VMware to Acquire Application Virtualizer Thinstall

VMware has arranged to acquire Thinstall, an application virtualization software provider based in San Francisco. Terms were not disclosed, though VMware has made no requisite SEC statements, indicating that the value of this and other recent acquisitions has been less than $50 million apiece. Thinstall, founded in 1999, is reportedly self-funded.

Thinstall makes software that virtualizes applications, isolating them from the computer's operating system. Thinstall's product, typically sold for about $5,000 per server, saves software distribution hassles by enabling an application to run in its own encapsulated .exe file without any device drivers or contact with the user's file system.

VMware plans to sell and support Thinstall's software as is until VMware can integrate the company's technology into its own desktop virtualization solutions. "The Thinstall acquisition is VMware's attempt to further penetrate into virtualized client computing technologies," states analyst Michael Rose of IDC. "They already have product offerings in the desktop virtualization space through VDI, ACE, Workstation, and Fusion. Thinstall allows them to further expand their presence in this space."

Indeed, VMware's desktop suite is apt to be helped by another recent VMware acquisition, that of Dunes in September 2007, also bought for an undisclosed fee.

Dunes specializes in another aspect of desktop virtualization -- namely, brokering virtualization functions in conjunction with virtual servers. Dunes's product, aptly named Virtual Service Orchestrator, packs workflows, technology plugins, policy control, access rights, and a connection broker for use with VMware virtual desktop environments.