News
Symantec and VMware Announce Strategic Partnership to Deliver Desktop-as-a-Service Solutions
September 2011 by Marc Jacob
Symantec Corp. and VMware announced an expansion of their strategic partnership to define and architect Desktop-as-a-Service
(DaaS) solutions with the goal to provide secure, pre-integrated and well-managed enterprise-quality virtual desktop
computing environments for enterprises and IT service providers. This initiative will leverage VMware virtual
desktop and cloud infrastructure solutions including VMware View™, VMware vShield™, VMware vCloud®
Director 1.5 and VMware vSphere® 5 with Symantec Endpoint Protection and the Altiris Client Management Suite
to deliver a secure, manageable and cost-effective DaaS solution.
End-user computing environments continue to become more diverse and mobile, with virtual desktop deployments
becoming a critical component to delivering IT services to any user, on any device and in any location. Symantec
and VMware’s new Desktop-as-a-Service initiative will provide enterprises and IT service providers with a costeffective
way of leveraging on-premise Virtual Desktop Infrastructures (VDI) with the efficiencies and scalability of
cloud computing. Combining VMware’s leading technology in virtualization and cloud infrastructure and
management with Symantec’s expertise in security and endpoint management, the partnership will create a highly
resilient and secure solution that reduces IT spending without compromising regulatory and other security concerns.
As the industry leaders in security, management and virtualization, the two companies are well positioned to deliver
hosted virtual desktops that are secure, easy to manage and compliant with enterprise customers’ governance and
regulatory requirements. The DaaS solution will provide:
– Service Driven Cloud Infrastructure: Building on existing vCloud and vSphere infrastructures from
VMware, the DaaS solution will provide the agility, efficiency and choice to quickly provision, manage
and track all aspects of a multi-tenant, virtual desktop environment.
– Security Protection from the Cloud to the Endpoint: Delivered with Symantec Endpoint Protection and
VMware vShield, DaaS delivered virtual desktops are protected from internal and external threats
emanating from email, web and storage vectors.
– End-to-End Configuration and Control of Applications: The day-to-day demands of managing virtual
desktops in addition to the applications that reside within them are made easier through centralized control
using Symantec Client Management Suite.
