VMware recently rolled out a series of updates to Horizon, its Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS), and virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) platform. It will help in managing hybrid or multi-cloud environments.
The updates should support IT teams that have to manage virtual desktops and apps while remote work policies are in flux. Over six weeks in early 2020, when companies shifted to remote work, the final number of cloud-deployed Horizon desktops grew by about 82%.
VMware is expanding multiple Horizon Control Plane services to different cloud providers. Some of them are listed as follows:
- Cloud Monitoring Service provides real time performance monitoring for user sessions, virtual desktops, and applications. The service is now available for VMware Horizon for AVS (Azure VMware Solution) environments.
- Image Management Service – It centrally manages and distributes desktop images around Horizon environments. The service is available for VMware Horizon Cloud on Microsoft Azure and VMware Horizon Cloud on VMware Cloud on AWS environments.
- Universal Brokering – It is now available for VMware Horizon on Azure VMware Solution (AVS) environments. It supports Horizon Cloud on Microsoft Azure, on premise deployments, and Horizon on VMware Cloud on AWS. The service connects employees to their virtual desktops and applications through the cloud or Horizon Pod.
Meanwhile, Horizon supports PostgreSQL. Large enterprises will connect up to 20,000 sessions and desktops per pod, reducing the number of pods needed in a Horizon deployment.
In addition, VMware will also offer remote support for Horizon sessions via VMware Workspace ONE Assist. In the present scenario, Workspace ONE Assist only lets IT and help desk staff access a particular purpose frontline device, a physical PC, or a regular mobile device.