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Tag: virtualization

  • ’Significant Demand’ Forces Microsoft to Cancel Windows 365 Free Trial

    ’Significant Demand’ Forces Microsoft to Cancel Windows 365 Free Trial

    Microsoft has canceled its free trial of Windows 365, as a result of “significant demand” for the new service.

    Microsoft announced its “Cloud PC” service, Windows 365, roughly three weeks ago. The service is designed to allow almost anyone with a web browser to run Windows and its applications.

    As we wrote when it was announced, the new services promises to upend and pose a major threat to the virtualization market. Virtualization — running a guest OS in a virtualized machine on the main computer — requires fairly fast hardware and plenty of memory. Duplicating that experience in the browser, with network speed being one of the only real limitations, stands to completely reimagine the experience.

    It appears plenty of other people agree with that assessment, as Microsoft has been forced to stop its free trial due to significant demand.

    Individuals looking to signup for a free trial once Microsoft catches up with demand can do so here.

  • Microsoft Releases Windows 365 Cloud PC

    Microsoft Releases Windows 365 Cloud PC

    Microsoft may have upended the virtualization market with its latest product, designed to let anyone with a web browser run Windows.

    Users of other operating systems, such as Linux or Apple’s macOS, rely on virtualization to run Windows and its applications. Such a solution can be costly and resource-intensive. Microsoft is looking to make virtualization much easier, with users able to run a version of Windows in their browser.

    “With Windows 365, we’re creating a new category: the Cloud PC,” said Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO, Microsoft. “Just like applications were brought to the cloud with SaaS, we are now bringing the operating system to the cloud, providing organizations with greater flexibility and a secure way to empower their workforce to be more productive and connected, regardless of location.”

    The solution should be a boon to remote workers and hybrid workforces.

    “Hybrid work has fundamentally changed the role of technology in organizations today,” said Jared Spataro, corporate vice president, Microsoft 365. “With workforces more disparate than ever before, organizations need a new way to deliver a great productivity experience with increased versatility, simplicity and security. Cloud PC is an exciting new category of hybrid personal computing that turns any device into a personalized, productive and secure digital workspace. Today’s announcement of Windows 365 is just the beginning of what will be possible as we blur the lines between the device and the cloud.”

    Apple users, in particular, have had their workflows disrupted with the move to Apple’s M1 processor. Apple previously included Boot Camp with Intel-based Macs, a way to install a full copy of Windows and boot from it. The new Macs don’t include Boot Camp, forcing Apple users to rely on Parallels. Using a third-party solution can sometimes lag behind, as developers work to support the latest versions of Windows.

    Windows 365 should be available to all businesses on August 2.

  • Dell Will Spin-Off VMware in a $9 Billion Deal

    Dell Will Spin-Off VMware in a $9 Billion Deal

    Dell has announced plans to spin off VMware as a standalone company, in a deal expected to bring in $9 billion.

    VMware is a leading virtualization company, with its software powering some of the most critical digital infrastructure in the world. Dell originally acquired VMware as part of its EMC acquisition in 2015.

    The two companies have agreed to a spin-off for VMware, one that will provide Dell with $9.3 – $9.7 billion.

    “By spinning off VMware, we expect to drive additional growth opportunities for Dell Technologies as well as VMware, and unlock significant value for stakeholders,” said Michael Dell, chairman and chief executive officer, Dell Technologies. “Both companies will remain important partners, providing Dell Technologies with a differentiated advantage in how we bring solutions to customers. At the same time, Dell Technologies will continue to modernize its core infrastructure and PC businesses and embrace new opportunities through an open ecosystem to grow in hybrid and private cloud, edge and telecom.”

    At the same time, VMware expects the spin-off to open new doors for their business.

    “We will have an enhanced ability to extend our ecosystem across all cloud vendors and on-premises infrastructure vendors and a capital structure that will support growth opportunities,” said Zane Rowe, chief financial officer and interim chief executive officer, VMware. “Our strategic partnership with Dell Technologies remains a differentiator for us, and, as we execute on our multi-cloud strategy, we continue to provide customers our solutions and services on any public cloud and any infrastructure.”

    Aside from those stated benefits, much of the relationship will remain unchanged, with the two companies continuing to work closely together. In fact, Michael Dell will remain chairman of the VMware board.

    The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021.

  • Parallels Desktop 16.5 Runs Arm Windows 10 on M1 Mac 30% Faster

    Parallels Desktop 16.5 Runs Arm Windows 10 on M1 Mac 30% Faster

    Parallels has released the latest version of Parallels Desktop, boasting up to 30% faster performance running Arm Windows 10 on M1 Macs.

    Parallels is one of the premier virtualization programs for the Mac. It has been a mainstay for Mac users looking to run Windows on Intel-based Macs for years. With Apple’s transition to its custom silicon, virtualization was one of the few types of software that didn’t automatically work in Rosetta 2, Apple’s translation layer that allows Intel-based software to run on the new machines.

    Fortunately, Parallels has updated its software to fully support the M1, as well as the older Intel machines. When running Windows 10 on Intel machines, Parallels offers native speeds, comparable to what would be achieved on a dedicated Wintel machine.

    When running on the M1 Macs, however, Parallels achieves significantly better performance. Running on the M1 requires a copy of Windows 10 on Arm Insider Preview. However, when paired with Parallels Desktop 16.5, users can see performance “up to 30 percent better than a Windows 10 VM running on Intel-based MacBook Pro with Intel Core i9 processor.”

    Licensed users of parallels 16 can update to the new version at no cost.

  • VMware Posts Q3 Results, Beats Estimates

    VMware Posts Q3 Results, Beats Estimates

    Dell Technologies’ VMware posted its third-quarter results, beating estimates on strong subscription and SaaS growth.

    VMware is a leading virtualization software company, with its software in use by many of the biggest organizations in the world. The company’s software is also seeing widespread use in cloud infrastructure, with many telcos relying on it to help speed up 5G deployment.

    The company has reported its Q3 results, beating consensus estimates on $2.86 billion in revenue. Subscription, SaaS and license revenue accounted for $1.32 billion, an increase of 10% from the year-ago quarter. The subscription and SaaS revenue alone was $676 million, a 44% increase over the year-ago quarter.

    “Q3 was another good quarter for VMware, and we’re pleased with our results,” commented Pat Gelsinger, CEO, VMware. “As customers navigate through these unprecedented times, our focus remains on delivering the digital foundation for an unpredictable world. We continue to shape the future in areas that are top priority for every business–from app development to multi-cloud to security and digital workspaces.”

    “Subscription and SaaS revenue increased 44% year-over-year in Q3 and surpassed license revenue for the first time,” said Zane Rowe, executive vice president and CFO, VMware. “VMware will continue to invest in and focus on further expanding our Subscription and SaaS portfolio, which we believe will drive company growth, customer satisfaction and shareholder value.”

  • Parallels and Google Partner to Bring Windows Apps to Chrome Enterprise

    Parallels and Google Partner to Bring Windows Apps to Chrome Enterprise

    Parallels and Google have announced a partnership, aimed at brining full-fledged Windows applications to Chrome Enterprise.

    Parallels got it start creating virtualization software for macOS that allowed it to run Windows and Linux. Over the years, the company has expanded its offerings, and was ultimately acquired by Corel in 2018. Throughout its history, however, the company’s products have been well received, often going head-to-head with similar products from VMware.

    According to the company’s latest announcement, it is helping Google bring Windows desktop applications to Chrome Enterprise.

    “Remote work is a new reality, making efficiency, connectivity, speed, reliability, security and undisrupted access essential elements of a successful organization,” says Parallels’ site. “At this key moment, our two organizations have formed a landmark partnership to equip enterprises with solutions that optimize their businesses and teams to meet the evolving challenges of modern work environments.

    “Parallels brings more than a decade of cross-platform solutions experience, seamlessly integrating operating systems and features, to its partnership with Google. Parallels’ award-winning software solutions make it simple for enterprises, businesses, organizations and individuals to access and use the applications and files they need on any device or operating system.”

    The announcement is short on hard details. In a Google Chrome blog post, however, Chrome OS VP John Solomon said: “Our new partnership with Parallels brings legacy application support—which includes Microsoft Office desktop apps—to Chromebooks. More to come on this over the coming months.”

  • VMware COO: Companies ‘Relying on Us For That Future World of 5G’

    VMware COO: Companies ‘Relying on Us For That Future World of 5G’

    VMware is synonymous with virtualization software. Everyone from data centers to end users rely on the company’s software to be able to run multiple operating systems on a single set of hardware.

    In an interview with Mad Money’s Jim Cramer, VMware COO Sanjay Poonen commented on the current state of telecommuting during the coronavirus pandemic, as well as VMware’s role in 5G.

    On The Impacts of the Coronavirus Pandemic

    “This is unprecedented times. We’ve always been a trusted advisor and, as you know, we know a thing or two about virtualization. Our customers run their critical apps on our infrastructure.”

    On How Long-Lasting the Impacts Will Be

    “I think there’s part of our life, Jim, that’s going to change forever. Behind me I have a saying from Winston Churchill that says, ‘when you’re going through hell, go through it.’ Another one I like from Winston Churchill is ‘never waste a crisis.’

    And I think that’s part of our life that’s forever going to change. We will, perhaps, have a place where, for instance, less travel is good for the planet.”

    On Collaboration

    “We want to make sure that if you are at home, you are productive, you’re able to work continuous, just like it was at work…We were one of the early customers that used Zoom. We love it. We use Slack. We use Microsoft Teams. These are all ways in which you can collaborate.”

    On VMware’s Role in 5G and the Network Strain the Pandemic Is Causing

    “We have tremendous relationships with the telco players—they are some of our biggest customers—and the cloud infrastructure players. In many cases, we are between software, compute, storage and networking. Software defined architecture is really where the world of 5G is going.

    “So a lot of these big companies have started relying on us for that future world of 5G. And software is a lot easier to manage. It’s also just as reliable, more reliable, because you can fix things. And we’re working very closely with our customers. Bandwidth is going to be something we watch very carefully.”

     

    https://player.cnbc.com/p/gZWlPC/cnbc_global?playertype=synd&byGuid=7000127560

     

  • VMware CEO: Why Can’t We Build the Telco Network Like the Clouds?

    VMware CEO: Why Can’t We Build the Telco Network Like the Clouds?

    VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger suggests that with the advent of 5G the telco network should be built like the clouds. “Why can’t we build the telco network like the clouds have been built for with scalability, flexibility, efficiency, and agility?” says Gelsinger. “That’s really the idea of the telco cloud. As people go to what’s called NFV, network function virtualization, and as they’re looking ahead to 5G services, can’t we have a new architecture for building the telco cloud? But it also is flexible and scalable and helps them do services between 4G and 5G.”

    Pat Gelsinger, CEO of VMware, discusses 5G and building the telco network like the clouds in an interview at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona with CNBC:

    Building the Telco Network Like the Clouds

    What it really is about it’s saying that over the last decade and a half we’ve gotten pretty good at building clouds. Why can’t we build the telco network like the clouds have been built for with scalability, flexibility, efficiency, and agility? That’s really the idea of the telco cloud. As people go to what’s called NFV, network function virtualization, and as they’re looking ahead to 5G services, can’t we have a new architecture for building the telco cloud? But it also is flexible and scalable and helps them do services between 4G and 5G. It also helps them bridge so as they build these new services they can run them on the old as well as prepare services for the new.

    The telco market is like 80 percent the size of the data center and cloud market. This is big. It’s a huge adjacent market that largely we’ve never touched before. We’re really excited about that. If you think about what we’ve done, it’s about building this rock-hard infrastructure that never goes down. Data centers, businesses, and banks running it told the telco networks that they need rock-hard never-goes-down infrastructure. We really find a huge opportunity there.

    2020 is the Year for 5G

    I’ve said for a few years that I think 2020 is the year (for 5G implementation). I think when you when you see a show like this everybody’s starting to really gear up. The trials are underway. I really see 2020 as really where it’s going to happen. Right now the national anthem is playing and next year the game gets started. If you’re going to be a cloud you’ve got to be efficient. That helps the bottom line by building more cost efficiency and operational efficiency. You have to do that. But ultimately, it’s about the new services that 5G is going to introduce.

    It’s hard to say how much Huawei (potentially being banned in Europe) is going to impact. Obviously, people who have large positions with Huawei today, it becomes easy to add 5G onto it. It is somewhat dependent on carrier and market. Our view of what we’re trying to do with virtualization is to minimize unique dependencies on any particular hardware market. Part of our value proposition exactly helps customers navigate through the 4G to 5G transition as well as picking different key hardware vendors. That’s what that virtualization layer does so we think we actually help customers.