Mahindra Satyam launches Workspace-as-a-Service solution

Mahindra Satyam, a global consulting and IT services provider, today announced the launch of Workspace-as-a-Service (WaaS), which leverages technology from Citrix Systems, Microsoft and Liquidware Labs. Mahindra Satyam’s WaaS is a hosted managed new world workspace solution that offers a unique opportunity for customers to embark on the virtual desktop computing journey. It allows the flexibility of dedicated, pooled or shared virtual desktops or applications that can be accessed any time, from anywhere, using any device.WaaS provides innovative user profiling and assessment methodology for analyzing the various roles within an organization and their suitability to adopt workspace virtualization. This methodology provides an end-to-end solution to a customer, starting with user segmentation, defining various workspace usage roles, identification of best-fit users, creation of high level design and definition of a business case. This methodology is based on industry proven framework, data from Liquidware Lab’s tools and Mahindra Satyam workspace transformation toolkit.

WaaS provides services such as on-demand application delivery, automated workflow-based provisioning, usage-based metering and charge back, along with the freedom to choose your own workspace from a service catalog. The entire service enables freedom from desktop management overhead while ensuring the boundaries of data security.

The WaaS solution is made possible by industry leading technologies such as Citrix XenDesktop®, Windows Server Hyper-V, application-level virtualization enabled by Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V), and management provided by Microsoft System Center.

WaaS can be provided as a hosted on-premise solution within the customer datacenter or on a dedicated infrastructure at a Mahindra Satyam-hosted data center. Mahindra Satyam also offers a flexible financial model, including per desktop, usage-based pricing to alleviate the financial burden on the customer.

Mahindra Satyam has a core team of solution architects who are well experienced in taking the customer from Proof-of-Concept (POC) to production, followed by a managed-services journey. Mahindra Satyam has developed a delivery methodology to make the transition from traditional desktop environments easier by using pre-defined success criteria, tools, processes and engagement models. To further facilitate the process, Mahindra Satyam has developed the concept of ‘Demo-in-a-Box’ to enable customers to experience workspace virtualization. This will further reduce the time to install, configure and implement a demo environment as now it will come as a pre-configured hardware setup that can be plugged into a customer environment.

Sudhir Nair, Senior Vice President for Infrastructure Management Services , Mahindra Satyam, said, “We are excited to be working with Citrix, Microsoft and Liquidware Labs and evolve our WaaS solution. We will be using Citrix XenDesktop for an enriched user experience and flexible design options that best suit individual customer requirements. Mahindra Satyam’s WaaS solution also lays the foundation for an IT Platform Cloud using Microsoft virtualization, orchestration and automation capabilities that can be leveraged for future multi-model cloud solutions to be deployed by enterprises.”

David Jones, Vice President, Citrix Systems, said “Enterprise customers understand the positive impact that desktop virtualization can have on their business objectives, but they are challenged with how to get started on the successful transformation of their desktop estate. Mahindra Satyam WaaS is based on XenDestop, the proven and industry-leading desktop virtualization technology. Combined with an experienced delivery methodology including user assessment and user experience management tools,

this solution meets enterprise needs for next-generation, cost-effective desktop virtualization.”