MacWorld | iWorld 2012: MokaFive debuts “Mac in Minutes”

The morphing of consumer electronics into always-on mobile communication devices and the rise in popularity of Apple’s products such as the iPad and MacBook Air have propelled corporate IT departments to a decisive crossroads.  Gone are the days of command-and-control, “Thou shalt use a corporate-issued Dell”; users now demand their iPad and Mac be viable work tools. Companies stuck with rigid, sternly mandated computing options run the risk of losing the best talent if more flexible competitors offer bring your own (BYO) options to their employees.

MokaFive announced the addition of Mac in Minutes to their MokaFive Suite of virtual desktop management software at MacWorld | iWorld 2012, and this addition is designed to increase the simplicity and speed up deployment of virtualized corporate-standard Windows desktops to Macs. MokaFive provides IT shops the ability to centrally and securely support Macs or PCs more easily than past methods of supporting individual hardware+software combinations for each employee.

The Problem

IT departments are facing increased pressure from users and C-level execs to allow access to corporate resources from personal devices. Smartphone users want to be always-on, always-connected, but that reality was not factored into the planning of most companies building out their IT infrastructure. Rather than controlling the entire experience from backend servers to end-user workstations, IT departments are undergoing a transformation similar to one the software development world experienced with the move to Service Oriented Architecture (SOA).  Resources that were formerly tightly controlled are now being decoupled and made available to an unknown variety of users as a service.

Rather than set up an Exchange server and secure it so email is accessible via Outlook on a Windows desktop plugged directly into the corporate network, IT is now faced with the task of providing email services on desktops, laptops, and smartphones connecting via in-house networks, VPNs, cellular networks, and over the Internet (WiFi in hotels/restaurants). This is a radical rethinking for most IT departments, and requires new tools to adequately secure and manage the infrastructure employees need to do their work.

MokaFive’s Solution

Appletell had the opportunity to get a firsthand look at the MokaFive Suite and chat with COO Purnima Padmanabhan. She described the central console, innovative virtual machine management capabilities, and simple provisioning tools which are responsible for the efficiency and simplicity that make up the Mac in Minutes solution. The product promises an initial setup time of just 90 minutes (less time than it takes to watch a movie!), after which employee provisioning takes mere seconds—simply target a LivePC to a new user and you are finished.

The overall MokaFive product is composed of two pieces: a centralized management server, which allows IT departments to create Golden Images (a baseline, standardized Windows virtual machine), and client software for end users, which lets the corporate Windows desktop look like just another Mac app. Users double-click the MokaFive player app and their Windows desktop launches inside VMWare Fusion. Corporate data and Windows-only applications coexist seamlessly with Mac apps, and since Windows is provided as a full, local virtual machine, the traditional headaches of VDI like lost connectivity or massive bandwidth requirements are wonderfully absent.

The centralized MokaFive Management server provides a number of key features that reduce the burden of supporting virtual desktops. Updates to the Golden Image are made on the management server and then pushed out to end users’ LivePCs automatically, ensuring the latest patches or corporate policy changes are implemented on a timely basis.  This provides a better testing capability to ensure routine patches do not interfere with corporate apps; should an update break a VM, users have the ability to rejuvenate their own machines—refreshing the OS to its original state while preserving user data and settings.

The central console also provides management options for users and groups, security and use policies, reporting, and audit logging for events such as log-in, LivePC subscription, and other user actions. LivePCs can be remotely revoked or killed, preventing data loss if a machine is lost or stolen, and to ensure corporate data does not walk out the door with an outgoing employee (a problem greatly exacerbated when companies do not own the hardware their employees use, as in a BYO program).

Golden Ticket

MokaFive’s promise to streamline the process of corporate Windows management and deployment in a BYO environment is backed by a host of features. These are designed to provide the tools IT shops deem necessary to handle the security of corporate data and apps, manage support burden (number of help desk calls and time to resolve issues), and meet regulatory requirements. These features include:

• Data security supported via full virtual-disk encryption, network communication encryption for all data traffic, and with anti-virus scanning of the host machine.
• Self-service provisioning allows IT departments to provide new employees with a link to download their MokaFive image—no installation needed, which frees IT staff time. This solution is also great for companies allowing telework because telecommuters can download their LivePC at home, ensuring the resources used for accessing corporate networks are properly secured.
• The MokaFive model breaks the VM into three parts for corporate data, OS, and user data/settings, meaning security policy changes and updates can be made on a more granular level than with a traditional PC. This also supports the Rejuvenation feature, which restores a broken VM without destroying user data or settings.
• The MokaFive client encapsulates the VM, providing granular control over abilities such as sharing data between the host OS and VM, connecting USB devices, or installing unapproved software.
• Secure configuration options include the ability to completely wipe an entire VM after each session, ensuring a truly secure logout and preventing security headaches from data remnants on high-impact secured systems.
• Centralized management capability of VDI without the investment to deploy network infrastructure and no loss of productivity when the network is down.

The President and CEO of MokaFive, Dale Fuller, is the former VP of the PowerBook division at Apple, where he saw first-hand the difficulty in convincing IT departments to loosen their control and support the Mac. MokaFive seems custom made to break down the barriers IT departments use to justify a “No Mac for You!” policy. With Apple’s products growing in popularity and the increasing expectation that work resources be available in an always-on manner, MokaFive’s suite of virtual desktop management tools are key to Apple’s advance into businesses.