User virtualization vendor Pano Logic launched Pano System 5 into general availability, the latest version of its offering which is essentially pre-configured VDI solution that includes both hardware and software. This latest product features a few improvements, most notably support for more flexible large-scale deployments and a sizable performance boost.

The most prominent new addition made to v5 is Pano Controller, an appliance that works with desktop virtulization from other vendors including VMware View and Citrix XenDesktop, as well as the company’s own Pano Virtual Desktop Broker. It also supports multiple hypervisors, namely ESX, XenServer and HyperV.  It comes with Pano Maestro, which provides administrators an interface from which they can monitor the hybrid environments Pano System 5 was designed to support.

“Large enterprises are realizing the cost, security and management benefits of a centralized virtual desktop infrastructure, but struggle with optimizing deployments across large distributed environments,” said John Kish, CEO, Pano Logic. “Pano Logic continues to advance state-of-the-art desktop virtualization with Pano System 5, which eases the complexity of larger enterprise installations while improving the quality of service for all of our users.”

Pano is looking to looking to grow by stretching the possibilities of the user virtualization market, both on the enterprise side and in the SMB space. A couple months ago it announced Pano Express SMB and Pano Express HA, two scaled-down versions of its enterprise offerings that can power several dozen virtual desktops.

The virtualization space is a highly competitive one, and while Pano is looking to give enterprises more agility, AppSense is going after the user. Its upcoming AppSense Strata software hopes to address some of the constraints put on users in virtualized enterprise environments by allowing them to install any apps they want on their desktops, which is made possible thanks to a new security mechanism.