Panzura SkyBridge Enables Citrix VDI in Cloud

Panzura, Inc. announced SkyBridge, a solution that solves the challenges of running VDI and application virtualization completely in the cloud.

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SkyBridge is an solution that co-locates a consistent, locking file system in the cloud that is identical to the file system in the corporate datacenter(s) and eliminates networking challenges in between. SkyBridge enables enterprises to take advantage of the scale, economics and geographical presence of the cloud without costly on-premise infrastructure setup while maintaining optimal performance for users.

Cloud VDI significant challenges with:

• Configuration and deployment

• Establishing a connection back to corporate datacenter(s)

• Utilizing corporate authentication

• Gaining access to corporate data without affecting user performance

SkyBridge configures and initializes a Layer 2 VPN connection between the cloud and the corporate datacenter with a single mouse click, launching the full Virtual Desktop or Virtual Application instance, connecting with the corporate authentication, and utilizing a Global File system controller in the cloud. By co-locating the same consistent file system in the cloud as in the datacenter, enterprises are able to take advantage of benefits of the cloud without subjecting users to the performance issues inherent when the file data is not located next to the VDI or application virtualization instance.

Gone are the days where it takes weeks or months to deploy VDI, especially in different areas of the world.

With SkyBridge, enterprises can:

• Provision VDI or virtual apps in any geography quickly

• Expand existing VDI or virtual app deployments into the cloud

• Use only the cloud to deploy VDI or virtual apps

• Pay as they go for VDI

SkyBridge can be used to run any application in the cloud without a single change to applications. HPC, antivirus, search, indexing and rendering, for example, are all applications that can now run in the cloud using existing corporate datasets to take advantage of the elasticity of cloud compute or eliminate on-premise performance issues caused by running applications in the corporate datacenter(s). By solving the last mile of hybrid cloud computing, the data and simple network connectivity; SkyBridge transforms a cloud datacenter into a corporate datacenter. Data is always available and consistent in every datacenter including the cloud.

“The transition to cloud storage and cloud compute is inevitable as even the largest enterprises cannot compete with the scale and economics of the cloud,” said Randy Chou, CEO and cofounder, Panzura. “By making the file system transparent across any location- including the cloud- and eliminating the barriers of connectivity and authentication with the cloud, SkyBridge makes the cloud datacenter feel like it’s in the next room of the corporate datacenter.“

“Panzura has always the provided all of the benefits of cloud storage along with the performance we needed in a file storage solution. SkyBridge takes the solution to next level and seamlessly provides remote access to the data in a cloud compute solution,” said Eric Quinn, director IT, C&S Companies. “SkyBridge has enabled C&S to not only create VDI in the cloud to connect all our remote employees in the same collaboration workflow as our office employees, but has also given us a platform to run any application from where it makes the most sense for our team – whether in our datacenter, in the cloud, or a combination of the two.“

“As enterprises continue to take advantage of cloud scale and economics, the importance of a hybrid architecture has become much more evident,” said Scott Sinclair, analyst, ESG. “Active data and compute can be best served when next to each other, which is exactly what Panzura SkyBridge enables whether the applications run on compute the cloud or compute in any corporate data center. While VDI is a natural start, having the same consistent file system in the cloud and in the datacenters enables apps to run anywhere.“

SkyBridge will initially support Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop running in Amazon Web Services. Additional cloud providers, VDI solutions, and applications will be supported in future releases.