VMware announces bumper crop of hybrid cloud, desktop and storage tools

The company also gave updated details on its Project Octopus personal data cloud product, which is still in beta.

The project will provide employees with a simple, secure way to share data and collaborate with anyone from any device.

Deployed on-premise or accessed through a VMware service provider, VMware Project Octopus will give IT administrators the ability to govern usage and set policies for data access within their organisation and with external contributors.

Further information about Project Horizon was also divulged. This personal cloud broker product is to be offered as an on-premise virtual appliance called VMware Horizon Application Manager 1.5.

VMware said the product will benefit both IT and end users by consolidating diverse application types into a single, unified catalogue.

Furthermore, the VMware Horizon Workspace will also offer "a simple, seamless end-user experience when accessing work resources across private and public clouds on whatever device a user chooses."

Stephen Kleynhans, research vice president at analyst firm Gartner, said the rise of the personal cloud era means the reign of personal computers is now coming to an end.

"The personal cloud era provides users with a new level of flexibility with the devices they use for daily activities, while, at the same time, leveraging the strengths of each device," he said.

"This flexibility will ultimately enable new levels of user satisfaction and productivity. However, it will require enterprises to fundamentally rethink how they deliver applications and services to users."