VMware Forms Virtualization Alliance With LG

Mobile virtualization is discussed far more often than it is seen, but VMware is putting new impetus behind the push to create multiple identities on one phone. This is becoming urgent as corporations adopt “bring your own‟ policies, where employees can choose their own handsets for business use. This cuts costs but can raise issues of security and control.

Focal Points:

• VMware, a major name in desktop virtualization through its Cisco alliance, has announced a partnership with LG that could be equally significant on the smartphone. The company said earlier in the year that it was embedding its Mobile Virtualization Platform (MVP) in devices from various OEMs, but did not reveal their names. Now it is clear one was LG, which has announced a deal to “help enterprises of all sizes improve security and control sensitive corporate data while enabling more flexible access via employee owned mobile devices”.
• The first priority will be to enable selected LG smartphones to run a business account in total isolation from personal accounts and apps, on the same handset. It expects to have VMware’s technology available on some gadgets next year.
• The technology will work much like a server or desktop hypervisor, with Android running the user’s own email and apps, and a guest OS supporting the work environment (or the other way round). The guest OS could be Android as well, another Linux system or, subject to licensing requirements, a third party OS. The vendor told NetworkWorld: “VMware's strategy with mobile phones will be very similar to our approach in the PC space. Users have the ability to run any supported guest operating system as long as it complies with predetermined licensing guidelines.” The devices would also have two phone numbers.
• The alliance is part of LG’s battle to improve its fortunes in the smartphone market, where it was a latecomer, and so needs clear differentiators to make an impact. Its first strategy focused on price – launching its Optimus One as a very affordable, but fully featured, Android smartphone. Now it will look to higher end features to boost its margins and target different user bases.
• Stephen Herrod, CTO and SVP of R&D at VMware, commented: “The reality is that today’s employee owned mobile devices are often more advanced than corporate offerings. As a result, the agile enterprise is looking to embrace new end user computing models that allow users to work on the devices they love.”
• Operators, which are always looking for a way to raise their profile in enterprises, have only shown lukewarm interest in virtualized handsets so far. But VMware hinted at a likely customer by gaining a supporting statement from Verizon Wireless on its news release - Humphrey Chen, executive director of new technologies at the carrier, said: “We’re seeing interest from Verizon Wireless customers in the area of mobile personas, which allow a personal mobile phone to be leveraged in a professional setting in a secure way that is IT-approved. The kind of virtualization VMware offers helps to make this happen, and we're evaluating ways to help our customers achieve this.”
• However, there are rivals for VMware’s market. It will have competition from VirtualLogix (in which Cisco, Intel and others have invested), Intel’s own Wind River Systems and Open Kernel Labs. To fend those off, it will need more partners – and vendors with a bigger share of the Android segment. The company still claims it is “talking to a lot of OEMs and carrier partners”.
• VMware will sell management tools and provide a software development kit so that businesses can integrate their existing device management platforms with its system. No pricing has yet been announced for the virtualized Android phones.

Editor’s Note: There are a couple of developments that need to be highlighted. First of all, the concept of “bring your own” (which is making many IT Executives cringe!) and the inherent convergence of handhelds and desktops via software, methodologies, etc.

Traditional IT departmental support paradigms are being challenged with the emergence of extremely popular, divergent technologies, devices and operating systems. The “bring your own” concept is where ultimately, IT will be expected to support any device at any time. While IT is struggling to keep costs low and working within constrained budgets, this is not something that will gain a lot of support at this time. Nevertheless, it is gaining momentum and is forecasted by many industry analysts as being an accepted and supported paradigm within a few years.

The partnerships of VMware and LG is another indication of strategic partnerships that are paving the way for co-development that will speed up the convergence of handheld and desktop/laptop device capabilities. It is easy to make a phone call over a workstation as it is to browse the web via a hand-held. The separation between smartphones and desktop/laptops has been breached!