Microsoft has announced the acquisition of FSLogix with plans to use its technology to improve the Office 365 virtualisation experience.
At Insentra we have been representing FSLogix in Australia, New Zealand, and the Asia Pacific region for just over two years. Insentra is responsible for market education, local marketing, pre-sales, implementation and support of the FSLogix Apps suite and we have built partnerships numerous partners with their clients benefiting from a great user experience as a result.
We were initially attracted to FSLogix based on their Office 365 Container solution which enables a native user experience for Outlook, OneDrive for Business, eliminating painful folder redirection and more in a virtual desktop environment. Over the past couple of years, we’ve had an amazing response to the FSLogix product set and have helped numerous partners and customers provide the experience that their users demand while protecting their investment in their virtual desktop environments.
We’re quite sure that all of these features have been a large drawcard for Microsoft in this acquisition. Given Microsoft’s (and the broader market) push towards virtual desktop services and Desktop-as-a-Service, it is evident why Microsoft would be interested in FSLogix Office 365 Containers.
The FSLogix Apps suite is broader than Office 365 Containers, providing even more value. The suite also includes Profile Container, App Masking, and Java Redirection, helping administrators simplify profile management, reduce application management and master image complexity – without application repackaging – while also supporting legacy Java apps. All of these features are provided with a single agent without introducing any additional complex infrastructure services.
These features will also be of enormous value to Microsoft in their rollout of Windows Virtual Desktop and will make it significantly easier for their solution to scale with little effort required by system administrators. However, the acquisition doesn’t change the value proposition for any administrator looking to streamline their virtual desktop environments. Whether that’s on-premises, DaaS or on any public cloud platform (including support for native cloud storage with FSLogix Cloud Cache).
I, as a member of the FSLogix Advisory board and Insentra as a whole, are thrilled the FSLogix portfolio will be integrated further into the Microsoft stack and are looking forward to the next step of our journey. For now, nothing changes in ANZ – Insentra will still be the local distributor, pre-sales, delivery and support engine for FSLogix. If you want to know more about the solution and how it can help your clients, drop me a line and I would be happy to help.