MokaFive has announced the 2.0 version of its desktop virtualization technology in the form of MokaFive Suite, a Desktop-as-a-Service platform for the enterprise. MokaFive Suite extends the company's existing cross-platform, self-healing hosted desktop service, giving organizations of any size the ability to host a secure desktop management solution within their premises. MokaFive Suite marks a turning point in desktop virtualization, offering an enterprise-ready platform that provides persistent user personalization while giving IT organizations complete policy-based control.

MokaFive's robust management capabilities make it easy for IT administrators to centrally create, deliver, secure and update a fully contained virtual desktop, called a LivePC, to thousands of users. LivePC images run locally, so end users simply download their secure virtual desktop via a Web link, and run it on any computer (Macintosh, Linux or Windows). IT administrators apply updates and patches to the single golden image and MokaFive automatically distributes the differentials to each LivePC.

"MokaFive's approach to sophisticated management, portability and a patch-once and distribute model is unique in that it is lightweight, updates require no interruption to the user and, from a security perspective, there is nothing left behind on the machine you're working on," said Andi Mann, vice president of research at Enterprise Management Associates. "The impressive aspect to this new enterprise platform is that it goes beyond addressing technology concerns to solving real business challenges."

MokaFive Suite integrates with existing enterprise infrastructure such as Active Directory and software distribution for rapid set up and maximum leverage of current investments. Enterprise companies using MokaFive Suite experience a significantly lower total cost of ownership due to a small datacenter footprint, quick deployment, and simplified management.

Unlike any other desktop virtualization solution, MokaFive enables end users to customize their virtual corporate desktop with personalized data, settings and even applications. MokaFive's proprietary layered management approach allows IT administrators to create, deliver, patch and update the corporate OS and applications while persisting the user specific customizations. This approach enables IT to define a single image that can be customized for groups and further personalized by individual users, providing all the benefits of central management with the power of mass customization.

"When we moved to a 'Bring Your Own Laptop' environment in 2007, it quickly became apparent that trying to fully manage the vast array of student computers became resource intensive and cumbersome. With the 'Bring Your Own Laptop' movement in full force this year for about 5,000 student laptops, we needed a way to provide network access and a standard and stable desktop image without compromising our security and compliance standards," said Jason Gerrity, manager, Academic & Administrative Computing at The Sheridan Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning. "With MokaFive we can provision any student-owned computer with a single, IT-approved image in minutes, getting them the access and resources they need with very little management overhead and cost on our end."

MokaFive Suite provides a rich set of capabilities and policy controls, which allow IT administrators to define levels of lockdown based on targeted groups. Organizations are able to protect corporate assets and ensure compliance against regulatory and corporate guidelines, irrespective of where the user is accessing the corporate data from home, work or on the go. In addition to reducing the risk of non-compliance and data breaches, MokaFive can keep business running with instantaneous deployment of corporate environments in the case of a disaster. Desktop management costs are reduced thanks to a unique self-healing feature that provides users with the ability to recover from failures by simply restarting their LivePC. This reverts the corporate operating system and applications to their original pristine state while persisting user applications, settings and data. MokaFive provides the mobility and user flexibility of an open, unlocked desktop for the security and cost of a locked down desktop, which can result in a 42 percent savings in desktop management costs according to Gartner's latest Desktop Total Cost of Ownership report.

"For companies that rely on knowledge workers, there's no more important challenge than making sure their computers are always up and running, safe from a myriad of threats and armed with critical business applications and data," said John Whaley, MokaFive's CTO. "Existing desktop management approaches force IT to choose between employee freedom and productivity and security and control. With MokaFive Suite we're delivering a platform that offers a 'best of both worlds' value proposition today."