The AirWatch Acquisition by VMware

The recent acquisition of AirWatch by VMware is not surprising in light of the industry’s growing mobile work force. As more enterprises invest in mobile devices and development of new software applications for their workforce, their respective IT organizations must have a way to secure and manage their employee’s mobile devices.

Traditionally, it’s been the device manufacturers that have provided the software tools to manage hardware devices. But PC and thin client manufacturers never really focused on mobile devices. And maybe it’s good for the industry that they didn’t. Because they probably would have limited their software solution to only their hardware, just as they’ve done with thin clients. Why should a company be locked in to a single hardware manufacturer’s products simply because of a software management tool?

ViewSonic has always supported open systems, and was first to implement the Android™ OS in thin clients.

Android 2.2 first introduced support for enterprise applications by offering the Android Device Administration API. The Device Administration API provides device administration features at the system level. These APIs allow developers to create security-aware applications that are useful in enterprise settings, in which IT professionals require rich control over employee devices.

It’s these APIs that have allowed companies such as AirWatch, Good Technology, Zenprise, and others to develop mobile device management (MDM) solutions. But why can’t an IT organization use the same software tools used to manage 1,000s of mobile devices to also manage their desktop devices?

This was the objective behind the Citrix and ViewSonic partnership to integrate Citrix® Worx Home™ within ViewSonic’s new smart display, or next generation thin client. Our new smart displays provide an IT organization the level of security and manageability from Citrix that they have come to trust over the years.

It’s expected that Google will continue to expand the Device Administration API in future releases of the Android operating system. And that desktop virtualization companies will extend their MDM solutions beyond mobile devices and on to the desktop.

Open standards and cross platform solutions have proven in the past to benefit both PC industry suppliers and end-users. There’s no reason why it can’t do the same for the display virtualization industry and its end-users.

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