Computer users will be able to access their virtual desktops anywhere in the world thanks to a new service launched by Bermuda-based IT solutions company Ignition yesterday.

The Ignition Virtual Office Cloud (IVOC) enables anyone with a PC, Mac or IPad and an Internet connection to use applications such as e-mail, Microsoft Word or Excel and even customised programs specific to a certain industry like insurance or financial services.

The new service, which is being pioneered by Michael Branco, senior vice-president of Ignition, runs across the company's three data centres in Bermuda, Halifax in Nova Scotia, Canada and the south Caribbean and allows users to have full access to their files, which in turn are secured in one of the requested data centres.

"Users can be anywhere in the world and all they have to have is a browser and they can access their desktop," said Mr. Branco.

"Because we now have all the virtual infrastructure, we can not only provide the standard applications, but also the customised applications as well.

"For example, a new company coming to Bermuda could use IVOC with a standard application and as they expand, if they have a customised application, we could create a virtual server for them which is still accessible through IVOC."

The features of the new service include running off the latest version of Citrix, 24/7 helpdesk support for the product and regular upgrades to the system on a client-by-client basis.

Mr. Branco said that it had been tested over the past three weeks and the customer satisfaction rating among those who has used it was high to date.

It is currently being rolled out across Bermuda, the Cayman Islands and Halifax.