Wave Systems Corp. (fka WAVXQ)

[x-point]

Chance To See, if you don't mind me jumping in here I would like to take a crack at answering your question.

While it is true that HAP requires virtualization, it does not follow that it is synonymous with it. There are many virtualization vendors, including Microsoft, VMWare, Citrix and Redhat, but so far it appears that only VMWare has come up with a product that can be used for the HAP (and I don't know if this is commercially available outside of HAP). That's the only one announced as far as I know anyway.

I think that all of these vendors have products that support running a second OS, either on the platform, or pushed to the platform. What makes HAP special is utilizing special hardware/firmware, as in Intel's VPro the iTPM, TXT and VTd and late launch (DRTM)features, that provide the protections to guarantee the isolation of the environments where these OS's are running.

I agree with you that companies will want HAP like platforms so that employees can make use of them as you state. I think as a package it is a true game-changer. With Intel pushing, even without the NSA's help I am confident it will happen. Throw in the NSA and I am barge-like confident.

We may yet see Intel embed their own hypervisor deep in the bowels of VPro. They bought a hypervisor vendor, Neocleus, last September; it makes a lot of sense to me.

See these for more:


http://www.brianmadden.com/blogs/gabeknuth/archive/2009/06/03/why-do-we-need-quot-software-quot-client-hypervisors.aspx

http://www.brianmadden.com/blogs/brianmadden/archive/2010/09/15/intel-buys-client-hypervisor-maker-neocleus.aspx