Mobile Virtualization Updates Needed

The mobile device hypervisor segment will be an interesting beast. I'm curious if we will be getting any substantive updates to the space in the next month or so. VMworld has only two sessions that focus on this emerging market, DV2461 and DV4381. These two sessions are marked as beginner level, but one includes a demo of VMware's Mobile Virtualization Platform (MVP) as was performed in Cannes earlier this year. This is the will be the manifestation of a VMware acquisition last year; check this good piece from Keith Ward for some background on where VMware wants this segment to go.

The substantive side of mobile virtualization hypervisors came about from a simple realization of the segmentation that many IT professionals are dealing with currently. During a lunch outing with coworkers, we figured out that each of us were using a different mobile phone platform. Among the platforms: BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, iPhone and an 'old-school' player without a smartphone.

Being the vJunkie that I am, it became clear to me where the mobile hypervisor can come into play. Timing will be very critical, as 1 GHz processors are becoming available for mobile devices. With relatively serious power on a device, it is not out of realm that a smartphone can run environments (or entirely separate smartphones) as a virtual phone. This can be a serious compatibility step forward for ubiquitous mobile device communication.

Where will the MVP offering fit into your mobile device functionality and management strategy? Send me a quick note or drop a comment below.

Posted by Rick Vanover on 08/11/2009 at 12:47 PM