In advance of last week’s VMworld, VMware updated a long-standing partnership with Apple and expanded another with Google.
The latest versions of the company’s Fusion address both enterprise and personal users as the software enters its 10th anniversary delivering Windows virtualization on Mac. Michael Roy, VMware’s product line marketing manager responsible for Fusion and Workstation said VMware Fusion 10 Pro is designed for technical professionals that want to build, test and demonstrate Mac, Windows and Linux applications on a Mac. The personal use version offers Touch Bar support, enhanced GPU and 3D graphics performance, and an updated user interface (UI). “We really focused on innovating for our core audience – IT professionals, developers and businesses.”
A big part of the VMware Fusion 10 Pro’s updated capabilities are REST APIs that will offer a new interface for managing virtual machines (VMs) remotely and programmatically. Roy said the APIs enable developers and enterprises to integrate Fusion into a modern development and testing pipeline by performing VM operations, including VM inventory management, VM power management, cloning, networking, configuration, and IP and MAC address gathering, among others.
Roy said the Mac has come along with in the enterprise segment, noting its consistent growth of three to five per cent, as well as IBM’s decision to push Apple in the enterprise three years ago, which recognized that Apple had already become an enterprise company on the back of the Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) movement.
VMware Fusion 10 Pro includes support for Microsoft’s new Virtualization Based Security features, as well as multi-operating system testing and integration into DevOps/agile development workflows. IT professionals and developers can run virtual machines that are compatible with corporate data centres from a Mac to perform tasks such as data centre design and testing, data centre management, network design and testing, and application development and testing.
With the advent of web-based apps, the cloud and major software vendors addressing the Apple market, the idea of needing one Windows application running on a Mac is fading, said Roy. “That’s why we focused on developers and pushing the envelope.”
While Mac is proving its mettle in the enterprise, VMware is also recognizing the growth of Google by enabling enterprise-wide management of Chrome devices. The company’s Workspace ONE powered by AirWatch will be the first platform for Chrome OS device management. Just as Apple gained its enterprise foothold through the consumerization of IT and employees using their iPhones at work, so too has the Chrome OS gained momentum.
Enterprises will be able to use Workspace ONE to securely manage the lifecycle of Chromebooks along with all their other endpoints, starting from out-of-the box on-boarding, configuration and policies, provisioning apps, auditing and tracking; all the way to end device wipe. IT will also be able to provide employees with access to all enterprise applications – cloud, web, native Android, virtual Windows – from a single app catalogue.
VMware launched Workspace ONE in early 2016 as part of a strategic shift to move its business beyond the data centre and part of delivering the company’s vision of a digital workplace that supports any device and the mobile cloud.