Today is exactly one year since Lanamark came out of stealth mode and started offering its flagship IT infrastructure analysis and design software, Lanamark Suite, to solution providers world-wide.

Yes, our headquarters are in Toronto, Canada but our base of customers and partners spans APAC, EMEA and North America. Our alliance partners include Citrix, Microsoft and Parallels. And with our teams distributed across North America and Europe, we have been literarily working around-the-clock to delight our customers and partners. We are a global company!

Here is a recap of the past year:

• June 2, 2009: Storage Design Module
• April 7, 2009: Desktop Analysis Pack
• February 17, 2009: Server Virtualization Design Module
• February 3, 2009: Lanamark Suite 2009
• November 11, 2008: VReady
• September 30, 2008: Lanamark Suite 2008
• June 18, 2008: Company Launch

It has been an exciting year to say the least. I would like to thank our customers and partners who inspire us to build great software and services, and our employees who wake up everyday inspired to make our customers and partners successful with innovative products and first-class support.

Today, our Gold Partner Xtravirt launched a new capacity planning service to help enterprises world-wide get started more quickly and cost-effectively with application, desktop and server virtualization. With this new service, enterprises can get the best of both worlds: deep virtualization expertise from Xtravirt powered by great technology from Lanamark, all packaged in three accessible online service offerings:

• VReady Assessment: free virtualization readiness assessment for physical desktops and servers
• VAccelerate Desktops: desktop virtualization planning service
• VAccelerate Servers: server virtualization planning service

Visit the Xtravirt VReady Portal or Paul Davey's blog to learn more.

Over the weekend, VMware quietly released the latest version of VMware Capacity Planner. Here is a list of new features available:

• Desktop Virtualization. VDI assessments enable you to virtualize destops utilizing software profiles and base images.
• Software Profiles. Software profiles replace application profiles and can now be edited by partners. Software Profiles allow tags to describe the software. Software Profiles can represent applications and operating systems. They keep track of individual process utilization as well as system-wide use. More computing resource utilization dimensions are shown for each profile.
• Base Image Creation. System Software Cluster analysis is used to build a few images that maximize software usage.
• VM Template Sizing. You can create VM Templates, based on various base images, during an Optimization Scenario Analysis.

and more... In a nutshell, VMware Capacity Planner now enables planning for virtualized desktop and server infrastructure. This new release also shows that VMware is getting serious about desktop and application virtualization.

In contrast, Lanamark Suite enables solution providers to design desktop virtualization and server virtualization solutions, including the underlying storage infrastructure for virtualization platforms from all major vendors:

• Citrix
• Microsoft
• Parallels
• Virtual Iron (Oracle)
• VMware

Scott Key recently wrote a very good article on the Hidden Challenges of Virtualization with a focus on data and assessments for planning virtualized environments. Scott highlights the importance of conducting thorough analysis of existing systems and performing comprehensive design of virtual infrastructure using quality data inputs.

Lanamark Suite enables solution providers to do just that, thereby helping enterprises minimize the risk and the likelihood of over- or under-provisioning virtual infrastructure. Lanamark Suite supports all the leading virtualization platforms from Citrix, Microsoft, Parallels, Virtual Iron (Oracle) and VMware so that solution providers can provide customers with maximum choice and solutions that fit them best.

Today Lanamark announced the Storage Design Module for Lanamark Suite. The Storage Design Module enables solution providers to design the underlying storage infrastructure for both virtualized desktops and servers.

While most software solutions focus on data center capacity planning, Lanamark enables solution providers to deliver a broad portfolio of IT services using a single software plus services platform, Lanamark Suite, across:

• Desktops, servers and storage
• Physical and virtual infrastructure
• Multiple virtualization platforms: Citrix XenServer, Microsoft Hyper-V, Parallels Virtuozzo Containers, Virtual Iron (Oracle) and VMware ESX

We'd like to thank all our partners who have worked closely with Lanamark to shape development of Lanamark Suite and the Storage Design Module. We would also like to extend a sincere thank you to our launch partners:

• Accelera Solutions
• Enterprise Systems
• Virtual Age
• Xtravirt