November 16th, 2011
I am always getting asked about the pros and cons of desktop virtualization and cloud-hosted desktops as a service (DaaS). Like any hot new market changing technology, there are opinions galore. If you are in the business of supporting end users and desktops, more than likely you have already begun to research desktop virtualization infrastructure (VDI) and the possibilities this technology brings. By now, you've probably also developed your own view on what is good and bad about desktop virtualization.
Dan Heilman wrote a nice article in PCToday this month on desktop virtualization that includes many of the pros and cons. I encourage you to check out the full article as it pulls together thoughts from many industry experts.
I was really excited to see a story about desktop virtualization appearing on the cover of a traditional PC magazine. I was excited (besides the fact that I was quoted in the article) because it helps prove that the market maturity has come a long way in the past 12 months. VDI and DaaS conversations are no longer just the purview of thought leadership professionals.
For the past 2-3 years only the early adopters of technology, typically characterized by large organizations in financial service and technology, have evaluated VDI. Now, more ‘non-traditional’ early adopters are finding out that VDI and various deployment options of VDI (such as cloud-hosted) can significantly improve their operations. Our experience at Desktone reflects this shift as we have seen a significant shift in the types of organizations looking into DaaS including many SMB’s, higher education institutions and other segments of the market not typically associated with being early adoptors of new technology.
I believe this is the case because we are currently in the midst of a massive technology shift away from the traditional desktop. There are many driving forces that have become too important to ignore. For example, IT can no longer stop employees from using their own devices like iPads and Macs for work purposes (nor should they want to). Previously, IT was able to push back by claiming things like lack of security and control, but the IT consumerization train as left the station and IT is now looking for ways to embrace this shift. It is a very exciting time to be in the middle of two massive shifts in the market: the shift in end user computing and the move to the cloud!
