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PCoIP in Omnissa Horizon is back. But did it ever go away?
18 November 2024
There has been a lot of talk recently about the future of the Horizon platform for delivering applications and desktops, and the display protocol(s) that can be used to establish the connection between the end point device and the desktop or application session.
With the dust now largely settled, we’re taking the opportunity to revisit where this all started, establish where we are currently at, and explore the options available to customers.
A brief history
Back in March 2023, VMware (as it still was at that time) announced that it would no longer be including the PCoIP protocol in Horizon from the end of 2025, although support would still be available until the end of 2028.
VMware made the decision that Blast would be the protocol of choice given it’s maturity and perceived better feature set and performance over PCoIP. It’s important to note here that it wasn’t really a fair contest between the two protocols because Horizon still used an older version of PCoIP, as opposed to the latest, better-performing PCoIP Ultra versions.
Focus then switched to the Broadcom acquisition of VMware in November 2023, which was quickly followed by the announcement that the EUC business unit would be divested and spun out of Broadcom.
KKR successfully acquired the ‘old’ VMware EUC business unit and in July 2024, Omnissa officially launched as the ‘new’ EUC business unit. With these acquisitions and name changes complete, we can finally draw a line under the commercial aspects and the focus can, once again, get back to technology solutions and decisions.
Looking forwards
With that chapter closed, the next chapter begins, as does the future for Omnissa in the form of announcements around new product launches and some intriguing new features within the Horizon solution. And to revisit our headline, did PCoIP in Omnissa Horizon ever go away?
The fact that Omnissa Horizon will no longer include PCoIP as a display protocol option still holds true, but there are options, following one of the company’s first announcements with long-term Omnissa partner HP, which, acquired Teradici, the inventors of the PCoIP protocol.
With HP’s Anyware solution, customers can now take advantage of PCoIP Ultra to deliver their apps and desktops from Omnissa Horizon. Which means users have the option to use PCoIP Ultra to connect to Omnissa Horizon either now or in the future.
The move to a software-based solution also affords customers to revisit their end point devices to take advantage of the enhanced performance now available. And Amulet Hotkey recently launched a new range of 5th Generation clients to that are designed to harness that performance. CPU options range from Intel U300 all the way up to Intel i5 and the ability to support four screens running at 4k resolution.
That’s not all. With Omnissa Horizon now taking advantage of PCoIP Ultra, the relationship between the two companies goes the other way too. HP Anyware now supports the Omnissa Blast Extreme protocol in its Trusted Zero Client solution too.
Understanding trusted zero client
One common question we’re asked is whether a trusted zero client is the same as a zero client. The honest answer is yes and no. While the trusted zero client doesn’t use the Teradici T2 firmware-based chipset (instead using the HP Anyware client software), it does still provide the security elements and advanced zero trust policies with the addition of the HP Anyware Trust Center. Think of the Trust Center as the nightclub bouncer. If your name is not on the list, then you can’t come in. It’s the same for the clients. If the client appears to have been altered or tampered with in any way, shape, or form, then you won’t be able to access your desktops and applications.
Amulet Hotkey’s newly launched Trusted Zero Client range also provides a solution for the hardware client too. Devices are designed and built specifically for HP Trusted Zero Client and HP Anyware solutions.