VMware Bolsters DaaS Offerings with Desktone Buy

One of the big announcements out of VMworld 2013 Europe in Barcelona so far is that VMware (VMW) announced it has acquired Desktone, a provider of desktop-as-a-service (DaaS) with a multitenant desktop virtualization platform. The vendor buy will pair Desktone’s technology with VMware’s own Horizon View desktop virtualization technology.

The acquisition makes VMware a bigger player in the virtualized desktop market and may be the key to giving Desktone’s technology a boost in the market. Additionally, there’s also a service provider story here, as VMware’s Sanjay Poonen, executive vice president and general manager of End-User Computing, noted Desktone’s DaaS has been a significant enabler of service providers.

“By bringing Desktone’s innovative platform in-house, VMware can accelerate the delivery of DaaS through its network of over 11,000 VMware service provider partners while helping to shape and lead the future of the industry,” said Poonen.

The good news for VMware partners that may want to get into the Desktone DaaS game is that Desktone becomes a part of VMware already certified with vCloud, vSphere and Horizon View. As our sister site The VAR Guy noted, this represents what is likely a long-term move that should give VARs and service providers some inspiration for delivering hosted desktop and other related technologies.

Desktone also comes with its own network of channel partners. Granted, it’s a much smaller one than that of VMware’s 11,000-strong service provider partners, but Desktone’s partners will have to find their own niche within the now much larger Desktone partner network. But chances are there’s already much overlap between partner bases, so this may not be much of a problem.

This looks to be just the the beginning in announcements related to Desktone DaaS and how partners will be able to capitalize on the acquisition. VMware used VMworld Europe as a springboard for what is likely to be a growing part of the company’s end-user computing strategy.