Nutanix strengthens Desktop as a Service solution

Nutanix has added several new capabilities to its Desktop as a Service (DaaS) solution Xi Frame, including strengthened security, increased flexibility, and broader availability for its enterprise customers.

The new capabilities include enhanced onboarding for on-premises desktop workloads on Nutanix AHV, expanded support for user profile management, the ability to convert Windows Apps into Progressive Web Apps (PWA), and increased regional data center support to 69 regions across Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform and Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Xi Frame delivered a record quarter, based on total revenue, in Q3 of fiscal year 2020, and represented an important contribution to Nutanix's end user computing business, which brought in about 20% of new customer deals during the same quarter.

"The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a drastic shift in operations for most companies around the globe. Many had to turn on a dime to deliver remote work capabilities to employees overnight, with solutions like Xi Frame helping them in the process," Nutanix says.

"While countries slowly begin to reopen, many companies are looking at extending remote work programmes in light of increased productivity during the lockdown and continued social distancing recommendations. Remote desktop and DaaS solutions that can support organisations' long term organisations' needs are well placed to see increased adoption."

"At Nutanix, our focus has always been on our customers, how to simplify their IT operations and deliver solutions to help drive their business forward, and the last few months have not been any different," says Nikola Bozinovic, VP and GM Desktop Services at Nutanix.

"The current global situation has driven many companies to embrace remote work even when they didn't have the basic building blocks in place ahead of time. Nutanix Xi Frame was especially well- positioned to meet their needs. To help our customers, our focus has been squarely on delivering an exceptional service and making it easier for customers to rapidly integrate into their existing environments.

Nutanix's DaaS offering, Xi Frame, is a cloud-based service providing companies with a way to run virtual apps and desktops on their choice of infrastructure —- including on-premises with Nutanix AHV and in the public cloud with Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, or AWS.

With this launch, Nutanix will deliver the following features on Xi Frame to strengthen the solution for enterprise customers:

• Enhanced Experience on Nutanix AHV: Since launching Xi Frame on AHV to support customers' on-premises deployments, Nutanix has added several new features to deliver an enhanced user experience. These include a new version of the Cloud Connector Appliance that streamlines deployment, as well as the Streaming Gateway Appliance (SGA), a secure reverse proxy that supports the Frame Remoting Protocol (FRP). 
• Expanded Support for Enterprise Profiles: Xi Frame now supports enterprise user profiles for use cases where desktops are not joined to a domain. Previously, this feature was only supported for domain-joined VMs, so this added flexibility opens up even more use cases for Xi Frame.  The built-in enterprise profile feature is enabled through a simple one-click integration and is delivered through a partnership with adaptive workspace management solutions provider Liquidware.
• Support for Progressive Web Apps: Xi Frame now supports automatic conversion of Windows apps into cross- platform Progressive Web Apps (PWAs). A PWA is a web application normally delivered through web pages or websites in a browser, but can also offer the appearance and ease of use of native, installed applications. Once a PWA is "installed," users can access the software without needing to go through a browser and can simply click on the app icon. Since the technology is cross- platform, this means that Windows applications streamed by Xi Frame from the cloud can appear to run locally on not just Windows devices, but Chromebooks, Macs and other non-Windows devices. Having pioneered running any Windows software in a browser, PWA support is another example of how Xi Frame is bridging the gap between traditional Windows software and modern web applications.
• Expanded Worldwide Data Center Footprint: In recent months, Nutanix Xi Frame has added support for more regional data centers in South Africa, France, Hong Kong, Finland, Japan, South Korea, Australia and the U.S. The DaaS solution is now available in 69 data center locations worldwide in partnership with Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, and AWS.