Since the announcement at VMworld 2009 in San Francisco, we've had lots of questions about the OEM agreement between VMware and RTO Software that slates RTO Virtual Profiles software for inclusion in a future version of VMware View. Here are the answers to a few of them.
Why is user profile management important?
Managing user data access, flexibility, and integrity has become more complex, time consuming, and expensive in today's environments. Implementing alternative computing solutions such as desktop virtualization adds another layer of complexity to the issue of managing user data. Users still need fast and flexible access to their data without being worried about losing their files. Traditional roaming profiles just can't offer the speed and security that users expect.
Why RTO Virtual Profiles?
For starters, you can read Scott Davis' blog on VMware's Desktop Vision. Essentially, RTO Virtual Profiles has emerged as the leading profile management solution especially in VDI environments. Virtual Profiles speeds up the logon process, eliminates data corruption problems, and allows users to maintain the same level of customization that they have on their physical desktops now. Not only does Virtual Profiles provide a great user experience, but it also reduces IT infrastructure and desktop management costs. The same approaches that deliver faster logons and end profile corruption also reduce server resource loads and network bandwidth consumption, making Virtual Profiles the product of choice for increased efficiency. Virtual Profiles easily integrates into your existing environment and simply manages your user data for you with out requiring a lot of management from you or any additional, costly resources such as database servers.
When will Virtual Profiles be ready?
It's ready now. We released version 2.0 this past summer which provides even faster logons, greater support for laptop users and a few exclusive features including Live Sync™. Try a free evaluation, and see what's available today.
When will Virtual Profiles be included in VMware View?
I don't have a time frame for you. It's up to VMware to decide when to include Virtual Profiles in their View product, but we anticipate that it will be available in the next major release. Until then, you can get the newest version of Virtual Profiles straight from us.
Will VMware View continue to get updated versions of Virtual Profiles in the future?
Yes. The OEM agreement is set up so that VMware View will have the most recent version of RTO Virtual Profiles available on View's release date. RTO Software will continue to maintain the product and make updates for VMware.
Is RTO Software going to still sell Virtual Profiles?
Yes. The non-exclusive OEM agreement just provides Virtual Profiles to VMware's View customers. Virtual Profiles is designed to work in both Terminal Server and VDI environments, so there are a lot of other people who can benefit from the product.
Hopefully we have addressed your questions about how the OEM deal affects you. If not, email us with your additional questions. We'd love to hear from you.
