Virt-now : Site dédié aux technologies de virtualisation

Entretien avec Alon Yaffe Directeur Marketing d'Install Free

Le marché de la virtualisation applicative est dominé par VMware, Citrix et Microsoft. Cependant, de nouveaux éditeurs apparaissent . Installfree est une solution innovante très prometteuse qui a été adopté par de nombreuses entreprises aux Etats-Unis et dont la mise en place est tres simple comparée aux solutions existantes. Virt-Now a eu l’opportunité de poser quelques questions à  Alon Yaffe Directeur Marketing d’Install Free.

Virt-Now :Could you describe InstallFreecompany : date of foundation, number of employee, turnover, goals…

Installfree : InstallFree is a technology leader in application and user virtualization. The company was founded in 2006 with the goal of solving the challenges of creating, delivering and managing end-user environments – so that users can always have access to their applications, while reducing the overall cost and complexity for IT. The company is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, USA with R&D offices in Ra’anana, Israel. InstallFree currently employs about 30 people, most of which are software development engineers.

Virt-Now  What InstallFree is different and what are the main advantages of your solution?

InstallFree provides the following unique advantages over its competitors:

InstallFree enables IT to fully create, deliver and manage virtual applications and complete end-user environments without the need to deploy and maintain a complicated infrastructure. There are no server components or agents to install and no dedicated infrastructure is required. At the same time, the product provides full centralized management capabilities. InstallFree’s unique virtualization technology runs applications in self-contained compatibility environments, which prevent application conflicts and allows applications to operate on any version of Windows – even if they are not natively compatible with it. At the same time, the virtualization layer provide seamless integration and interoperability between physical and virtual applications, resulting in a natural end-user experience.

InstallFree’s modular application architecture enables IT to easily update, extend and configure virtual applications without the need to repackage them. Application updates can simply be layered on top of existing packages, and specific configurations can be applied to specific users and computers during runtime. InstallFree keeps host devices (physical or virtual) completely stateless, while providing a persistent and stateful application experience for end-users. As a result, user environments can be rapidly provisioned and transitioned between different environments and devices.

Virt-Now  What is your position on your market?

InstallFree is considered a top technology leader in the application virtualization and user virtualization markets. The technology has been extensively reviewed by independent analysts and found to provide unique and meaningful differentiators over the competition.

Virt-Now  What is your business strategy? End user target? Your references?

InstallFree is positioning its product portfolio primarily for enterprise customers with sizes ranging from hundreds to hundreds-of-thousands of computers. InstallFree offers two products that are based on the same overall technology but are designed to solve different customer problems:

InstallFree 7bridge - a point solution for solving application compatibility issues resulting from migrations to Windows 7 and/or Server Based Computing environments (e.g. Windows 2008 R2 Remote Desktop Services or Citrix XenApp). InstallFree Bridge – a user environment management solution for dynamically creating, delivering and managing applications on end-user physical and virtual PCs. Customers can start using InstallFree for solving application compatibility problems and later upgrade their implementation to the complete user environment management solution. InstallFree can provide customer references in a variety of industries, including technology, financial services and public sector.

Virt-Now What is your business model : direct/ indirect ? How do you address the French market?

InstallFree uses a hybrid direct / indirect sales model in the US and an indirect sales model in Europe and other territories. For the French market we work with a Distributor called Peps IT. They are actually running POCs with customers in the public sector, industry and education. They are also developing the channel with LARs and specialized resellers.

Virt-Now What are the key selection criteria to choose an app virtualization’s solution ?

True application virtualization must provide different capabilities. All resources required by the virtual application must be included in the package, and the virtual application cannot have hard dependencies on host OS resources. Otherwise, the application will not be 100% portable between different versions of the OS (e.g. between XP to Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2). The virtual application must be completely separated (virtualized/isolated) from the operating system and other applications. It cannot cause conflicts with other applications or be affected by other applications or OS patches / updates. The virtual application cannot write to the OS file system or Registry, or modify the native OS in any way. Otherwise, it may create conflicts with other applications and be affected by OS updates and upgrades. The virtual application must operate the same way as a natively installed application and provide full OS shell integration, inter-process communications, etc. InstallFree is the only application virtualization technology in the market today that successfully meets these criteria.

Virt-Now  Windows 7 migration is an important subject for company. In what Installfree could help them to simplify it?

InstallFree provides a unique application compatibility solution that enables customers to transition their applications to Windows 7 and/or server-based computing environments without modifications and without repackaging. Applications that cannot be natively installed on Windows 7 due to dependencies on legacy system components, legacy versions of Internet Explorer or due to incompatibility with Windows 7’s security features (such as User Account Control), can be virtualized and then run on Windows 7 without issues.

Virt-Now What are the user case ?

InstallFree can help customers with the following initiatives:

Migration to Windows 7 – InstallFree can help solve application compatibility problems and ensure that legacy applications can continue to run on Windows 7.

Migration to Server Based Computing environments – InstallFree can be used to solve application compatibility problems when migrating them to SBC environments such as Microsoft RDS or Citrix XenApp.

User Environment Management – customers implementing desktop virtualization technologies can use InstallFree to easily create, deliver and manage complete end-user environments that will enable users to access their personalized desktop applications from any device at any time.

Virt-Now How do you see the future ? What will be the next step for InstallFree? The innovations?

InstallFree is hard at work enhancing its capabilities for User Environment Management, including the following capabilities: The ability to dynamically determine whether an end-user application will be executed locally or through a remote session based on rules defined by IT (e.g. the type of device, the user’s location, security/compliance requirements, etc). Support for user-installable applications in fully stateless environments – on-the-fly application virtualization. The ability to deliver a consistent desktop experience for users on both Windows and non-Windows devices.

For more information, please contact Alon Yaffe, Director of Marketing, Cette adresse email est protégée contre les robots des spammeurs, vous devez activer Javascript pour la voir. .

Pour en savoir plus Install free est vendu au travers du distributeur Pepsit

 Contact Peps'it Gaëlle OTTAN  Business Developper Cette adresse email est protégée contre les robots des spammeurs, vous devez activer Javascript pour la voir.