VMware will 'Absolutely' Pair AirWatch EMM with Horizon

AirWatch CEO John Marshall said VMware (VMW) has definitive plans to integrate the AirWatch enterprise mobility management (EMM) technology with VMware View and Horizon DaaS for its enterprise users. The announcement marks the first concrete plan for VMware’s costly purchase since the deal finalized back in February.

Marshall announced the company’s intentions in a recent interview with SearchConsumerization, revealing some long-awaited details on the company’s $1.54 billion acquisition of AirWatch earlier this year. Until now, the channel has only been able to speculate on what the AirWatch purchase would entail for VMware, as the company has been scarce with details concerning its plans in the mobile device management (MDM) and EMM markets.

According to Marshall, VMware’s short-term goals are to integrate AirWatch’s EMM tools with end user computing products and then focus on network virtualization and hybrid cloud offerings. The integration ultimately will allow users to work on the same platform for both laptops and smartphones. Desktop management software will be the final piece of the puzzle, with full integration expected later this year.

“When you can combine our laptop capabilities with what [VMware is] doing on desktop as a service, app virtualization, desktop virtualization and the management component, you have some very exciting and compelling offerings there,” Marshall told SearchConsumerization in a recent interview. “There absolutely is a lot of excitement around what we can do together in the coming quarters with the Horizon platform.”

Back in January, VMware announced its acquisition of AirWatch to help it gain footing in the MDM and EMM markets, which previously had been dominated by the likes of BlackBerry (BBRY), Citrix (CTXS) and IBM. VMware purchased AirWatch because of its reputation as a standout among its MDM competitors, and VMware wanted to incorporate AirWatch’s technology into its own offerings.

In the meantime, VMware has been busy with the recent release of Horizon DaaS, in addition to several other major announcements. Although the company has not made additional comments on its plans to win in the EMM field, it has made it very clear that the future of IT lies with software, and it intends to win on all fronts.