<a href="http://egroup.jasonmangone.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/images1.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-8096 alignleft" alt="VMware Horizon" src="http://egroup.jasonmangone.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/images1-150x150.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a>

At last month’s VMware Users Group meeting in Savannah GA, I told a story about a company’s IT department and how their world was turned upside down when an absent minded employee and lax security policies met head on. The purpose of the anecdote was to show how it was possible to secure sensitive data while introducing more flexibility and choice to the end-user. The resulting solution was founded on a solid and secure implementation of VMware View.

With the recent release of the VMware’s Horizon Suite, I can’t help but wonder how these products would have changed or improved the original solution. When I look at the product portfolio of the Horizon Suite, I see a lot of opportunity for what could have been. There are three major points that could have really improved that initial deployment of View.
<h2>Access to Remote Applications</h2>
Horizon Workspace would have set the stage for a more simplified implementation of a BYOD policy. The delivery of full desktops to end-users can be cumbersome and financially prohibitive. From one SSO portal, Workspace allows users to access individual applications and files. The enhanced security provides peace of mind and allows IT management deeper insights and controls through auditing and quotas. The best part is that the end-user will now have a multitude of secured devices to choose from in order to access their data. From home computers to library kiosks, there will be no excuse for not having access to the data you need when you need it most.
<h2>Controlling the Handsets</h2>
In the example I provided, we discussed the use of a mobile device management system in order to control access and security from the end-user handsets and tablets. As I tote around my six pounds of laptop, I can surely attest to the rise in popularity of mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. Since most of these devices are personally owned, they become increasingly more difficult to manage. It is not so difficult to imagine what might happen to unsecured corporate data on a smartphone if it were to fall into the hands of a…toddler. So how are we, as IT managers, supposed to allow people to use their personal devices while maintaining the security of our corporate data? VMware Horizon Mobile is the answer. This tool allows IT to deliver a customized corporate persona to the end-user device allowing them to maintain their own personalization while enforcing corporate security on the company provided device.
<h2>No Man Left Behind</h2>
One of the biggest issues we found during our View deployment was that not all of our end-users were easily converted to a Virtual Desktop. These end-points felt extremely detached from the infrastructure as a whole and required a lot of extra attention. This detracted from the benefits we were gaining through our View deployment. If we had been able to use Horizon Mirage, our management capabilities for these end points would have been significantly more streamlined. The policy-driven remediation of applications would have meant a few hours of repair for branch offices instead of the days it would have required in order to ship the device, complete the repairs and ship back. It would have also been extremely cheaper. Have you ever mailed a laptop overnight express with insurance? Twice?
<h2>Next Steps</h2>
As you can imagine, this is just the tip of the iceberg for the entire portfolio of the VMware Horizon Suite. The sheer scope of this product is enough to overwhelm any sized IT department. At eGroup, we’re ‘getting our hands dirty’ with all this great technology so you don’t have to!