Citrix XenDesktop is a dedicated software solution for configuring virtual environments. While virtualization can apply to several areas, including the virtualization of servers, storage, as well as networks, XenDesktop is specifically designed for the configuration of virtual desktops.

The VMware View Premier Bundle adds to the Enterprise bundle with several exciting components to help substantially lower the costs of managing applications and desktops while increasing user flexibility and agility.

Double-Take® Move™ allows you to migrate physical, virtual, and cloud server workloads in real-time over any distance. Maintain your productivity with technology that virtually eliminates risk and downtime during migrations.

A value leader in the virtualization space, XenServer is an open source platform for cloud, server and desktop virtualization infrastructures. Organizations of any size can install XenServer in less than 10 minutes to virtualize even the most demanding workloads and automate management processes, thereby increasing IT flexibility and agility and lowering TCO. With a rich set of management and automation capabilities, a simple and affordable pricing model and optimizations for virtual desktops and cloud computing, XenServer is designed to optimize datacenters and clouds today and in the future

Citrix NetScaler is an ADC system from Citrix that provides Level 4 load balancing to deliver better performance for apps and services. It optimizes, secures, and controls the delivery of applications, providing the required flexibility for businesses to improve performance and continuity.

VMware vCenter Converter Standalone provides an easy-to-use solution that automates the process of creating VMware virtual machines from physical machines (running Windows and Linux) and other virtual machine formats. Through an intuitive wizard-driven interface and a centralized management console, Converter Standalone can quickly and reliably convert multiple local and remote physical machines without any disruptions or downtime.

vOptimizer Pro 2.1 is a new tool from virtualisation specialist Vizioncore that automatically manages the hard disks used by virtual machines (VMs) hosted by VMware ESX Server. The suite does not work with VMs hosted on the embedded VMware ESXi, although support may be added in a future version (see VMware’s web site for an explanation of the differences between ESX and ESXi). Currently, vOptimizer Pro, which costs $299 (~£202) per processor socket, works only with VMs running Windows 2000 or later, although support for Linux VMs may be added later this year.

VMware Horizon Mirage provides single image management for desktop images, including the operating system, user data and user-installed applications. The tool isolates different layers of the desktop environment, allowing administrators to update specific layers without affecting others. Synchronization technology in Mirage ensures that every change a user makes to his desktop is backed up to a centralized Mirage server.