Microsoft's planned acquisition of Kidaro

March 12, 2008 — Microsoft Corp. today announced its intended acquisition of Kidaro, a leading provider of desktop virtualization solutions for enterprises. In combining Kidaro’s virtualization technology with its suite of desktop management tools, known as the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack for Software Assurance, Microsoft will enable IT professionals to optimize their desktop infrastructure by providing management capabilities for Virtual PCs, streamlining deployments and easing application compatibility issues.

Turning Virtualization Into Tangible Benefits

Managing desktops across an enterprise can be time-consuming, complex and costly. Adding Kidaro’s desktop virtualization capabilities to the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack suite will provide Microsoft Software Assurance customers who have purchased the add-on subscription with the enhanced ability to do the following:

• Accelerate Windows Vista migrations by minimizing compatibility issues between applications and the operating system
• Easily deploy managed Virtual PCs to Windows desktops
• Drive business continuity by enabling rapid reconstitution of corporate desktops
• Minimize the tension between IT control and user flexibility by applying policies in locked-down corporate Virtual PCs while giving users more open access to the underlying host operating system
• Speed user adoption of desktop virtualization by making Virtual PCs “invisible” to end users
• Reduce IT investment in desktop image management by delivering virtual images independent of hardware or local desktop configuration

“Virtualization technology has tremendous potential to help companies reduce costs and increase control over their desktops, while simultaneously delivering benefits to end users,” said Kevin Brown, chief executive officer of Kidaro. “By adding Kidaro’s technology to Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack, Microsoft can deliver sophisticated virtual desktop capabilities and management to a wide variety of enterprise customers.”

Kidaro technologies will be incorporated into future updates of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack for Software Assurance, which currently includes five key technologies that help enterprises manage their desktops:

• Microsoft Application Virtualization
• Microsoft Asset Inventory Service
• Microsoft Advanced Group Policy Management
• Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset
• Microsoft System Center Desktop Error Monitoring

How does Kidaro work?

The diagram shows different ways to deliver the VM image to an end user:

• DVD –”one-click”, streamlined deployment of the corporate virtual machine, with no user intervention
• Kidaro ToGo - an encrypted corporate desktop, carried anywhere on a USB drive or iPod
• Trim Transfer™– advanced de-duplication technology accelerates download of initial and updated VM images over the LAN or WAN.

Microsoft is finally going to have a centrally managed solution integrated into its virtualization product suite. I would prefer to see it in the System Center suite instead of having to purchase MDOP through Software Assurance. Microsoft has a solution on the horizon, while VMware ACE Management Server has been available for a while.

I look forward to seeing how this will work. I will keep you updated once the product is integrated and made public through the Connect website. For more information, visit the Kidaro website.