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VMware Unveils ThinApp 4.0 for Application Virtualization
VMware has announced VMware ThinApp 4.0, its major offering in the emerging market for application virtualization.
The product is been developed as a result of the company's acquisition of Thinstall last January. Competitors such as Microsoft with SoftGrid and Citrix with Application Streaming also have offerings in this market.
According to Ed Albanese, senior product manager, ThinApp 4.0 has been enhanced with several additional features including Application Link, which allows interdependent applications to be more effectively integrated and Application Sync which can stream updates to an end user's applications using HTTP/HTTPS.
Application virtualization can be used on both virtual and physical PCs, as well as an enhancement to VMware's server-based desktop virtualization platform, Virtual Desktop Infrastructure. It decouples OS and applications which eliminates software installation conflicts and reduces regression testing, resulting in reduced desktop management costs and user downtime. ThinApp 4.0 also allows a PC user to run the same application under different releases.
ThinApp's "secret sauce" is that it's agentless, a feature pioneered by Thinstall, requiring no pre-installed software on physical or virtual PCs. According to the company, it can be used with existing management tool sets and works with a variety of operating systems including Windows NT, 2000, XP and Vista.
ThinApp Suite and client licenses are perpetual and 50 client licenses are available for the list price of $5,000. Additional client licenses are priced at $39 per endpoint.