Amazon is set to bolster its position in the competitive market for desktop apps with an extension to its Amazon Web Services (AWS) Marketplace.
Customers of Amazon WorkSpaces, a desktop-as-a-service offering, will be able to choose from more than 100 programs across categories such as security, office and business intelligence, with individual software sold on a monthly subscription.
Gene Farrell, GM of AWS Enterprise Applications, said: "With just a few clicks in the AWS Management Console, Amazon WorkSpaces customers are able to provision a high-quality, cloud-based desktop experience for their end users at half the cost of other virtual desktop infrastructure solutions.
"By introducing the AWS Marketplace for Desktop Apps and Amazon WAM, AWS is adding even more value to the Amazon WorkSpaces experience by helping organisations reduce the complexity of selecting, provisioning, and deploying applications."
Alongside the marketplace Amazon will also roll out the WorkSpaces Application Manager, which will allow customers to upgrade and retire software running on the managed desktops.
The company claim the product will give admins greater oversight of how staff use programs during the course of their work, enabling better control of costs.
"With pay-as-you-go monthly pricing and end-user self-provisioning of applications, customers will lower the costs associated with provisioning and maintaining applications for their workforce," Farrell said.
