VMware creates phone-in-a-phone
Virtualization company finally comes up with convincing mobile strategy, supporting separate work profiles on Android
Published: 1 September, 2011
READ MORE: VMware | OS | Android
Server virtualization major VMware has laid out several mobile strategies over recent years, but in actual product terms has often been outshone by smaller players like OKLabs and VirtualLogix. However, the past year has seen it raising its game. It is working with OEMs like LG to embed Mobile Virtualization Platform (MVP) in devices, allowing multiple identities or even operating systems to be supported. And at its VMworld event this week, it announced Horizon Mobile, which runs a virtual machine to create a phone-within-a-phone.
This is designed to support a work-only profile within a device, with corporate security and access settings and no personal apps. This relates to issues that are increasingly concerning enterprise IT departments, which see control of mobile devices running out of control, especially with the rising trend for companies to adopt 'bring your own' policies for phones.
Horizon Mobile will initially run on Android phones, and will be supported first by existing partner LG and by Samsung, both keen to gain a higher profile in a mobile enterprise market dominated by RIM. VMware then expects to add support for other Android products and for iOS, BlackBerry and WP7.
Director of product marketing, Raj Mallempati, explained: "Let's say I have my personal Android mobile phone and I joined VMware today. What VMware is going to do is provide me a corporate phone, which is a virtual machine that is completely encrypted, completely managed and secure, and they are going to deliver that onto my device." The virtual machine would contain work-related apps such as Exchange or corporate software-as-a-service offerings, hosted in the cloud, like Salesforce.com. A separate profile and address book would be maintained for personal contacts and apps.
Mallempati insists the performance penalty of running one Android OS inside another would be "pretty minor …less than 10%", while the power consumption penalty would be even lower, at "less than 1%".
For owners of phones that do not support the new system, the company also introduced VMware Horizon, which manages and delivers work-related mobile applications and web services for smartphones and tablets running iOS, Android, BlackBerry and WP7.
Looking a little further ahead, there are two projects targeting HTML5 mobile browsers and cloud devices, also designed to increase enterprise control over the proliferation of new connected gadgets. The first, Project AppBlast, will support universal delivery of any web or Windows app to any device supporting HTML5. This targets the emerging breed of thin cloud clients, such as Chromebooks, by enabling instant remote access to applications without a heavy underlying OS.
The second, Project Octopus, uses data synchronization technology from VMware Zimbra and Mozy to enable enterprise quality collaboration and data sharing, as well as integration with Horizon and AppBlast to create a secure enterprise cloud service.
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