Hot on the heels of releasing a landmark upgrade for its hypervisor, VMware is dropping another bombshell with the acquisition of a low-key startup called Immidio B.V. to match the competition on desktop virtualization. The deal buys the company much-needed profile management capabilities for controlling which applications and data users receives with their images.

Immidio was founded seven years ago in Amsterdam by the creators of Flex Profile Kit, a popular free utility for enforcing policies on Windows desktops that traces its roots all the way back to 2003 and boasts over two million users around the world. The company has developed a commercial version geared specifically toward virtual environments that proved just as big of a hit, with deployments spanning more than 500 organizations in 25 countries.

Through the acquisition, VMware is gaining the ability to offer another level of control in its desktop virtualization suite that previously required customers to implement on their own using Immidio’s software or turn to Citrix Systems Inc., its biggest competitor in the segment. The company intends the integrate the technology directly into the platform as it did with the ultra-fast provisioning mechanism from CloudVolumes Inc., another recently bought startup.

That will enable admins to customize virtual desktops based on the specific roles and permissions of users from the same central location where they carry out all their other management tasks, an invaluable convenience in large organizations with global workforces to support. But although the deal is undoubtedly good news for VMware shops – not to mention the company itself – not every Immidio customer stands to gain from it.

The firm’s profile enforcement capabilities are also available for the rivaling desktop virtualization software from Citrix, which still commands a large portion of the market despite falling behind on the financial side. With that in mind, it’s safe to assume that a sizable portion of Immidio users run their environments on its platform, which most likely means they’ll no longer receive updates now that the technology is becoming part of VMware’s competing suite.

As usual, no financial terms were disclosed for the deal.