The Cube – VMworld 2012 – Javier Soltero, VMware, with John Furrier and Dave Vellante

This week at VMworld 2012, VMware had a message: VDI is back and more relevant than ever. VMware CTO of SaaS and Application Services Javier Soltero joined us in TheCUBE to explain why VDI is making a comeback, and why going that route is more challenging than ever.

VDI, or virtual desktop infrastructure, was once one of the hottest topics in cloud computing, with Silicon Valley entrepreneurs tripping over themselves to deliver desktops as a service. But then, the rising tide of SaaS and browser applications stemmed the hype for a while.

The reason for the comeback is simple, Soltero told SiliconANGLE’s John Furrier and David Vellante: The rise of BYOD and the general proliferation of mobile devices has given rise to both a need and a desire for a consistent, policy-managed user experience across screens of all shapes and sizes. Not only does VDI boost productivity for the mobile workforce by providing ubiquitous access to mission-critical apps – it also enforces security and accountability across devices.

But VDI also presents the CIO with unique infrastructure solutions, and it’s not always easy. That’s why Soltero says that recent VMware moves like the acquisitions of Wanova Mirage desktop management and DynamicOps cloud automation solutions, as well as the release of VMware vCloud Suite 5.1  are so critical to the future of the company’s VDI strategy.

Soltero says that as organizations look to migrate their desktop environments to the cloud, the fact is that not everybody is running on a VMware stack up and down, which presents a challenge for VDI management. But these enhancements to VMware’s portfolio are designed to enable cross-cloud service deployment and management, which

Soltero also touched on matters of mobile development and management. Current mobile developers, he says, are focused on building exciting new functionalities. That’s an important business value driver. But these same developers aren’t taking into account  the needs of the IT department. That’s the beauty of VMware’s approach with the just-announced Horizon suite, though: Developers can develop, and managers can manage, and it’s all invisible to users as they use their tools on the go.

Still on the subject of mobile development, Soltero argues against the portal-inspired multi-purpose mobile browser enterprise app. Users want and expect simple tools that they can take out, use for a few seconds, and put away as needed. That’s the current, and successful, paradigm for success in the mobile sphere. It behooves the CIO to support that model rather than force users into often-clunky web apps that don’t natively support the things that make smartphones so smart (cameras, GPS and so on).

In other words, make mobile apps truly mobile – take the time to rearchitect, don’t just try to shoehorn a desktop app into a mobile platform.

For more from Soltero’s talk, including more thoughts on DynamicOps, mobile development and the multi-cloud future, you can see the full video from TheCube here: