Quoting from the Softricity official announcement:
Softricity®, the on-demand application virtualization company, today announced the immediate availability of SoftGrid® 4.0, designed to make virtual applications easy to create, deploy, manage and use. With SoftGrid 4.0, enterprises can virtualize any Windows application and make it available to computers worldwide within minutes, while supporting end-users with new remote help features that further reduce application management costs.
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SoftGrid 4.0 adds new features that significantly extend the value of customers’ virtual application environments:
Rapid Virtualization
SoftGrid 4.0 virtualizes all components of an application – not just redirecting files or the registry – turning them into portable run-time “application images” that can be run on any computer the moment a user needs them. SoftGrid 4.0’s Sequencer, the packager that virtualizes applications, has been completely re-designed to turn sequencing into a completely automated process that has been optimized for speed. For example, the latest Microsoft Office suite now takes less than 10 minutes to virtualize. SoftGrid 4.0’s virtualization engine is also significantly more comprehensive, including the virtualization of Windows services (used by many complex applications) and user specific preferences (which enables end-users’ customizations to follow them to any computer they log into). SoftGrid can now also virtualize administrative mode, enabling applications that require administrative rights to run in a much more secure user mode. In sum, with SoftGrid 4.0 Softricity continues to pioneer new levels of application virtualization that is unmatched by any other vendor.
Controlled Streaming
The SoftGrid platform is the only application virtualization product on the market that combines virtualization and on-demand streaming into a single, powerful solution. With SoftGrid 4.0, administrators and end-users have more control over streaming, including the ability to both “pre-cache” applications (stream 100% of the program on demand) and work in a disconnected mode. Cached applications are now locked in memory, preserved even in the case of unexpected computer shutdown. Streaming has also been accelerated, by an average of 40% faster than previous versions.
Scalable Centralized Management
New usability features and functions in 4.0 enable much easier centralized management of both small and large-scale deployments. The most compelling of these features is the ability for administrators to remotely control SoftGrid clients from any other computer, providing help-desk support and terminating unattended sessions without desk-side visits. Another key addition is “Active Upgrade,” where updates to virtualized applications on the server are now accomplished without disconnecting connected users, while SoftGrid server configurations can be migrated to other servers simply with a single click of the mouse from the management console. For customers with hundreds or thousands of users and applications, there is a new hierarchical management interface that allows for easy and organized access.
Microsoft Integration
SoftGrid 4.0 has also been designed to integrate directly into Microsoft’s Systems Management Server (SMS). SoftGrid for SMS allows users to virtualize applications and stream them from within SMS.
Support for Virtual Machines
Version 4.0 has been certified to work with virtual machines by Microsoft and VMware. This has been completed to assist customers who are employing a hosted virtual desktop infrastructure. This enables Softricity to provide on-demand applications for on-demand virtual desktop solutions.
Cost Savings
Many of SoftGrid 4.0’s new features further improve the cost savings captured by the Softricity’s Forrester TEI™-Compliant Return on Virtualization™ Calculator. These savings stem from increased centralized control, the ability to remotely help end-users, faster sequencings and active application upgrades.
See an introductory webcast here.
