VMware vSphere 4 provides 'Always On IT' for SMB, ROBOs

BANGALORE, INDIA: VMware, Inc. the global leader in virtualization solutions from the desktop to the datacenter, has unveiled VMware vSphereTM 4, with new features and product editions that deliver “Always On IT” for small and midsized businesses (SMBs) and remote and branch office (ROBO) IT environments.

VMware vSphere 4 will deliver zero-downtime application availability and enterprise-class data protection managed under a single pane of glass, providing simplified and truly affordable disaster recovery previously out of reach for most small IT organizations.

VMware vSphere 4, the industry’s first operating system for building the internal cloud, was designed to meet the needs of a wide range of IT environments. With VMware vSphere 4, smaller IT environments will be available to achieve the full benefits of efficiency, resilience, and manageability demanded by large enterprises, at a price point that fits their more modest budgets.

“VMware leads the way in providing IT solutions that make customers’ lives easier, and for SMB and ROBO customers, we provide a means of administering a robust, continuously available IT infrastructure with minimal overhead and high investment return,” said Paul Maritz, president and chief executive officer of Vmware.

“VMware vSphere 4 will extend these benefits to customers of all sizes, needs and budgets with proven technology that enables them to do more with less.”

SMB customers increasingly prefer VMware virtualization solutions

SMB customers are increasingly turning to VMware as the virtualization industry leader who addresses their critical IT needs by delivering one of the most reliable, highest performing, and easiest to manage offerings. According to a recent blind market virtualization study of 416 IT professionals in North America and Europe, conducted by research firm Management Insight Technologies:

• VMware is the preferred brand by 64 per cent of SMBs and preferred by three times as many SMBs as the next closest competitor.

• The group of SMBs who selected VMware as their preferred brand grew by six percent during the past 12 months, while the group who selected the next closest competitor decreased by nine per cent during that same time period.

• VMware out-delivers on the most important virtualization vendor selection criteria – reliability, ease of management and performance – by up to a 34 per cent margin against the next closest competitor.

Introducing the Only 'Always On IT' virtualization solution

VMware vSphere 4 is the only virtualization solution to deliver ‘Always On IT’ that meets the most critical needs of SMB and ROBO customers by providing zero-downtime application availability and comprehensive data protection features ideal for smaller IT environments:

• VMware Fault Tolerance and High Availability provides true continuous availability for infrastructure and applications to further enhance service continuity, enabling critical applications to run with zero downtime or data loss due to hardware failures.

• VMware VMotion reduces planned downtime from server maintenance activities by enabling the live migration of running virtual machines from one server to another with no disruption or downtime.

• VMware Data Recovery provides fully automated backup and recovery for all applications and data, with complete integration with VMware’s management client for simple deployment and efficient operation.

• VMware vShield Zones secures applications and data inside a dynamic firewall that maintains complete protection across the physical and virtual environment with point-and-click ease.

The lowest cost high availability solutions

VMware will introduce three new VMware vSphere 4 product editions for SMBs that deliver cost-effective server consolidation, high availability and data protection to enable Always On IT. Small businesses can deploy a server consolidation and management solution for only $166 per processor with VMware vSphere 4 Essentials and get higher application uptime with VMware vSphere 4 Essentials Plus - these are features that are otherwise out of reach for most small companies.

VMware vSphere 4 Essentials Plus is the only virtualization solution that provides high availability and data protection at this price point.

For small businesses with fewer than 20 physical servers:

• VMware vSphere 4 Essentials provides an all-in-one solution for small offices to consolidate and manage many application workloads while reducing hardware and operating costs.

• VMware vSphere 4 Essentials Plus adds VMware High Availability and VMware Data Recovery for a complete server consolidation and business continuity solution for the small office IT environment.

For midsized businesses:

• VMware vSphere 4 Advanced is a scalable, strategic consolidation and availability solution that includes VMware VMotion, VMware Fault Tolerance, VMware Data Recovery and VMware vShield Zones.