I am often required to evaluate new applications for client requirements and have used virtualisation (VMWARE) as the vehicle in most cases. Sometimes the application is already packaged as a virtual machine or a custom vm is built to test the software in question.
Many people do not have the time or perhaps the expertise to make these options work for them so the provision of packaged “standardised” virtual machines – ready to roll in a few minutes – with support available at a cost. Jumpbox provide a wide range of virtual machines running applications from across the business and IT fields. It was the breadth of their offerings that made me decide to take out a subscription to be able to evaluate the offerings and then be able to implement them with a low cost subscription model as well for clients that need the application in question. So a win – win option for me since I tend to evualuate many offerings but only a small number make it through to production.
As Jumpbox themselves describe
It’s a ready-to-deploy virtual computer that contains a pre-configured instance of an application. Self-contained, secure and optimized – it gives you the value of Open Source software without the headaches. A JumpBox has the following qualities:
- Easy to deploy on Mac, Windows or Linux.
- Portable across operating systems and cloud environments.
- Simple to manage with a web-based administration interface.
- Protected by a built-in, automated backup system.
- Isolated from interfering with existing software.
- Flexible to allow you to move between virtual and cloud systems.
Proven through collective usage of thousands of people
I will be mentioning some of the various Jumpboxes that I have tried in future articles – so keep reading.