Verizon offers VMware Horizon Mobile virtual workspace to Android users

We'd heard talk long, long ago of Verizon hooking up with VMware for a virtual workspace on its smartphones, and we can at last say that it's more than just chatter. Starting today, Verizon's business customers can buy VMware's Horizon Mobile for their Android devices. The solution gives corporate phones a common desktop with encrypted apps, data and policies that can't be touched from the device's regular environment. While this puts the Verizon-VMware partnership in competition with the likes of BlackBerry Secure Work Space and Samsung Knox, it won't be a perfect match for those services: the two companies are asking $125 per person for Horizon Mobile, and the initial device support is oddly limited to the LG Intuition and Motorola Droid RAZR M (neither is pictured here). Nonetheless, the deal might be a good fit for companies that would rather tie their phones to a single carrier than any one hardware manufacturer.

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Verizon Rolls Out Dual Persona Solution with VMware® Horizon Mobile™ to Android-based Smartphones

Virtual Workspace Offers Strong Security and Simplified Management to Businesses Supporting Mobile Workforce

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. and PALO ALTO, Calif., May 15, 2013 - Verizon Enterprise Solutions and VMware today announced the immediate availability of a dual persona solution for Verizon enterprise customers. Now available on Android-based LG Intuition™ and RAZR M by Motorola smartphones, VMware Horizon® Mobile™ offers strong security and simplified management of corporate information residing on VMware Ready™ mobile devices. Additional device support is expected throughout the year.

VMware Horizon Mobile applies VMware's proven virtualization technology to create a virtualized operating system on Android smartphones. These Android devices run a corporate workspace that is controlled and managed by IT, and is completely separate from the employee's personal information, applications and data on the device. The workspace contains its own operating system, applications and policies, enabling IT to remotely manage the entire lifecycle of the workspace. IT is able to provision the workspace, deploy applications and monitor the flow of information to and from the workspace for security.

"Having a virtual workspace available on smartphones using the VMware Horizon platform gives us an unobtrusive way to more securely offer applications to mobile care givers and maintain control of the data while minimizing worry about potential data breaches," said Edward Ricks, chief information officer, Beaufort Memorial Hospital. "This dual persona approach gives us full control over our data on personally owned or corporate-owned mobile devices without requiring us to unnecessarily manage the entire device."

IT continues to balance employee mobile device preference with the need to retain control of corporate data and applications. Verizon enterprise customers are now able to offer employees the ability to use personal devices, while still controlling security and management of corporate assets. An additional benefit is Verizon Wireless' fast 4G LTE Network, which is available in more than 490 markets across the United States.

Verizon enterprise customers now have a simple solution to help manage mobile devices that scales as their business grows. With employee-owned devices and the unsanctioned use of consumer online services by employees continuing to challenge IT departments at organizations of all sizes, IT leaders need a balanced solution that offers the security and control in concert with the consumer experience end users will like.

"Today's mobile users expect to move fluidly between corporate and personal tasks on their smartphones," said Bill Versen, director of mobile solutions for Verizon Enterprise Solutions. "With the VMware® Horizon Mobile™ dual persona solution, Verizon enterprise customers can deliver corporate data and applications to their employees' mobile devices without impacting their personal settings and experience while ensuring that corporate information is under IT's control with a complete audit trail."

Delivering Enterprise Services Through a Mobile Virtual Workspace
Horizon Mobile provides many features to enhance productivity by creating a purpose-built and preconfigured mobile virtual workspace that is tied to the user, not the device. Key benefits include:

• Single workspace for applications and data – Users can increase productivity by easily accessing dispersed applications and data through a corporate workspace on their VMware Ready Android devices. Given the standard nature of virtualized operating systems, the workspace can be distributed to a wide range of Android devices without customization, simplifying Android management for IT.

• Separation of personal and corporate data – Creation of a separate container for corporate assets helps prevent data leakage and preserve the privacy of personal information on the same device. IT manages only what it needs to manage, bringing enhanced security and compliance to personally owned devices.

• Enterprise-grade security for Android – Security is enforced by isolating personal and corporate assets from one another and encrypting all corporate assets residing on the device. Horizon Mobile leverages existing enterprise infrastructure including virtual private network (VPN), authentication solutions and full integration with standard enterprise directory services so enterprises can extend their current trusted and compliant security services to smartphones.

"The evolving needs of IT and end users in the multi-device era often put employee choice in conflict with enterprise security concerns," said Erik Frieberg, vice president, product marketing, End-User Computing, VMware. "This solution enables VMware to extend a virtual workspace onto any VMware Ready Android device on the Verizon Wireless network and immediately introduce enterprise-class security to help IT simplify the management and protection of corporate data and applications."

Pricing and Availability

VMware Horizon Mobile is available immediately with perpetual licensing starting at $125 per user. The solution can be purchased through local resellers of VMware and Verizon Wireless.

VMware Horizon Mobile is also available free of charge as part of VMware® Horizon Workspace™ and VMware® Horizon Suite™. Go to VMware Horizon Suite for more information.

For more information about Verizon Wireless products and services, visit www.verizonwireless.com. Additional information on VMware Horizon Mobile can be found at http://www.vmware.com/products/mobile/.