Desktop virtualisation & the mantra of centralisation

Server virtualisation has been one of the big success stories for resellers over the last few years, and sales have remained strong, even throughout through the downturn. Given the success the channel has had with server virtualisation technologies it is no surprise that desktop virtualisation technology is generating significant interest.
Virtualising desktop resources and moving them into the datacentre can make the lives of both IT staff and the users they support much simpler. Theoretically the need to send patches over the network, and engineers out to look at faulty desktops should be a thing of the past with the kind of centralisation which desktop virtualisation promises.
However, with the amount of technologies, approaches and messages out there surrounding desktop virtualisation you would be forgiven for thinking it’s more complicated than deploying traditional PCs.
The channel has a vital role in delivering on the promise of desktop virtualisation. Simplification is the key here – both in terms of how resellers discuss desktop virtualisation and the solutions they create for customers. With so many different technologies on the market, and with an increasing number of vendors competing for mindshare, it’s up to the channel to cut through the hype and jargon and get to the crux of the matter. Desktop virtualisation is really about increasing efficiency through simplification and centralisation.
It would be easy to think that the important choices for a VDI implementation are made at the datacentre level – after all, in its early days the VDI revolution was driven by platform vendors operating on the datacentre side. However, the choices an organisation makes at the endpoint are equally important; the wrong choice of device on the desktop can negate many of the overarching benefits of VDI. The more complex the endpoint, the more maintenance it requires and the greater the security risks it poses.