Virtual Bridge to Start Developing Virtual Windows
In January, Virtual Bridges, Inc. reportedly closed on a $4 million round of investment. This has made it the latest Austin-based company to capitalize on virtualization and cloud computing.
The company will team up with IBM Corp. in order to develop what will come up against Microsoft’s own Windows virtual operating system.
Virtual Bridges is part of the Client for Smart Work initiative by IBM. Under this program, IBM will develop software that Virtual Bridges will virtualize. Interestingly, the company’s CEO Jim Curtin was the former vice president for security at IBM.
Desktop virtualization allows computers to be centrally managed and hosted, albeit transparently to its end user. The business is touted to get even bigger over the next few months.
Last year, independent research firm Gartner, Inc. has projected that the global hosted virtual desktop industry will grow to up to 49 million units by 2013 from the 500,000 units recorded in 2009. Revenue from the sales of these units will also grow to $65.7 billion by 2013 from the $1.4 billion of 2009.
The technology helps customers save money as it removes the need to pay for licensing fees for proprietary software. This will, in turn. Reduce the work assigned to information technology specialists who have to manage networks.
Because mobility and laptops have grown in popularity and have become even more important, desktop computers with full features are not as necessary as they were, says Michael Coté, an analyst for Austin-based Red Monk. He adds that IT departments no longer want to manage desktops but rather move to managed private clouds. They are now interested in working with nontraditional desktops.
