Notes

Softricity's SMS Announcement -- What does this kind of really mean intended for the Application Virtualization Market
For the past few weeks I? ve already been organizing my ideas about Softricity? s February 6, 2006 announcement about how that they will be functioning with the Microsof company Manageability Team in order to offer application virtualization and streaming within Microsoft Systems Administration Server (SMS). Just what did the story really say? What does this mean for Microsoft? What can we learn from this for Citrix? s i9000 Project Tarpon and even Altiris? s Application Virtualization Solution? Most of all, what does this specific mean for a person?

Psychological Announcement all about?

To start with, let me explain the basics of this extremely important announcement. To be able to summarize, Softricity provides partnered with Ms to offer a new product that has a build-in Softricity SoftGrid - including application virtualization, on-demand streaming in addition to self-provisioning? right into Ms Systems Management Hardware (SMS). Which means that virtually any SMS customer can now virtualize their applications and make use of them throughout their pre-existing SMS application application. They can drive out virtualized software using SMS? distribution push methods, supply them on-demand employing Softricity? s draw methods, and they will can use TEXT MESSAGE? s metering and even asset management tools to discover and track both MSIs and virtualized applications.

Softricity is offering two version regarding the product. SoftGrid for SMS General allows you in order to do all the things an individual can do with SoftGrid (virtualization plus streaming) from inside SMS. SoftGrid for SMS VX (virtual extensions) just allows you virtualize? plus uses the TEXT MESSAGE push delivery to find the virtualized applications to be able to end-users.

With this specific solution, there is usually no longer a need for a SoftGrid Management Console and even, using their VX type (virtualization only, zero streaming), the SoftGrid Server. The just requirement is good for applications to be virtualized through Softricity? t Sequencer. This process is very similar to be able to most traditional packaging tools, so fundamentally it means that if you may have a great SMS deployment, a person don? t have to change very much in your procedure to have the benefits associated with virtualization and buffering.

What does this mean for Softricity?

Reverery is huge for Softricity! The actual announcement amounts to be able to is a communication to the market that will Microsoft has chosen its partner with regard to virtualization and streaming. Beyond the technical advantages of this story, it is significant to realize that Ms is working with Softricity to sell this specific solution to their own SMS user base. The reason regarding this is certainly that this benefits both parties just as well as typically the end-user. Softricity rewards by being picked as the go-to player for virtualization and streaming? plus the ability to get into a market in which Microsoft currently contains 40% of the enterprise and thirty of SMB app seats. Microsoft profits simply because they can now say they solve many of typically the underling issues that will have caused problems and organized TXT deployments. During my simple opinion, this statement is innovative as you are right now able to manage your current application deployment, improvements, removal, licensing conformity, and asset stock needs with one particular solution.

What can we learn from this regarding Microsoft?

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

Nowadays with SoftGrid intended for Microsoft SMS, generally there is the prospect for SMS to eliminate many associated with the issues that features held up their adoption. Most of the cons complete in my? To Reverery or Not? report (conflicts, testing, and many others. ) are negated by deploying those applications through app virtualization via SoftGrid. Simply put, this indicates Microsoft has dealt with SMS? s short-comings, enabling as the most 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 leaves Citrix? h Project Tarpon and Altiris? s Computer software Virtualization Solution? Permit? s talk regarding Citrix Project Tarpon first.

Citrix? h Project Tarpon was first announced with Citrix iForum 2004. Citrix describes it as a? streaming? remedy. It is generally Citrix? s entry to the software circulation and systems management market, designed in order to distribute applications to a desktop and even address application conflicts by utilizing their? Application Isolation Atmosphere? technology found throughout their flagship item, Presentation Server 5. 0 (which, in case you read my? To Install or perhaps Not? paper, My partner and i believe is certainly not true application virtualization). As Project Tarpon continues to be in alpha dog, with no official beta and/or technical options are already made offered to us/me, I will be not able in order to go into just how Citrix products comes close and competes along with Microsoft SMS besides what is currently detailed in the To Install delete word paper.

But an individual have to question what will happen whenever they start to be competitive with SMS. Presently there? s no doubt the best thing planning for Citrix will be their channel. They will have one regarding the biggest and many loyal resellers in the marketplace. Just look what they did to you with Citrix Entry Gateway. Acquired coming from Net6, Citrix was able to use their huge channel to take the SSL VPN market by surprise. Yet , it is going to always be interesting to enjoy what happens any time Project Tarpon eventually ships and they start competing using Microsoft. Citrix may possibly find that making it in a marketplace Microsoft currently dominates may be a new little bit harder than even they will muster. We will need to wait plus see.

To learn more about Citrix Application Streaming (Project Tarpon) you should visit:
[http://www.citrix.com/English/ps2/technology/feature.asp?contentID=22714]

What does this mean for Altiris?

In contrast to Citrix, Altiris currently has a beta version of software program virtualization solution on the market along with plans to combine it into their particular broader application application solution. Altiris currently holds 6% regarding the enterprise plus 10% of SMB application deployment marketplace, and has options for nearly every facet of server and even application deployment and management (they usually are Microsoft? s amount one competitor in the systems management space). This has always given Altiris the leg up in any new area of application application they want in order to dive into, although with the Softricity / Microsoft agreement, Altiris has located that their opponent in traditional application deployment, Microsoft, can be marketing towards them. Thus Altiris has become an even more direct competitor to Microsoft SMS. As Microsoft is extremely competitive in typically the enterprise space and even because SMS is almost given away to Microsoft enterprise customers, it seems like to us that Softricity has the upper hands in gaining perhaps more business in the application virtualization market.

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

What can we learn from this for you?

And so what does this imply to you? Without going in to an excessive amount of detail around the problems we all face around deploying and managing apps, I will just simply say that many of us have always had a problem along with application deployments credited to the character of distributed system computing. We will be needed to perform asset inventory and software license metering due to license contracts and industry compliance regulations which can be carried out using the numerous products available today. Along with the new Ms / Softricity alliance t here is the particular opportunity to standardize on the sector leader, Microsoft System Management Sever (SMS), while overcoming program conflicts with the Softricity SoftGrid regarding Microsoft SMS.

Regarding course, this is definitely only one element of the specific means to fix the application management and deployment challenge. Microsoft TXT coupled with Softricity SoftGrid for TEXT, Terminal Services / Citrix, and CABEZA DE GANADO PowerFuse (as mentioned in The Search for Unified Management) guarantees excellent application response some operation for end-users simply by allowing them in order to compute via workstations, laptops and port servers, while the particular backend system in addition to application administration, license, asset control is definitely controlled through 2 easy-to-use tools.

Added Resources:

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

See the Application Internet streaming for Desktop Apps section of the particular iForum 2005 Common Session Keynote. Introduced by: Mark Templeton, Citrix president plus CEO.
[http://www.citrixevents.com/English/news/videoset.asp?eventID=104&cID=2155&section=News]

Hear to the Altiris Software Virtualization Option Podcast. Presented by simply Steve Morton, Altiris? s VP regarding Product Marketing and Martin Jones, Software Virtualization Solution Product Administrator.
http://news.altiris.com/podcast/Altiris_Podcast_1_SVS.mp3

In regards to the Author

Douglas Brown works http://www.dabcc.com, a website dedicated to design in addition to development of approaches, methodologies, authoring, education and learning, training, outsourcing in addition to software products that will add immediate benefit to server-based calculating and on-demand electronic application computing globe. Douglas worked at Citrix Systems, Inc. as a Senior Systems Engineer by 2001 to 2005 in which moment having been voted Devices Engineer of typically the Year 2002 by his peers and management at Citrix. He was awarded the Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) by Microsoft Firm in 2005 and 2006 for his / her contributions to the industry. Mr. Brownish has earned throughout the world recognition for the dedication to delivering server-based computing specialists with proven solutions for implementation, system design, time-saving utilities, performance tips in addition to best practices. DABCC. com is one of the most often visited sites around the globe for server-based computer information and marketing opportunities.
Website: https://anotepad.com/notes/i4c54bi3