Cisco Veterans Launch Desktop Virtualization Start-up
After conquering the world of networking, several Cisco Systems veterans are taking aim at the virtualization market. Indeed, the Cisco kids have launched Wanova, a desktop virtualization start-up that will have its coming out party at VMworld (Aug. 31-Sept. 3, San Francisco).
Back on Aug. 11, The VAR Guy openly wondered if 2010 would be the year of desktop virtualization. Fast forward to the present day, and Wanova is pulling back the curtain on its business strategy.
No doubt, the definition of desktop virtualization varies from company to company. Instead of talking bits and bytes, Wanova pitches its desktop virtualization offering as a productivity booster. According to the company’s press release:
“In one field test, Wanova was able to re-image an entire desktop over the WAN in just seven minutes, and conduct a complete PC restore over the WAN with the end-user up and running in 10 minutes. Typical IT support processes might take hours or even days to diagnose and repair the same computer.”
Hmmm. The VAR Guy wonders if Wanova will pitch its desktop virtualization tools to channel partners. Our resident blogger has reached out to Wanova for more information — and he hopes to speak with VP of Business Development Steve Fulton, essentially the company’s channel chief.
In the meantime, Wanova’s partner page is mostly blank — though there is a form for aspiring partners to complete and submit.
The (Mostly) Cisco Kids
Ooops. Almost forgot to mention Wanova’s management team — comprised mostly of Cisco veterans. The team includes:
- CEO and Co-founder Ilan Kessler, formerly involved with Cisco’s Wide Area Application Services (WAAS) efforts.
- CTO and Co-founder Issy Ben-Shaul, the former CTO of Cisco’s Application Delivery Business Unit.
- VP of Marketing Jack Norris, an EMC veteran.
- VP of Business Development Steve Fulton — essentially the company’s channel chief. Fulton previously worked at NetQoS, where he developed partnerships with Cisco, Microsoft and F5.
- VP of Engineering Barak Yagour, a veteran of Cisco’s Active Network Abstraction (ANA) Core Platform Development Group.
- VP of Finance and Operations Keren Cohen, previously finance manager of employee services for Cisco.
- Director of Product Management Ady Degany, previously a manager in the product management group for Cisco’s Application Delivery Business Unit (ADBU).
Quite a list of Cisco veterans. Now let’s see if they can work some desktop virtualization magic.
Follow The VAR Guy via RSS; Facebook; Identi.ca; Twitter; and via his Newsletter; Webcasts and Resource Center.
