VMware Horizon 8 Adds Instant Cloning, More Cloud Support
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 08/24/20
VMware
has introduced updates to its flagship virtual desktop infrastructure
(VDI) platform with the introduction of Horizon
8, as
well as new additions to its VMware
Workspace ONE,
its digital workspace platform.
VMware
Horizon 8 is designed to help IT organizations more efficiently
manage and scale virtual desktop and application delivery across
public and private clouds from a single control panel. The company
said that new capabilities would include:
-
More
hybrid and multi-cloud deployment options, covering Google Cloud
VMware Engine, Horizon on VMware Cloud on Dell EMC and Horizon on
Azure VMware Solution.
-
New
instant clone capabilities previously only available in pricier
editions of Horizon 7. This kind of provisioning helps IT directly
provision "instant" clones without requiring a parent
virtual machine, thereby freeing up memory resources and increasing
the number of desktops possible per host, reducing costs.
-
New
RESTful APIs, to help IT in automating capabilities of Horizon 8,
including monitoring, entitlements, and user and machine management.
-
Optimized
support for Microsoft Teams video and audio, and continued support
for Zoom and Cisco WebEx, to deliver a better user experience from
virtual desktops.
-
The
ability to publish Linux applications directly from a Linux server
in the Horizon platform, reducing the costs associated with licenses
from other operating systems.
The
company said that Horizon 8 would help IT "deliver more secure
virtual workspaces," by letting them establish and verify end
user identity with built-in multi-factor authentication and enabling
conditional access policies for virtual desktops and applications.
IDC
Research Manager Shannon Kalvar said in a press release that
"unifying physical device management (including PCs, Chromebooks
and phones), digital workspace creation/operations and client
workspace security into the overall platform is an attractive
proposition for customers that are already invested in it."
At
West
Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District
in New Jersey, which is using VMware Horizon for virtual desktops for
remote learning, students, faculty and staff can get "the same
experience at home as they would have on site," said Harry
Doctor, technology manager. "In response to COVID-19, it was
crucial to support 1:1 computing with Chromebooks for every student
in grades 5-12," he noted. "With Horizon, we’re able to
keep students engaged with a robust array of teaching and learning
tools that would be difficult to access using Chromebooks alone."
About the Author
Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.