VMware has announced the general availability of VMware View 3. With VMware View 3, IT organizations can "decouple" a desktop from specific physical devices or locations to create a personalized view of a user's desktop, applications, and data - called "myView" - that is securely accessible from almost any device, at any time. By hosting these virtual desktop images in the datacenter using the virtualization and management platform, VMware Infrastructure 3, VMware View 3 enables IT personnel to provision and manage thousands of virtual desktops simply, securely, and with lower operating costs.

VMware View 3 is a step in VMware's vClient Initiative. As described by VMware President and CEO Paul Maritz, the desktop dilemma is the business choice of whether to provide thick or thin clients for employees. Thick clients, or fully loaded PCs, give employees a rich set of applications in their desktop environment, but are a management nightmare because applications can be distributed across thousands of PCs that must be provisioned, updated, patched and secured individually. Thin clients are cheaper, more secure, and more cost-effective to manage, but traditionally have not been able to deliver the richness, flexibility, or compatibility of a thick client. Most businesses provide thin clients only for employees such as call center staff who can be productive in a more stripped-down environment. VMware View 3 combines the benefits of both approaches - delivering rich, personalized virtual desktops to any device (whether thick or thin), while simplifying management and securing endpoints with virtual desktops hosted in the datacenter.