McAfee and Citrix Systems have collaborated to make virtual desktop security simpler and more scalable for large enterprise deployments.
The McAfee Management for Optimised Virtualised Environments AntiVirus (MOVE AV) has been designed for Citrix XenDesktop to help customers easily secure corporate data and applications delivered to virtual desktops running on servers in the data centre.
The two companies also previewed the next phase of their partnership – to extend McAfee MOVE to support millions of laptop users by integrating security into the Citrix XenClient hypervisor.
Citrix XenDesktop enables virtual desktops “to go” by delivering native performance to virtual desktops running directly on PCs and laptops.
Both companies have said they are focused on providing virtual desktops with products that are “secure by design” in order to protect large enterprises from the changing security landscape as employees are increasingly using mobile devices to access corporate resources.
According to a statement, McAfee Move implementation on XenDesktop virtual desktops will simplify desktop security and increase user density by 60pc through a “virtualisation aware” centralised service, where resources are optimised and intelligence is shared.
For example, as the McAfee MOVE encounters malware, it can process appropriate behaviour based on a set of security policies on behalf of the guest trying to access the file.
It will also update all other guests supported by MOVE.
“Desktop virtualisation is rapidly being adopted as the best way to solve critical business objectives of enabling virtual workstyles for users and increasing agility for IT,” said Raj Dhingra, group vice-president and general manager for XenDesktop product group at Citrix.
“Simple and scalable security specifically designed for virtual environments is a critical requirement for mainstream adoption of desktop virtualisation.
“With the availability of MOVE for hosted virtual desktops, and the upcoming extension of its capabilities to client-side virtual desktops, our customers are realising the benefits of the best-in-class security capabilities from McAfee designed for the industry-leading desktop virtualisation solution, XenDesktop,” said Dhingra.
