VMware AirWatch adds industry's first unified solution for smart glasses management for augmented and mixed reality experiences

VMware Collaborates With APX Labs, Atheer, Intel, ODG, and VUZIX Corp to Bring Enterprise Scalable Management and Security to Wearable Devices

ATLANTA. GA -- (Marketwired) -- 10/04/16 -- Today at Connect 2016, VMware, Inc.(NYSE: VMW) , a global leader in cloud infrastructure and business mobility, announced the addition of new smart glasses management features to VMware AirWatch®. The update will bring a consistent management platform to streamlined onboarding experiences, network setup and application deployment to organizations seeking to leverage augmented and mixed reality devices to transform business processes. VMware is the first unified endpoint management solution to extend into wearables, enabling customers to manage their smart glasses alongside existing desktop and mobile endpoints. VMware is also collaborating with APX Labs, Atheer, Intel, ODG and VUZIX Corp to help deliver wearable management and app delivery solutions at scale.

The convergence of smart glasses and augmented reality apps are beginning to take shape in organizations across industries. According to a recent report by Tech Pro Research¹ , 67 percent of organizations are considering augmented reality for future use at their organization. While businesses realize the productivity and efficiency gains associated with augmented reality, IT is challenged with configuring, securing, managing, deploying and updating these devices at scale.

To address this growing market and subsequent IT challenges with deploying augmented and mixed reality devices in the enterprise, VMware partnered with leading OEM smart glasses vendors and app developers to build wearable management into the VMware AirWatch Enterprise Mobility Management™ platform. Organizations will be able to manage these devices alongside their current mobile, tablet and laptop deployments. The updates will offer IT a simplified onboarding experience to easily set up devices with networks and applications. In a few clicks, organizations will be able to fully manage and secure their smart glasses fleet alongside their VMware AirWatch deployed devices.

Supporting Quotes

"There is no question that wearable technology is driving a transformative impact across organizations, specifically those with large hands-on workforces that benefit from being connected to enterprise systems, applications and data," said Brian Ballard, CEO of APX Labs. "Having wearable management now built into the VMware AirWatch Enterprise Mobility Management™ platform is a huge step forward in removing barriers to large scale adoption across the type of global customers we work with, and that's paramount to not only our growth, but the growth of the entire industry."

"Assessing the market, VMware AirWatch was a clear leader in EMM, and leveraging its robust smart glasses management capabilities we can offer an efficient wearable-computing solution that works out of the box and makes work easier and safer," said Ryan Fink, vice president, Business Development, Atheer. "This close collaboration brings device management capabilities to Atheer's Glasses and award winning AiR Suite platform to facilitate collaboration, management, rapid task flow creation and deployment to deskless professionals in the industrial space."

"Smart glasses like Intel's Recon Jet Pro have the potential to streamline work and unlock substantial cost savings across a wide range of industries," said Christopher Croteau, senior director of Strategic Business Development, Head-Worn Devices, Intel. "But to unleash that potential, smart glasses need trusted and reliable management solutions. VMware AirWatch EMM will be instrumental in allowing enterprises to deploy and integrate smart glasses into their fleets of mobile devices."

"Our enterprise customers continue to realize the enormous productivity and cost saving benefits of ODG's R-7 smartglasses to streamline processes and transform how work gets done," said Pete Jameson, COO, ODG. "As demand grows, the integration of VMware AirWatch Enterprise Mobility Management software onto our platform allows administrators an easy, efficient, and secure way to manage and update large quantities of R-7 smart glasses from one central area."

"The new VUZIX M300 smart glasses, powered by Intel, are the first to run Android 6.0 and to be certified on VMware AirWatch, making them the most secure smart glasses on the market," said Paul Travers, CEO Vuzix Corp. "Our clients demand the highest security levels and ease of OTA management when they deploy our M300's globally, and VMware AirWatch EMM makes that a non-issue for our many Fortune 500 clients."

Pricing and Availability

VMware AirWatch will support smart glasses devices running Android later this quarter.