VMware initially said it would bundle the profile management capabilities gained through its acquisition of RTO Software into View 4.5 and offer it for the same price as View 4. But news hit last week that VMware pulled out the RTO profile management piece due to Windows 7 support issues.
Since VDI is made up of four pieces -- the desktop OS, applications, user data and user profiles – partners have to look at other profile management products to offer a complete solution, said Aaron Delp, a VMware vExpert with a VMware partner in Virginia.
While he expects VMware Inc. to add RTO profile management capabilities back into View as quickly as possible, with no word from VMware on when it will be included, he has to find a substitute.
"Citrix [Systems] today has solutions for all four [pieces] and, from what I hear, does a decent job," said Delp, who also writes a technology blog
Requires Membership to View
To gain access to this and all member only content, please provide the following information:
By submitting your registration information to SearchVirtualDataCentre.co.uk you agree to receive email communications from the TechTarget network of sites, and/or third party content providers that have relationships with TechTarget, based on your topic interests and activity, including updates on new content, event notifications, new site launches and market research surveys. Please verify all information and selections above. You may unsubscribe at any time from one or more of the services you have selected by editing your profile, unsubscribing via email or by contacting us here
- Your use of SearchVirtualDataCentre.co.uk is governed by our Terms of Use
- We designed our Privacy Policy to provide you with important disclosures about how we collect and use your registration and other information. We encourage you to read the Privacy Policy, and to use it to help make informed decisions.
- If you reside outside of the United States, by submitting this registration information you consent to having your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States.
. "Now we need to go to a third-party for the profiles piece. It doesn't look good to customers when we need a third-party tool to really complete the solution."
Adding insult to injury, sources close to VMware said View 4.5 won't be available until VMworld 2010 in September. It was initially supposed to ship in July.
VMware did not respond to requests for comment.
VMware VARs scramble for RTO replacement
Now, VMware VARs have to develop relationships with new partners that provide the profile management and that translates into paperwork, lawyers, money, new certifications and classes for engineers and sales reps. By selling customers an alternative third-party product, VMware partners will be displacing RTO entirely; something they don't want to have to do.
"That puts me, as a trusted adviser, in a bad spot," Delp said. "Do I sell what's on the truck or do I push the opportunity and wait?"
On the flip side, third-party profile management companies are thrilled they won't have to compete against a free offering in VMware View 4.5, even if it's only a temporary reprieve.
In fact, deals are already in the works. RTO competitor Liquidware Labs Inc. announced a major partnership with Carahsoft Technology Corp., which holds the General Services Administration (GSA) contract to distribute VMware products, including View, to government agencies.
That means Liquidware Labs ProfileUnity and Stratusphere products are now part of Carahsoft's GSA schedule. A Liquidware representative said the timing is merely a coincidence. "Carahsoft may be pleased to have us now with the RTO news, but our signing is not related [to news that RTO profile management is not going into the new View]," said the spokesperson.
Other offerings that could fill in for RTO include RES Software's User Workspace Management, AppSense Environment Manager and Unidesk's persistent personalisation product.
And while partners worry that the decision to pull RTO out of View 4.5 will hurt business, it may not be all that bad; IT shops already using VMware View probably have some type of profile management product in place, said a VMware consultant from the Washington, D.C., area who wished to remain anonymous.
"It shouldn't kill any deals because people don't buy VDI for profile management," he said.
At the very least, this may impact project plans for those who intended to use RTO Software in View 4.5.
"We now have to step back and figure out how to proceed," Delp said. "We want to proceed down the right road, but I don't know which path that is right now."
Let us know what you think about the story; email Bridget Botelho or follow @BridgetBotelho on Twitter.