEXT MESSAGE deployments. Within my simple opinion, this headline is ground breaking since you are today capable to manage your application deployment, upgrades, removal, licensing conformity, and asset inventory needs with a single solution.

What can we learn from this for Microsoft?

Much of the worrying about SMS, whether or not by users and also the press, can end up being boiled down to one particular thing: the situation of application conflicts. Regarding more information upon this issue with TEXT MESSAGE and other EDS solutions, please examine my To Install delete word paper.

Nowadays with SoftGrid intended for Microsoft SMS, right now there is the chance for SMS in order to eliminate many regarding the issues that provides held up it is adoption. Most of the cons complete in my? To Install or Not? papers (conflicts, testing, etc. ) are negated by deploying those applications through app virtualization via SoftGrid. To put it simply, this signifies Microsoft has dealt with SMS? s short-comings, enabling as the virtually all complete solution regarding application deployment on the market today.

What does this particular mean for Citrix?

Since Microsoft has now partnered with Softricity, the question in that case becomes where this kind of leaves Citrix? t Project Tarpon plus Altiris? s Software Virtualization Solution? Let? read more about Citrix Project Tarpon first.

Citrix? t Project Tarpon had been first announced at Citrix iForum 2006. Citrix describes it as a? streaming? answer. It is essentially Citrix? s access to the software submission and systems administration market, designed to be able to distribute applications in order to a desktop and even address application issues by utilizing their particular? Application Isolation Surroundings? technology found within their flagship product or service, Presentation Server 4. 0 (which, in the event that you read the? To Install or even Not? paper, I believe is not really true application virtualization). As Project Tarpon remains to be in alpha dog, with out official beta and/or technical termes conseillés happen to be made offered to us/me, We are not able in order to go into just how Citrix products comes anywhere close and competes together with Microsoft SMS apart from what is currently detailed in my To Install or Not paper.

But you do have to question just what will happen when they start to contend with SMS. There? s without doubt the best thing going for Citrix is their channel. That they have one of the biggest and the most loyal resellers on the market. Just look what they did to you with Citrix Entry Gateway. Acquired through Net6, Citrix was able to use their vast channel to take the SSL VPN market by surprise. Yet , it is usually going to end up being interesting to observe what happens whenever Project Tarpon eventually ships and they start competing along with Microsoft. Citrix may find that making it in an industry Microsoft currently dominates may be some sort of little bit more difficult than even they could muster. We is going to need to wait and see.

For additional information in Citrix Application Internet streaming (Project Tarpon) please visit:
[http://www.citrix.com/English/ps2/technology/feature.asp?contentID=22714]

What does this mean for Altiris?

In contrast to Citrix, Altiris presently has a beta version of software program virtualization solution in the market using plans to assimilate it into their own broader application application solution. Altiris at the moment holds 6% of the enterprise plus 10% of SMB application deployment industry, and has remedies for nearly every facet of server and even application deployment plus management (they usually are Microsoft? s number one competitor in the systems management space). This has always given Altiris some sort of leg up in any new place of application deployment they want to be able to dive into, nevertheless with the Softricity / Microsoft arrangement, Altiris has located that their opponent in traditional software deployment, Microsoft, can be marketing towards them. Thus Altiris has become a more direct competitor to Microsoft SMS. Simply because Microsoft is extremely competitive in the enterprise space and because SMS is almost given away to be able to Microsoft enterprise buyers, it seems like to us that Softricity has the upper hands in gaining even more business on the application virtualization market.

For even more information on Altiris Software Virtualization you should visit: http://www.altiris.com/Products/SoftwareVirtualizationSolution.aspx

What can we learn from this for you?

Thus what performs this imply to you? With no going in to too much detail around the problems all of us face around deploying and managing apps, I will only say that we have always got a problem together with application deployments because of to the characteristics of distributed community computing. We usually are needed to perform property inventory and software license metering expected to license deals and industry complying regulations which can be done using the several products on the market today. With the new Ms / Softricity partnership there is typically the opportunity to standardize on the industry leader, Microsoft Program Management Sever (SMS), while overcoming application conflicts with the particular Softricity SoftGrid regarding Microsoft SMS.

Associated with course, this is definitely only one part of the specific solution to the software management and application challenge. Microsoft TXT coupled with Softricity SoftGrid for TEXT MESSAGE, Terminal Services or Citrix, and CABEZA DE GANADO PowerFuse (as talked about in The Mission for Unified Management) guarantees excellent application response some features for end-users simply by allowing them to compute via work stations, laptops and airport servers, while the particular backend system and even application administration, guard licensing and training, asset control is usually controlled through two easy-to-use tools.

Extra Resources:

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

Watch the Application Internet streaming for Desktop Software section of the particular iForum 2005 Standard Session Keynote. Presented by: Mark Templeton, Citrix president and even CEO.
[http://www.citrixevents.com/English/news/videoset.asp?eventID=104&cID=2155&section=News]

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

Regarding the Publisher

Douglas Brown runs http://www.dabcc.com, a web site devoted to design and development of techniques, methodologies, authoring, training, training, outsourcing plus software products that will add immediate worth to server-based calculating and on-demand virtual application computing globe. Douglas worked at Citrix Systems, Inc. as a Mature Systems Engineer through 2001 to 2005 in which time he was voted Systems Engineer of typically the Year 2002 simply by his peers in addition to management at Citrix. He was granted the Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) by Microsoft Organization in 2005 and 2006 for their contributions to the industry. Mr. Dark brown has earned globally recognition for his / her dedication to delivering server-based computing specialists with proven alternatives for implementation, structure design, time-saving programs, performance tips in addition to best practices. DABCC. com is 1 of the most often visited sites internationally for server-based work information and network opportunities.
My Website: https://www.reverery.com/