Cloud Workspace Suite v 4.1 also includes enhancements to their API to make it easier for partners to integrate their own API on top.
Seth Bostock, IndependenceIT’s CEO
Today at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in Orlando, desktop-as-a-service software platform provider IndependenceIT is announcing the 4.1 version of its flagship Cloud Workspace Suite. Several major enhancements revolve around RemoteApp, Microsoft’s version of Citrix XenApp for mobile services. These include universal and fully automated RemoteApp server role deployment, configuration and application, and fully automated RemoteApp application collection entitlements for end-users.
“We had seen many partners in our ecosystem not take advantage of the Microsoft RemoteApp product, because of the time it took to roll it out initially, said Seth Bostock, IndependenceIT’s CEO. “The majority were either doing this manually, which took days to weeks depending on the complexity, and some weren’t doing at all because they didn’t have the time or competency.”
With this release, Bostock said the whole initial setup has been automated.
“This automation makes it very easy and efficient for the channel partner to deploy single or multiple applications,” he said. “For partners who haven’t been deploying RemoteApp previously, this also makes it very logical for them to learn so they can deploy services.”
Bostock said partner feedback in the beta phase has been extremely strong
“This lets them more quickly deploy remote applications to the end user by overcoming that problem of having to build the environment to deliver them,” he said.
Cloud Workspace Suite uses existing Remote Desktop Session Host (RDSH) licensing to deliver any combination of single application, seamless application collections, or remote desktop application, based on user need. The user entitlements are managed through the Cloud Workspace Suite control plane. Once RemoteApp Delivery is selected for a customer, all application entitlements automatically follow to the end user, whether connecting through Remote Desktop or RemoteApp presentation.
IndependenceIT is also stressing that while Microsoft RemoteApp itself is limited to its own Azure cloud, their support for it extends to all clouds.
“We want to empower channel partners to have choice, so we allow for a multicloud approach,” Bostock said. “Our partners will be able to choose their platform and hypervisor and manage it through our single API control plane.”
Cloud Workspace Suite v 4.1 also enhances the APIs used by partners to integrate workflow and automation management processes with their own. The CWS API now supports comprehensive activity logging that provides a real time stream of information, as clients, workspaces, and server resources are added or modified. Partners can utilize this information stream to initiate automated workflows, application installs or configurations, or end customer notifications. In addition, the CWS API now supports enhanced workspace management functions like workspace server cloning, workflow task tracking, and comprehensive client, workspace, server, and resource allocation reporting.
“The majority of our elite partners build their own API on top of our product, using Puppet and Chef to create applications,” Bostock said. “These changes open up our framework more, and bring in enhancements on triggers for them that will tie to their own offerings.”
Bostock said that while a majority of their partners still consume IndependenceIT’s UI, a growing number are building in more and more of their own API.
“We are seeing that happen more and more now,” he said. “Any of our partners have this ability to leverage our technology with their own, and with some, there are no elements of our UI anywhere in their solutions. These changes will encourage more to do that.”
Bostock also indicated how the changes in 4.1 fit into the roadmap of what will be coming next.
“Releasing the workflow and automation around remote applications is one of the key phases to get to our next big roadmap item – the integration of SaaS applications,” he said. “SaaS apps are the next item on the roadmap, and we are looking to the end of this year to have the popular SaaS apps available for partner consumption.”
