Double-Take enters virtualisation fray
Vendor to take on desktop virtualisation market with the help of RES Software
Masters: Double-Take Flex will be used to help lure in new partners
Backup and replication vendor Double-Take Software has embarked on its first foray into the desktop virtualisation market with the launch of Double-Take Flex.
The product is designed to make it easier and more affordable for SME users to deploy hundreds of virtual desktops based on one centrally stored image.
Ian Masters, UK sales director at Double-Take, said the company’s move into virtualisation has been on the cards since its acquisition of software vendor emBoot in 2008.
“Through emBoot we gained the technology needed to move into this new area, but working out how to incorporate that into the right product has taken time,” he said.
Masters said the company would be aiming Flex at its existing partners, as well as using it as a means of reeling in new ones.
“It is a new breed of partner we are looking for now,” said Masters. “Those with desktop-specific skills and with a big SME customer base.”
Flex also allows users to personalise their workspace environment, added Masters, through the inclusion of RES Software’s PowerFuse product as an add-on.
Ronnie Khan, UK country manager at RES, said that as well as providing technical support, the company would also be assisting Double-Take carry out its go-to-market strategy.
“Although it is a Double-Take product, we have agreed to offer it to our existing channel partners and support it with joint marketing activities,” said Khan.
Nigel Smee, technical director at Double-Take and RES partner PTL Gateway, said the partnership should give Double-Take’s recruitment plans a boost.
“With RES marketing the product to its resellers, I would not be surprised if this led to some of its partners deciding to team up with Double-Take and vice versa,” he said.