Dell Cloud Client Computing Updates Aim to Help MSPs with VDI

Nobody ever praises Microsoft (MSFT) for the simplicity of its software licensing programs, particularly when it comes to virtualization. With that in mind, Dell (DELL) is looking to simplify the licensing process and help managed service providers and cloud service providers provide virtual desktop computing to customers through a series of technology improvements. Here are the details.

The improvements, announced in conjunction with the Microsoft TechEd conference, are coming to the Dell DVS Enterprise for Windows Server 2012 and also in the form of Dell DVS Enterprise for vWorkspace reference architecture.  Billed as an end-to-end solution to help organizations speed up deployment of desktop virtualization in a Microsoft environment, Dell says the technology helps organizations take advantage of their existing Microsoft licensing investments.

For instance, organizations can deploy a combination of up to 600 VDI users or 1,040 remote desktop sessions (RDSH).  Enhancements to Dell DVS Enterprise for Windows Server 2012 solution provide faster and more flexible deployment for up to 1,000 virtual users Dell DVS Enterprise for vWorkspace reference architecture provides flexible, cost-effective deployment of 500 to 5,000 virtual desktops based on Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V, Dell said in a statement.

There are several ways that these systems can be deployed, but all the options are designed to alleviate MSP pain points, Dell client cloud executives told MSPmentor. There are four major ones, they said. Dell’s Solution Manager for Enterprise Microsoft Desktop Virtualization John Russell and Dell’s Director of Product Management for Dell Endpoint Systems Management, Dave Callahan told me that MSPs want to deal with fewer vendors when it comes to software licensing, they want lower administrative overhead, they want help with honoring SLAs and they want to closely monitor costs (licensing plus the cost of infrastructure and management.)

Dell will showcase the new offerings, which are available in multiple configurations to suit different organizations, at Microsoft TechEd this week