Citrix Systems and Intel are collaborating on the development of a technology to produce desktop-as-a-service computing possible. The technology could significantly expand the use of desktop virtualization.

The "bare metal" hypervisor for client PCs which the two companies are working on is expected to be launched in the second half of the year. The product code-named Project Independence will lessen the creation and the management of virtual desktop images for PCs used in the workplace.

A bare metal hypervisor would provide enhanced security due to the fact that the hypervisor runs independently of the client OS. The hypervisor, a Citrix Xen-based hypervisor optimized for Intel virtualization technology, will sit on end-user devices and this will make it possible for customers to access their virtual desktop PCs from any device without the need to boot.

The new product will be embedded in desktop PCs so virtual desktop images can be run locally instead of off the server, according to Ian Pratt, XenProject founder and vice president of Citrix's Advanced Products, Virtualization & Management division.

The two companies aim to make the hypervisor widely available in a package that can be built into laptop and desktop PCs, which would translate into enormous earnings potential. The product will combine the Intel’s vPro technology and Citrix’s virtualization technology, including the Xen hypervisor, Xen Desktop Xen XenApp. The end result will hopefully be a desktop or laptop that can run several virtual environments that are secure and isolated from one another.

"What this product will do at a high level is address some of the core challenges and core barriers that have kept client virtualization solutions and usage models from being broadly adopted in the past," said Gregory Bryant, a vice president and general manager at Intel.