Cloud, Virtual, and a Bit of Reality

 

Cisco Systems Inc. and Salesforce.com Inc. joined forces to deliver a complete contact center solution in the cloud while Citrix Systems Inc. announced XenDesktop 4, which offers 70 new features to its virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) server. In other news, LSI Corp., a leading OEM storage provider, and Tek-Tools Software Inc., a provider of IT resource management software solutions, announced Tek-Tool's storage resource management software, Storage Profiler, now integrates with LSI Engenio storage systems to provide in-depth monitoring and reports.

Focal Points:

• The new Cisco and Salesforce.com contact center solution, Customer Interaction Cloud, brings together Salesforce.com's Service Cloud 2 with Cisco Unified Communications. The solution enables small and medium-sized (SMB) companies to run their customer service infrastructure completely in the cloud. Customers use Salesforce.com's CRM application as their primary agent desktop along with the Cisco Unified Contact Center suite running on the Force.com platform to operate a customer care or support center. The solution is targeted for companies with 30 to 300 agents and will be available in the first quarter of 2010. The service will cost a monthly fee of $250 per user. Both companies will sell the package and split the revenue.
• Citrix announced XenDesktop 4, which adds 70 new features to its virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) server. The new software allows a server hypervisor – not just Citrix'  XenServer, but also Microsoft Corp.'s Hyper-V or VMware Inc.'s ESX Server – to provide virtual Windows or Linux PC slices over the corporate network. On the server side, the XenDesktop software stack will support hosted blade PC desktops, hosted PCs on shared servers, and hosted shared desktops using XenApp. The merger of XenDesktop and XenApp functionality in the new XenDesktop 4 has resulted in a change in pricing. XenDesktop 4 is priced based on named users, whereas the standalone XenDesktop and XenApp are both priced based on concurrent users. The XenDesktop 4standard edition, which includes XenApp 5, costs $75 per named user while the enterprise edition runs $225 per named user and offers application streaming features. The XenDesktop 4 platinum edition costs $350 per named user, adds management and security features as well as a license to WANScaler, a cache for WANs to boost performance. Previously, XenDesktop was based on concurrent users, and depending on the features, the price ranged from $75 to $395 per seat. XenApp 5 costs $50 per concurrent user for enterprise edition, $350 for advanced edition, and $600 for platinum edition.
• LSI is partnering with Tek-Tools Software to integrate Tek-Tools' storage resource management software, Storage Profiler, with LSI storage systems to deliver comprehensive visibility into physical and virtual environments for increased operational efficiencies. The solution will enable users to obtain in-depth performance and capacity utilization information on their Engenio storage systems from the same management console that monitors and serves up in-depth reports on every component of the IT infrastructure. The software will provide alerts to potential bottleneck and hotspot issues, identify system health status and needs, collect critical diagnostic and support information, and facilitate end-to-end data mapping for root cause analysis. LSI systems are available through major OEM customers such as IBM Corp., Sun Microsystems Inc., and Teradata Corp.

Experton Group believes the drive to improve operational efficiencies and reduce operational expenditures is causing vendors to deliver – on their own or with partners – more cost-effective, integrated solutions so that users can more quickly achieve their operational objectives. Citrix has changed its pricing model to take advantage of the opportunity it perceives will exist when the Windows 7 upgrade cycle begins next year. The Tek-Tools software will enable IT executives to get down to the record level and identify lost, unused and wasted space that can account for up to 70 percent of installed storage space. IT executives should utilize tools such as the Tek-Tools offering to recoup lost space and contain 2010 storage spending, examine the cost/benefits of VDI in the enterprise, and determine if a cloud-based service desk is an appropriate long-term solution.