Amazon WorkSpaces: Now Available on IGEL OS

Amazon WorkSpaces on IGEL is Here!

On February 25^th, 2021, at IGEL DISRUPT Unite, IGEL announced and released a private build (fully supported) of IGEL OS containing an integration of Amazon WorkSpaces Linux client conveying to the world that all major VDI/DaaS platforms were now available.

As significant, or as insignificant, as this may seem to Citrix, Microsoft, or VMware customers, the impact is undeniable:

The next-gen edge OS for cloud workspaces now fully supports ALL public, hybrid, and private cloud mainstream virtual desktop platforms.

So, what does this mean to you, the current IGEL user, or even you, the prospective IGEL user? Let’s take a look:

Linux at the Edge is the Future of the Cloud

Just like virtualization changed the landscape of IT, and the public cloud shifted digital transformation into a key focus for leadership, the pandemic is bringing work-life balance and user experience to the forefront of a post-pandemic world.

Windows as an operating system is shifting to the datacenter. While AWS has provided Windows desktops and applications as a service for years (Amazon WorkSpaces, AppStream), Microsoft’s release of Windows Virtual Desktop solidified Windows’ future. The value Windows brings to any user, both as a consumer or a business, is critical and undeniable. Embracing Windows’ value in the new world of permanent remote users is foundational as a key business initiative. MacOS as well has started its journey into a datacenter OS with the announcement of MacOS in AWS EC2 during AWS re:Invent 2020.

Linux is now becoming the OS of choice because of its ability to run efficiently, securely, and across multiple platforms and devices. IGEL has embraced Linux since 1994 and continues to innovate with a Linux OS focused on securely connecting users to their IT resources. The IGEL approach is simple:

Provide just enough operating system to allow users to connect to their datacenter-based desktops apps, data, securely, managed anywhere the user is.

With smartphones, tablets, and even very small compute platforms like the Raspberry Pi also joining key user compute devices running Windows or Mac, IoT is now everywhere and it runs on Linux connected to your cloud (private, hybrid, or public).

IGEL Transports You From the Edge to the Cloud

Quick IGEL crash course: IGEL is a purpose-built physical device platform (OS + Management) to replace your current operating system to enable a secure and smart method to enable your user devices to:

• Run a secure environment completely within control of IT for users from anywhere
• Ensure the manageability of a user’s device from anywhere with an internet connection
• Connect to one or multiple desktop environments in parallel (more on this later)
• Repurpose your current device hardware, old, new, or even not-company owned
• Install (replace the current OS on the hard drive) or run the IGEL OS (as a USB-key keeping the current OS in place)

In a nutshell, IGEL becomes the transport for connecting your users to their desktops, data, and applications. Think a hotel courtesy van:

You and your friends are going to see your favorite band (post COVID! 😊). You’ve flown in, booked a hotel, and are looking forward to the concert. You’re all ready to go, and you jump in the hotel courtesy van which will take you to the venue. It’s clean, fast and ensures none of you have to find their own way there (except for your buddy Philip, he’s always late!).

The van takes you there, without hassle, and you all enjoy the concert.

In this example do you care or think about the van manufacturer? Did you get a full rundown of every feature of the van before getting on? No. You see the van as a service you can use to ensure you can get from the hotel to your event. You tell them where you want to go and then enjoy the scenery out the window, with essentially very limited criteria: that you’ll get where you want to go, safely and in a timely manner. IGEL is that fast, reliable, and secure platform for your end users to get to their digital workspace.

Tomorrow’s User Experience, Today

Post-pandemic, the technical landscape of remote work and user experience will accelerate and change drastically. User-focused technology will become as critical as the network or application environments. In parallel, organizations will certainly lift and shift more workloads to public clouds like AWS. This is where user expectation will meet tomorrow’s technologies.

IGEL’s model of being an endpoint OS and management solution for devices to transport a user to their apps, data and workspaces defines what it means to be a next-gen OS for cloud workspaces. Amazon WorkSpaces is the premier DaaS solution for running Windows-as-a-service for end users connecting them to their apps and data. When combined IGEL + Amazon WorkSpaces, provides and end-to-end customer experience that is streamlined for the user, but secured and managed for IT.

Visit igel.com/aws for more information on how to get started with IGEL + Amazon WorkSpaces.