Last week, VMware announced ACE, an assured computing environment designed to simplify the support process for desktop PCs.

Currently in beta testing with general availability planned for later this year, ACE uses core VMware virtual machine technology to create a secure computing environment that runs atop a typical desktop PC, wrapping security, manageability and usability enhancements into a single package. In a nutshell, PC managers can create a standard desktop build that can be easily deployed to multiple desktops as a single package. The package includes the operating system and all applications, along with pre-configured security settings. Users accessing applications within the ACE environment will not notice a difference in look-and-feel, other than the fact that the ACE environment can very tightly control security on the PC.

From an outsourcing perspective, this technology could be a key addition to a service provider's arsenal to help improve service and reduce costs. The ability to centrally design and deploy desktop images, without having to make changes to the host PC platform, is significant. Advantages also include policy-based control over network access - options can be set, for example, to restrict "public" PCs from accessing the corporate network and to prevent users from copying data from the PC to a removable storage device. ACE can also prevent users from changing the system configuration, and all data in the ACE environment may be automatically encrypted and copy protected. The encryption capability alone could be the "killer app" for companies concerned with compliance with regulations like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

From a management perspective, ACE provides a virtual rights management (VRM) interface that allows IT administrators to easily define policies that apply to a given machine image including security, network, system configuration and user interface capabilities. Once defined, an ACE image may be easily deployed to host PCs, allowing rapid provisioning of desktops as needed.

Another compelling application of ACE technology is in simplifying the deployment of corporate applications to remote or home offices. Typically, companies either provide a laptop or separate desktop PC to these users, and these PCs have all of the corporate applications pre-installed. Problems occur if the employee leaves the company or the PC is stolen, which could be a regulatory nightmare. In this case, sensitive corporate data could still be on the PC, and the company has no control over how long that corporate data remains on the remote machine.