Virtualisation experts VMware have acquired turnkey desktop cloud providers Wanova to further bolster their end-user portfolio.
VMware will hope to fully utilise Wanova’s Mirage system, which centralises image management of both physical and virtual desktops and splits the desktop image into logical layers, to entail seamless transition between endpoints.
The financial details of the deal remain undisclosed.
VMware currently has a product out which is similar to Mirage in the form of VMware View – however, as their blog notes, Mirage caches images locally as opposed to View images executing on servers in the data centre and using a remote graphics protocol.
This move continues the prevailing trend of consolidation between various companies; Facebook hiring the vast majority of Lightbox and Google’s $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility just being two recent examples.
According to Wanova’s blog, this move “dramatically accelerates the vision [they] have been driving the past couple of years”. VMware are similarly waxing lyrical with what their blog calls “a very exciting and strategic addition to the product portfolio”.
In a prepared statement, VMware Enterprise Desktop vice president Jeff Jennings said: “This combination has the potential to redefine the desktop virtualization landscape.
“By blurring the boundaries of virtual vs. physical desktops, the benefits of central image management and persistent user installed applications can be extended to all systems within a business — physical, virtual, tethered desktops, or roaming Mac and PC laptops,” he added.
Though both parties clearly seem pleased with the result – and why shouldn’t they be? – it seems that, for many start-ups, it makes more sense to cash in when the bigwigs come calling. Is this a good trend for the industry?
