“The development of VDI Blaster™ was a natural extension of Devon IT’s commitment to providing cost-effective, secure, and more manageable alternative desktop solutions to traditional PC environments”

Users download VDI Blaster™ to old PCs via a USB key or a network install for only $19.99. VDI Blaster™ deploys Devon IT’s thin client operating system, Devon Terminal Operating System (DeTOS™), and Devon IT’s proprietary thin client management software to help IT administrators manage enterprise-wide deployments from a central location. Now users can select to boot into their normal Windows operating system, DeTOS™, or VMware View 4, the industry’s only purpose-built desktop virtualization solution.

“We are pleased that VDI Blaster qualifies for the VMware Ready™ logo, signifying to customers that it has passed specific VMware testing and interoperability criteria and is ready to run in production environments,” said Bernie Mills, senior director, alliance programs, VMware.

“The development of VDI Blaster™ was a natural extension of Devon IT’s commitment to providing cost-effective, secure, and more manageable alternative desktop solutions to traditional PC environments,” says Stephane Verdy, CTO for Devon IT. “VMware shows a similar commitment to desktop virtualization by advancing VMware 4 and other streaming technologies. We are proud to provide both of these innovations together to help continue to momentum from bulky PCs to thin client infrastructures.”

Devon IT’s CTO, Stephane Verdy, routinely offers technical demonstrations and webinars for the media, and is available to comment on all topics relating to thin clients, alternative desktop solutions, desktop and server virtualization, and cloud computing. More information about the company’s hardware and software solutions are available at www.devonit.com.

“Devon IT is committed to collaborating with our reseller partners and providing them with vital resources, from sales support to technical demonstrations and webinars,” says Joe Makoid, President of Devon IT. “We have received tremendous interest in our VDI Blaster software suite due to its ability to transform PCs into near-zero clients, and our reseller partners have also been frequently contacted for demonstrations. This program is designed to make proof-of-concept presentations and demos easier for these valued partners.”

Users download VDI Blaster™ to existing PCs via a USB key or a network install. VDI Blaster™ deploys Devon IT’s thin client operating system, Devon Terminal Operating System (DeTOS™), and  Devon IT’s proprietary thin client management software to help IT administrators manage enterprise-wide deployments from a central location. Users can select to boot into their normal Windows operating system, DeTOS™, or VMware View 4, the industry’s only purpose-built desktop virtualization solution. More information about Devon IT’s VDI Blaster is available at http://www.vdiblaster.com .

Devon IT’s thin client management software combines thin client management capabilities with connection management features.  This management software works for large-scale, complex virtual-desktop deployments and smaller-scale environments using Devon IT thin clients and repurposed PCs.

Resellers can obtain a trial (not for resale) copy of the latest version of VDI Blaster by visiting http://www.vdiblaster.com/reseller/.  More information about the company’s hardware and software solutions is available at www.devonit.com.  Resellers can also email info@devonit.com or call 610-757-4220 for more information.

But a drawback is most companies must build a new infrastructure or greatly expand their current hardware to host all the back end desktops. Discretionary IT dollars are a thing of the past so a solution must be absolutely better and less expensive to make wide scale changes. It needs to be in order to unseat whatever is in place. And if it is more expensive, it must have a spectacular upside, something that is of real value to the IT department so they are willing to part with the extra money because it is genuinely worth it.

I worked with a school on a hosted desktop solution once that really wasn’t hosted. They had tried server-based computing but it didn’t meet the needs of their graphically intense lab users. So with one 3U server (and internal storage) they will be able to meet the need of having 6 different desktop workloads available on demand to these users. Each end point computer runs the workload assigned to it using the local CPU and Memory, all from a single disk image that is on the server. This one 3U server could support hundreds of end point machines so you can see we don’t need a giant scaled out back end infrastructure. We don’t even need a hypervisor on the client or the server side.

I think that this is a pretty cool way to give the end user the power of local machine performance and we as administrators get one image to manage on a single windows server. Not very complicated. A second windows server adds HA and failover. Drag and drop image updates and upgrades. And no compromising info has to live on the end point device. So you can use your existing hardware on the desktop to accomplish this. As desktops fail you simple replace them with a thin client.

While I am sure that it will be cool, we don’t have to wait for the client side hypervisor. When it gets here your current desktop hardware probably won’t support it. You could use this type of solution in any environment. It can work with hypervisors if you have them, we can even get remote users connected. That’s another thing I like about it, you can leverage this solution in so many different ways.

Some people think that VDI is complicated and expensive. It doesn’t have to be. Let me know what you think.

Over 200 companies from around the world have purchased and downloaded the VDI Blaster  software suite, and  are utilizing the novel approach to extending the useful life of PCs by transforming them into thin clients to save money, save management time and cut  costs.

Users download VDI Blaster^TM to old PCs via a USB key or a network install. VDI Blaster^TM deploys Devon IT’s thin client operating system, Devon Terminal Operating System (DeTOS^TM), and  Devon IT’s thin client management software, ThinManage^TM, to help IT administrators manage enterprise-wide deployments from a central location. Once VDI Blaster^TM is deployed, users can select to boot into their normal Windows operating system or into DeTOS^TM.

“Using VDI Blaster to convert aging enterprise PCs into secure, managed thin clients enables organizations of all sizes to extend their capital investment in PCs while testing thin client computing models,” explained Joe Makoid, President, Devon IT.  “Traditional desktops typically need to be refreshed or replaced every three or four years, but companies and organizations can now extend the life of these PCs by converting them into thin clients. Users can simultaneously test hosted client computing methods, and we hope VDI Blaster will continue the momentum of IT administrators moving from desktop PCs to hosted client environments.”

VDI Blaster:

• Extends the useful life of aging PCs
• Uses virtual desktops, simply and cost effectively with no hardware replacement necessary
• Maintains Windows desktop experience
• Centrally manages converted PCs
• Allows Plug and play replacement of PC to a thin client when ready
• Converts back to Windows operating system as needed

For more information about VDI Blaster^TM, please visit www.vdiblaster.com or www.devonit.com/software/vdi-blaster/overview. For more information about Devon IT, thin client computing, or virtualization, or to arrange for a demonstration, email info@devonit.com or call 610-757-4220 or 888-524-9382.  Devon IT will be demonstrating the VDI Blaster^TM on repurposed PCs at the VMware’s VM09 tradeshow, in London, October 6 through October 8, 2009.  Follow Devon IT updates on Twitter at http://twitter.com/DevonIT

Users download VDI Blaster^TM to old PCs via a USB key or a network install. VDI Blaster^TM deploys Devon IT’s thin client operating system, Devon Terminal Operating System (DeTOS^TM), and  Devon IT’s thin client management software, ThinManage^TM, to help IT administrators manage enterprise-wide deployments from a central location. Once VDI Blaster^TM is deployed, users can select to boot into their normal Windows operating system or into DeTOS^TM.

VDI Blaster^TM:

• Extends the useful life of aging PCs.
• Uses virtual desktops simply and cost-effectively without hardware replacement.
• Maintains Windows desktop experience.
• Centrally manages converted PCs.
• Allows plug-and-play replacement PCs to thin clients when ready.
• Converts back to Windows operating system as needed.

For more information about VDI Blaster^TM, please visit www.vdiblaster.com or www.devonit.com/software/vdi-blaster/overview. For more information about Devon IT, thin client computing, or virtualization, or to arrange for a demonstration, email info@devonit.com or call 610-757-4220 or 888-524-9382.

Users download VDI Blaster^TM to old PCs via a USB key or a network install. VDI Blaster^TM deploys Devon IT’s thin client operating system, Devon Terminal Operating System (DeTOS^TM), and  Devon IT’s thin client management software, ThinManage^TM, to help IT administrators manage enterprise-wide deployments from a central location. Once VDI Blaster^TM is deployed, users can select to boot into their normal Windows operating system or into DeTOS^TM.

“Using VDI Blaster to convert aging enterprise PCs into secure, managed thin clients enables organizations of all sizes to extend their capital investment in PCs while testing thin client computing models,” explained Joe Makoid, President, Devon IT.  “Traditional desktops typically need to be refreshed or replaced every three or four years, but companies and organizations can now extend the life of these PCs by converting them into thin clients. Users can simultaneously test hosted client computing methods, and we hope VDI Blaster will continue the momentum of IT administrators moving from desktop PCs to hosted client environments.”

VDI Blaster:

• Extends the useful life of aging PCs
• Uses virtual desktops, simply and cost effectively with no hardware replacement necessary
• Maintains Windows desktop experience
• Centrally manages converted PCs
• Allows Plug and play replacement of PC to a thin client when ready
• Converts back to Windows operating system as needed

Devon IT is working with customers and business partners such as  IBM and VMware to make VDI Blaster^TM available to IT administrators and executives worldwide.

“VDI Blaster^TM provides an intuitive vehicle to help PCs run longer and save companies significant amounts of money by extending their original capital investments and avoiding PC refreshes,” says Stephane Verdy, CTO, Devon IT. “Organizations can also use VDI Blaster^TM as a testing platform for server-based and virtual desktop environments, as VDI Blaster^TM essentially turns a PC into a thin client. Devon IT’s ThinManage^TM also helps manage enterprise desktops from one place in the datacenter, another cost-saving benefit.”

“Offering VDI Blaster^TM with VMware View^TM gives enterprises the ability to transform PC environments into virtual desktop environments overnight at a fraction of the cost,” says Raj Mallempati, director of product marketing, Desktop Business Unit, VMware. “VDI Blaster^TM will help to immediately bring the security and manageability benefits of VMware View to organizations while allowing them to leverage their investments in existing assets.”

“We have traditionally used desktop PCs for all of our employees, but are continually looking for ways to extend the useful life of these PCs as well as migrate towards a virtual desktop approach,” says Kevin DiBricida, Network Administrator from Continental Bank. “We are using VDI Blaster^TM to demonstrate the benefits of thin client computing to our company, and see this as a unique and cost-effective approach to the ongoing total-cost -of-ownership issue of desktop PCs.”

“We are excited to offer the VDI Blaster^TM software to our customers and allow them to save money on hardware costs as well as gain the benefits of desktop virtualization,” says Ray Collazo, President, Corpsolv Inc. “PC and even thin client deployments would be much more expensive, and with VDI Blaster^TM our customers can immediately benefit from higher enterprise security and increased manageability of their desktop devices.”

“There’s no question that the thin client market is growing, a trend that is fueled by innovative vendors.  Devon IT is leveraging its growing reputation with partners interviewed by Viewpoint for high quality customized thin client solutions,” says Dorothy Rosenthal VP, Research, a channels focused IT analyst firm.  “New thin client products from Devon IT offers partners alternative solutions and choices to the established thin client vendors.  Devon’s relationship with IBM endorses Devon’s thin client solution and has been a good platform to launch Devon’s expansion into the channel.”

For more information about VDI Blaster^TM, please visit www.vdiblaster.com or www.devonit.com/software/vdi-blaster/overview. For more information about Devon IT, thin client computing, or virtualization, or to arrange for a demonstration, email info@devonit.com or call 610-757-4220 or 888-524-9382.  Devon IT will be demonstrating the VDI Blaster^TM on repurposed PCs at the VMworld tradeshow, booth 2444, in San Francisco, CA, August 28 through September 2, 2009.  Follow Devon IT updates from VMworld 2009 on Twitter at http://twitter.com/DevonIT

The University System of Ohio Virtualization Program, announced in January 2009, is a three-year purchasing aggregation initiative with the potential of saving Ohio colleges and universities more than $130 million.  The agreement gives the Ohio Academic Resources Network [OARnet] – the University System of Ohio’s technology operations arm – the unlimited ability to license industry leader VMware’s full suite of state-of-the art virtualization software and technological support services.  Read the full University System of Ohio announcement at: http://uso.edu/newsUpdates/media/releases/2009/01/OBRMediaRel_09Jan09.php.

The O-VDI discounted pricing also applies to other state agencies and school districts.  By combining Devon IT’s thin clients with VMware software such as VMware View^TM,  the University System of Ohio can be equipped with cost-effective desktop solutions that help enable the management, security, flexibility and deployment benefits of virtualized desktop environment.

“Our O-VDI program combine Devon IT’s thin clients with VMware software  to equip the University System of Ohio with cost-effective desktop solutions that enable the management, security, flexibility and deployment benefits of virtualized desktop environments,” said Joe Makoid, president, Devon IT. “Especially in these challenging economic times, IT administrators need to be certain that their solutions offer the highest levels of compatibility and flexibility.  We are pleased to make Devon IT’s thin clients available at the lowest possible price in order to enhance the benefits of the University System of Ohio Virtualization Program.”

“Education technology professionals constantly face usability, manageability and budgetary challenges,” says Michael King, IBM, Vice President, Global Education. “Devon IT’s virtual desktop solution uses a centralized IT approach to lower costs and improve manageability. Devon’s thin client solutions combined with VMware’s virtualized desktop will help the University System of Ohio reduce operating costs while enabling schools to affordably provide desktop technology to the campus community, as well as streamline business operations.”

“Offering discounted Devon IT thin clients with VMware View^TM, the industry-leading desktop virtualization  solution, helps the Ohio University System not only meet the objectives of its virtualization program, but it also heightens its commitment to green IT,” said Jerry Chen, senior director of desktop virtualization, VMware. “The combination of Devon IT’ s thin clients and VMware View helps equip these schools with a flexible, cost-effective desktop solution that also uses less energy.”

All Devon IT’s products, including desktop, mobile and specialized thin client solutions that support any end-user requirement, are included in the O-VDI program. All products carry an IBM part number and are orderable through IBM and authorized Devon IT resellers.

The entire Devon IT product line is also VMware Ready^TM Certified. This designation indicates that Devon IT’s thin clients have met the testing criteria to be VMware Ready Certified for VMware View^TM and are now listed on the VMware View Compatibility Guide. The VMware Thin Client Certification Program enables thin client vendors who are VMware Technology Alliance Partner (TAP) program members to provide mutual customers with a jointly supported virtual desktop solution.  

Devon IT thin clients can be found within the online VMware Hardware Compatibility List at http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/search. Products include:

TC2

The ultra-small and inexpensive TC2 is an ideal desktop replacement for businesses looking to downsize their infrastructure and reduce management and power costs. The small form factor unit consumes only eight watts and is completely silent. Despite its size, it is fully-functioned and allows users to connect to a variety of servers and virtual desktops.

TC5

The TC5 is a next-generation thin client from Devon IT for users who need high performance from a small footprint client. The TC5 gives users the capability to use multiple displays with one stateless unit. This ultra-advanced desktop appliance supports dual DVI video, internal wireless (Optional) and comes with either the DeTOS Operating System or Windows® XP Embedded.

SafeBook® LVO

The SafeBook® LVO is the next-generation mobile thin client notebook. Built on the Lenovo ThinkPad platform the SafeBook® LVO is available with Windows® XP embedded software and is compatible with Lenovo ThinkPad docking stations and accessories. The SafeBook® LVO is a mobile thin client laptop with no hard drive, so all sensitive data is protected against loss or theft. With its low purchase price, low operating and maintenance costs, and reinforced security functions, the SafeBook® LVO offers the latest thin client technology in a lightweight, mobile notebook.

For more information about Devon IT’s O-VDI program, or to arrange for a demonstration, email cbell@devonit.com, or call 610-757-4220 or 888-524-9382. Information on all Devon IT products is also available at www.devonit.com.

The VDI-2 Virtualization Starter Kit is designed for companies and organizations who are rethinking their computing models. Desktop management can be time consuming, expensive, and a drain on productivity. The VDI-2 package aims to reduce IT costs, simplify tedious deployment tasks, and increase productivity for IT personnel.

“Healthcare companies, schools, financial institutions, and an array of other enterprises are changing the way their IT infrastructures operate,” says Joe Makoid, President, Devon IT. “The VDI-2 Virtualization Starter Kit offers firms that are thinking about switching to hosted client environments free environment assessments to determine how to efficiently reduce across-the-board IT spending, including costs associated with energy usage, frontend implementation and replacement, and backend management. The customizable VDI-2 Virtualization Starter Kit allows firms the flexibility to pick the best Devon IT thin clients and Citrix or VMware software products for their environment and the free expertise of CentriServ’s industry experts.”

Pricing for the VDI-2 Virtualization Starter Kit is based on chosen options and available on request. View the TC2 and SafeBook video below. For more information about Devon IT thin clients, bundle solutions, and server-based technologies, or to arrange for a proof-of-concept or enterprise assessment, email info@devonit.com, or call 610-757-4220 or toll-free 888-524-9382. Information is also available at www.devonit.com.