Software to allow contracting from anywhere

A software company has updated its innovative tool that lets IT administrators deploy controlled desktop environments as virtual machines with applied policy settings.



VMware says the update hands more control and ease-of-use to administrators, while offering end users, in the home or in transit, a PC environment with OS, data and applications.



Version 2 of ACE is Vista compatible, but it also features Pocket ACE, which allows a full-featured desktop virtual machine to be accessible via a portable device, like an iPod.



End users can then securely access their standard corporate desktop from nearly any other client machine, from home laptops to business centre PCs.



This is enabled through a new management server, through which administrators can update policies and enforce expiration dates for deployed virtual machines via a central console.



Administrators can set the ACE client to check back with the server over the internet at regular intervals, to ensure policies are kept up-to-date.



Jerry Chen of VMware says the updated tool is "a value-add to IT organisations because it allows desktop administrators to accommodate the increasing number of workers who use personal computers for work-related purposes."



He added: "ACE enables administrators to avoid investments in new hardware while keeping pace with a workforce that is increasingly moving outside traditional managed IT environments."



Further details, including prices, are available through a dedicatedweb page, where the product can be downloaded for immediate use.