Why pay for two things when you only need one?
That is the mindset behind IndependenceIT, a Software-as-a-Service vendor specializing in virtualized desktops and applications.
Today, the company announced an update to its Cloud Workspace Suite – version 4.1 – which brings automation to its delivery of Microsoft RemoteApp functionalities.
The Allentown, Pennsylvania-based company, which has been described in the past as the “Switzerland of desktop-as-a-service” wants to streamline the Windows workspace provisioning process by shortening configuration from hours down to seconds but it does so while being hypervisor agnostic.
“We really succeeded in the market because of our different approach, compared to companies like Citrix and VMware,” said Chip Buck, CTO and co-founder of IndependenceIT.
He compared other VDI solutions to a puzzle given to a channel partner or IT department, which they then need to take time to assemble.
“While fantastic, they take a lot of work both on the human side and management side,” he said.
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Seth Bostock, CEO of IndependenceIT said that while, historically, in a single-tenant on-premise domain, giving tools to IT made sense, with the shift towards hybrid cloud, automation is crucial.
This automation offered in the 4.1 release, which the company says is not currently found in Citrix and VMware solutions, should make for easier scaling and support now that configuration is an option.
But IndependenceIT is not satisfied with doing things differently. It also wants to function without reliance on other hypervisors.
By using Microsoft RemoteApp, which it says is a required license for any remote desktop or application deployment, the company’s solution essentially cuts out the need for an additional license from players such as Citrix or VMware.
“Microsoft charges for RemoteApp, which was considered inferior to Citrix and VMware,” said Buck. “Microsoft has invested a significant amount in feature set. Over 90 per cent of our partners told us they would just prefer to use the remote desktop service, which has come a long way.”
The update would be rolling out in preview stages over the next few weeks to partners, which mainly consist of MSPs, service integrators and ISVs and will expand to include additional partners including enterprises.