Fujitsu: Virtual Client Services Hyperscale Appliance

Fujitsu Ltd. opens up the benefits of desktop and application virtualization to companies of all sizes with the launch of the Virtual Client Services (VCS) Hyperscale appliance as a managed service, providing a competitively priced solution that simplifies powerful virtual computing.

The VCS Hyperscale appliance delivers desktop and application services by combining the hardware, software and automation expertise required to make VCS a reality.

Through VCS, organizations gain access to a simple, scalable and agile method of delivering desktop and application services to employees, who enjoy the flexibility and convenience of securely accessing their personalized desktop, applications and data files from any computing or mobile device, at any location around the world. Meanwhile, IT managers gain the peace of mind that all their corporate data remains secure in the data center and is not copied to notebooks, PCs and mobile devices.

Although the benefits of VCS have long been recognized by large enterprises, many SMBs have been reluctant to take advantage of traditional VCS solutions, since they are perceived to be costly and complex to deploy. The company is addressing this with its new managed service, designed for easy entry and a fast start with VCS. The service is rapidly deployed, thanks to automated scripting which simplifies system set-up by avoiding the need to write code.

The firm has created this solution in a more cost effective way than traditional approaches to VCS, and achieves this saving in part due to the integration of Atlantis USX software from Atlantis Computing, Inc. This reduces hardware costs and provides a more extensible and resilient software-defined storage platform. System usage is optimized by creating pools of storage that are available to any application as virtual storage volumes. By standardizing on Xenserver hypervisor software, included with XenApp and XenDesktop, the company also enables tighter integration into Microsoft Corp. environments creating a highly scalable, manageable and agile virtualization infrastructure.

Leveraging firm’s expertise in VCS
The company offering is built on his long-standing expertise in designing and delivering VCS solutions where flexibility is a key cornerstone. Each unit supports up to 500 users, and up to four appliances can be combined, allowing customers to simply and scale to a system that supports up to 2,000 desktops.

Karyn Jeffery, VP and head, end user services, global delivery, managed infrastructure services business, Fujitsu, says: “We are leveraging Fujitsu’s extensive know-how as an established leader in Virtual Client Services to now also provide smaller organizations with all the benefits of the Citrix XenDesktop virtualization technology at a lower price point, coupled with an easy set-up process with automated scripting which ensures that customers gain faster time to value. The result is a highly competitive, enterprise, secure VCS Hyperscale Appliance managed service for desktops and data.”

Calvin Hsu, VP, product marketing, desktops and apps, Citrix Systems, Inc., comments: “Comprehensive market proven App Virtualization and VDI solutions provide Citrix customers and their employees with the freedom to work securely from anywhere while cutting IT costs. We believe that solutions such as Fujitsu’s new VCS Hyperscale Appliance, coupled with their world class knowledge and experience, will accelerate and further reduce the cost of centrally delivered Windows, Linux, web, SaaS apps and full virtual desktops to any device.”

Bob Davis, CMO, Atlantis Computing, explains: “VDI and hosted shared applications are gaining increasing acceptance among IT organizations as they satisfy the ever rising demand for access to data and applications anytime, any location, on any device. Fujitsu’s new solution leverages Atlantis software know-how in optimizing storage to enable virtual desktops and applications to be faster and more cost-effective than physical PCs and to deliver a great user experience. Our unique integration with Xenserver and XenDesktop is quickly becoming accepted as the core platform for Citrix deployments, and is helping to drive down overall costs. Fujitsu and Atlantis are providing the balance IT organizations need for greater user experience, flexibility and security.“

The VCS Hyperscale Appliance is available as a managed service fromthe company. Pricing varies according to country and configuration.

VCS Hyperscale Appliance managed service bundle from company’s comprises:

• A performant server: company’s server Primergy CX400 M1 scale out system equipped with between one and four nodes, allowing it to scale from 500-2000 users

• Atlantis USX software-defined storage technology enables enterprises to use any type of existing storage to instantly increase capacity and performance.

• Easy system configuration via automated scripting processes: these avoid the need to write computer code to get systems up and running. The process is completed on-site by the customer or by company’s engineers, via wizard-driven guides.