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Toshiba enters virtual desktop services market

Toshiba is partnering with Citrix and VMware to offer a cloud-based virtual desktop service to enterprises in the forth quarter.
Written by Steven Vaughan-Nichols, Senior Contributing Editor

While the countdown to Windows XP's death is entering its last months, the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend is continuing to take off. One result of these trends is that companies are now offering cloud-based virtual desktops to their business customers. One such is Toshiba’s Cloud Services and Solutions' new Virtual Desktop Service (VDS).

Toshiba-Logo

Toshiba is positioning VDS as a cloud-based Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS). It's designed to enable users to access Windows and its applications from secure Toshiba data centers. This VDS will enable users to connect to their Windows desktop from any appropriately equipped iOS, Mac OS, Windows, Linux or Android computers or devices via a secure gateway without requiring corporate network authentication.

The Japanese tech giant isn't re-inventing the virtual desktop wheel. Instead it will be offering business customers their choice of Citrix Systems' XXenDesktop 7 or VMware Horizon View. Above these, Toshiba will be offering its own proprietary Desktop Manager. This program will provide IT Administrators and Managed Service Providers (MSPs) a single interface for managing all of their virtual desktops.

"Demand for BYOD is so strong that businesses report widespread employee willingness to ignore, or even circumvent, policy and security protocols in order to use their personal and/or mobile devices for work purposes," said Brett Waldman, IDC's research manager for Cloud and Virtualization System Software, in a statement. "Cloud solutions like Toshiba’s VDS help address the access and security issues presented by BYOD."

Toshiba's virtual desktop offering will be available in the fourth quarter of 2013. Pricing has not been announced.

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