AppSense Technical University – Training and Updates for the Partner Community

As a community focused solution provider,  AppSense are pleased to announce and invite our partners to the annual AppSense Technical University event.  The long serving event provides 100′s of our partners with all of the latest technical and product developments, as well as a great platform to provide your feedback back to AppSense product development and also socialise and communicate with your peers from the field.

The 2 day event is designed to provide our existing partners in-depth, hands on experience of the leading user virtualization solution – complete with feedback from the field and a peak into the compelling AppSense roadmap.  We very much support our partners and by attending the event we will help provide information and training to help maximise your solution and professional service / consultancy offerings.

The University will take place on Thursday 5th & Friday 6th May, 2011 at The Belfry Hotel, West Midlands, United Kingdom.

Like last year, after the first day of technical sessions there will be an evening of networking and entertainment, which includes complimentary 3-course meal and drinks on Thursday 5th May, 2011.  To help support our partners, in addition to the evening meal and drinks, AppSense has contributed towards the cost of a number of standard double rooms (including VAT & Full English Breakfast) which are available for reservation on a first come first served basis.  Booking is open now and available until Friday 1st April.

A provisional agenda has been sent via email to all partners on the AppSense Technical University Newsletter email group - if you have not received your invite and/or would like to learn more, please contact the AppSense Team at universityuk@appsense.com

You can register your place at the event here – http://www.appsense-uk.com/forms/TechUni0511.cfm 

We look forward to seeing you there!! :)

P:S – Below are a couple of photos and comments from some of the previous AppSense Technical University Events:

“Having been to several AppSense Technical Universities, I can genuinely say they are a valuable experience to anyone working with AppSense technology and is looking to expand their customer base in the user virtualization space. There is always a great mix of theory, practical lab sessions and open discussion on personal experiences out in the field, which makes the event both educational and informative. It’s also good to see what’s next in terms of product development and refreshing to be able to offer input, which is often incorporated in to the new versions. I’d definitely recommend this event to anyone who is serious about AppSense.” – Simon Mulrain, Senior Consultant, Point to Point.

“I’ve been to a few of the AppSense Technical Universities over the years and each time I learn something new. This year was no exception; the Environment Manager Deep Dive, theory and practical sessions definitely developed my understanding of how essential AppSense software is in managing the user environment effectively. This time round I was able to test my current AppSense knowledge and find out what I’d learned over the 2 days by taking the new AppSense exam. It was a really productive and inspiring event and I’m really looking forward to the next one!” Simon Jackson, Solution Architect, Esteem Systems

“This was my first AppSense Technical University and I was very impressed. The sessions were well thought out; interactive and  very technical with a good balance of theory and practical. It was also great to preview future plans and encouraging to see the AppSense Pre-sales and Product Management teams opening discussions on what partners are experiencing in the market and taking onboard our suggestions on how to develop the AppSense product set. The event surpassed my expectations and overall I found it thoroughly educational” Michael Outterside, Infrastructure Security Senior Consultant, Vistorm

 

 

Countdown to Microsoft Management Summit 2011

For many IT pros, Microsoft Management Summit (MMS) is the “go to” annual event for both professional skills development and a look at current and upcoming Microsoft technologies. This year’s event will be held at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas on March 21-25, 2011, and AppSense will be on hand as a Gold sponsor.

As you might expect, virtualization and cloud will be major topics at MMS 2011, so we’ll be out in full force showcasing how AppSense User Virtualization is a strategic complement to the Microsoft management and virtualization stacks.

With AppSense, you can dynamically personalize any Windows desktop environment, from traditional native PCs to Remote Desktop Services (Terminal Services) to VDI. This ability to personalize standard Windows images also greatly simplifies Windows 7 migration. Simply provision a user with your gold Windows 7 image and watch it take on the personalization of the user’s former XP image upon login.

We also make Microsoft App-V sing by enabling personal settings to be shared between App-V delivered and locally-installed applications.

Stop by the AppSense booth (#215) to see some of the killer demos we have planned. And once you get a taste at the booth, you will definitely want to swing by the deep dive session on User Virtualization that our own Jon Wallace is running:

“AppSense User Virtualization – Extending Microsoft User State Virtualization”

  Date & Time: Wednesday, March 23 at 2:15 PM – 3:30 PM
  Presenter: Jon Wallace, Technical Director – AppSense
  Duration: 75-minutes
  Location: Banyan A
  Session ID: BK10
  More Information: click here 

See you in Vegas!

Best,
Doug

AppSense Validated on Dell Desktop Virtualization Solutions

To our partner Dell we say, “Well done!”

We at AppSense are quite excited about Dell’s recent announcement on the availability of its Dell Desktop Virtualization Solutions (DDVS).

Unsurprisingly, AppSense shares their view on virtualization’s benefits, such as productivity, simplified management and “anytime, anywhere, any device” access for users, and we’re confident that DDVS will help drive the market forward in desktop virtualization deployments.

AppSense already has validated its user virtualization (UV) solution on this architecture, which has proven itself to be a solid platform for delivering large numbers of users at a key price point. During the testing on the Dell platform, we were able to deliver more control with low management overhead, providing all the benefits of UV with zero impact on the number of users on the box and zero impact on the performance of the box. 

I won’t reveal too much about it yet. Suffice it to say that there’s more news ahead and more details forthcoming, including a white paper that AppSense will be publishing next month.

Watch this space.

Financial Tech Forum Guest Article by AppSense: So Much Desktop Virtualization, So Little Time

In addition to his resident blog on Virtualization Review – Virtualizing the User, Simon Rust, VP of Technology, AppSense (Twitter @SimonARust ) recently provided a guest contribution to the Financial Technologies Forum LLC – The Bull Run: Where FinTech Talks.  In this article – So Much Desktop Virtualization, So Little Time – Simon examines the potential size of the VDI Market and based on his 10 year experience within AppSense working with the worlds largest Financial Institutions, looks at some of the main challenges they are facing in their move to VDI.

Simon also details how leading finance houses are overcoming such challenges with the inclusion of User Virtualization technologies as part of their migration to a virtual desktop estate.

The article can be read here

AppSense Performance Manager 8.1 is released!

AppSense Performance Manager controls and optimizes CPU, Memory and Disk I/O to improve system capacity, improve application response times and provide a superior quality of service.  I am pleased to announce that AppSense Performance Manager 8.1 is now available :)

AppSense Performance Manager 8.1 brings further enhancements to both the performance and statistic functions and increases the flexibility and scalability of the product via enhancements to existing functionality and the addition of new features and capabilities.

New Features Include:
Data Housekeeping
> Data Limits within the Statistics Database
> Data Purge Controls within the Statistics Database

Timed Statistic Collection
> Specify the time for Statistics Collection
> Out of Operational Hours Analysis

Optimized Default Configuration
> Increase in System Capacity & Quality of Service

Optimized Coding of AppSense Performance Manager Processes
> Enhancements to the Optimizer code

A PDF version of the What’s New in AppSense Performance Manager 8.1 document can be found here

A page on AppSense.com with  more detailed information and options to download AppSense Performance Manager 8.1 can be found here

Thank you to all that help build and develop AppSense Performance Manager 8.1; Developers, Customers, Partners, PreSales, QA etc, it is very much appreciated.

Cheers

Gaz

Where There is Smoke There is Fire

My new colleagues here at AppSense are demonstrating a mix of kindness and bravery by letting me loose on the corporate blog during week one on the job. It is an exciting time to be joining AppSense. While industry insiders have long recognized AppSense as an “unsung hero” behind many successful VDI and terminal services deployments, the company is increasingly finding itself in the broader IT industry spotlight. Sure, a jaw-dropping investment from Goldman Sachs helps, but there is much more to the AppSense story.

There is a tendency among industry observers to try to predict technology winners and losers. Will VDI supplant native PCs? Will virtual desktops run predominantly in the data center or on PCs with client hypervisors? Will tablets replace laptops? Will terminal services usage decline as VDI takes off, or will it experience a renaissance thanks to its user density advantages?

These are all relevant questions, but the reality is that for the next five-to-ten years IT leaders will find themselves standing at the intersection of all of these develop delivery models (and likely more). This realization is what is fueling the growing level of excitement about AppSense.

By abstrating the user from the myriad devices and delivery methods that are available to corporate IT teams, AppSense reduces the cost and complexity of desktop management while providing a seamless user experience across any of these deployment approaches. Moreover, by seperating the user personality from the device, AppSense prepares IT organizations for a world where the lines are blurred between personal and corporate devices.

This unique capability to bridge the computing models of yesterday, today, and tomorrow makes AppSense a logical centerpiece of an enterprise desktop strategy.

As the saying goes, “where there is smoke there is fire,” and as someone brand new to the organization I can honestly say that the all of the AppSense buzz in recent weeks is well-deserved. This feels like a company that is about to catch fire.

Best,

Doug Lane

AppSense at the VMware and IDC Desktop Virtualisation Conference 2011

There was a wealth of information given at this event around User Virtualization from AppSense, IDC, VMware, Dell, Customer Case Studies and other supporting vendors. Attendee’s heard about the increasingly essential role that user virtualization is playing in their virtual desktop projects.

As the leading user virtualization solution provider to enterprise organizations and most frequently referred to user virtualization solution throughout the event, we would like to invite you to a follow up webinar that will re-cap on the main benefits of User Virtualization and demonstrate the Appsense User Virtualization technology solution.

We will cover;

• Cost reduction through desktop standardization
• Enabling more effective management of the user experience, regardless of delivery mechanism
• Accelerating the migration of users from a physical to a virtual desktop by managing all aspects of the user profile
• Enabling IT to use combinations of application and desktop delivery technologies, since the user experience is assured
• Acceleration of Windows 7 migration

Date:	Tuesday 8th March 2011
Time:	3:00 – 3:30pm GMT
Presenter:	Gareth Kitson, Senior Product Marketing Manager

Click here to secure your place  – https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/969801674

If you missed the VMware and IDC Desktop Virtualisation Conference 2011, AppSense are hosting a follow-up post event webinar for anyone who wants to see the world leading user virtualization solution in action – the AppSense Virtual User Infrastructure.

Date:	Tuesday 8th March 2011
Time:	4:00 – 4:30pm GMT
Presenter:	Gareth Kitson, Senior Product Marketing Manager

Click here to secure your place  – https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/161017322