Symantec set to spring its Endpoint Virtualization Suite

Instead of offering its own “me too” hypervisor technology, Symantec has decided to go after the endpoint, announcing the Symantec Endpoint Virtualization Suite.

According to Symantec, the suite is designed to improve end-user productivity and lower the cost of managing endpoint devices. By offering portable, on-demand user workspace management, the suite provides a comprehensive solution for creating and managing workspace elements and environments in traditional, virtual, and mixed client computing models.

The suite will be made available this spring, and it represents the packaging, development, integration, and product rebranding of three important technologies that Symantec acquired over the last two years.

In the early part of 2007, Symantec made an important move with the acquisition of Altiris, where, among other technologies, it was able to acquire Altiris SVS — an application virtualization technology. Some months later in June 2007, Symantec acquired AppStream and was able to marry SVS with a streaming technology. And finally, in August 2008, Symantec made an additional move by acquiring its own VDI connection broker technology called nSuite.

These technologies were brought together to form Symantec’s Endpoint Virtualization Suite. The main pieces that make up this suite include:

• Symantec Workspace Streaming — Provides an on-demand application distribution and license management solution that gives a user access to any Windows based application from any location at any time, whether local or remote. The environment can be virtualized or not, but it still provides IT staff with the benefit of centralized management. This streaming technology comes from the acquisition of AppStream.
• Symantec Workspace Virtualization — This virtualizes applications and data in workspace environments, decoupling them from the OS and eliminates OS decay over time. Virtualized, or “layered,” applications eliminate conflicts between each other and the base OS, reducing testing requirements, easing version migration, and providing instant reset for broken applications. This technology comes from the acquisition of Altiris and its Altiris SVS technology.
• Symantec Workspace Corporate/Remote — Symantec Workspace Corporate provides a powerful set of tools to manage centralized computing environments and supports portable user workspace management. It is intended primarily for internal corporate use such as for call centers. Workspace Remote is oriented toward browser-based remote access and gateway security. The two can combine local and remote applications into a single workspace that follows the user as they move from one machine to the next, and offers local print management. This technology was part of the nSuite acquisition.
• Symantec Workspace Profiles — This piece is scheduled to offer mobile personality capabilities that record configuration changes to a central repository. Changes are designed to be applied contextually to desktops, workspaces, and applications to provide a consistent, portable user experience across multiple environment types.

“Symantec has entered the market strong with their vision to combine endpoint virtualization with the other elements of their portfolio,” said Michael Rose, research analyst at IDC. “By coming in at a higher layer on the stack, we see them focusing on cross-platform management and offering a lot of value, especially for customers of their other endpoint control products, like DLP, endpoint management, and their storage and security solutions.”

Symantec Endpoint Virtualization Suite is scheduled to be available in spring 2009.