desktop virtualization
After a long wait, Windows 8 is finally here. The new operating system from Microsoft, features a number of business-friendly features that would be compelling for enterprise users and administrators. According to industry estimates, nearly half of the Indian organisations use Windows XP platform today, and as the OS reaches end of life in a year-and-a-half, analysts believe it will result in a demand uptick for newer platforms such as Windows 7 and 8. Hence, […]
Dimension Data, released the results of a Network Barometer study for this year, which evaluates the readiness of enterprise networks to support ongoing business operations. The report found that technology trends such as bring-your-own-device (BYOD), video and virtualization are rapidly consuming network capacity and capabilities, and that 45 per cent of the enterprise networks assessed during 2011 will be obsolete within five years. This represents a 38 per cent increase over the 2010 data, indicating […]
Is desktop virtualization ready for prime time? The data illustrated in this infographic, based on data from the Citrix Global Security Index and Forrester Research, indicates that, indeed, desktop virtualization’s time may well have arrived.
The demand for desktop virtualization is being driven, at least in part, by the explosive growth in mobile work styles. That’s a key takeaway from a new global market study commissioned by virtual solutions provider Citrix, whose virtualization, networking and cloud solutions are delivered to more than 100 million corporate desktops daily. The survey found that 55 percent of responding companies will deploy new desktop virtualization for the first time by 2013. Of those surveyed, […]
One of the main reasons for deploying desktop virtualization is the security advantages it can provide, such as keeping sensitive data off the endpoint, according to Citrix. And Citrix is practicing what it preaches at its Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., headquarters where employees, for example, use the Citrix virtualization product Citrix Receiver for smartphones and tablets. Citrix Receiver brings full-fledged desktop apps to smartphones and tablets “It’s required to access some systems such as SAP,” says […]
There’s evidence in the channel that organizations are growing increasingly gun-shy about following through on desktop virtualization pilots and deployments. Their uneasiness, according to virtualization experts, stems from higher than expected infrastructure costs, technical complexity and a return on investment that’s typically slower to materialize compared to server virtualization. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Desktop virtualization goes hand-in-hand with mobility, and the arrival of Windows 7 and Apple’s iPad were expected to be […]
Interphase Corp., a small Plano telecommunications company, is taking a gamble on breaking into a new market, selling cloud computing hardware to recession-beaten schools, governments and businesses. Interphase has launched a product portfolio of six desktop virtualization thin clients, small devices that do not store information but can create a desktop environment for users by relying on a remote host server. Companies are increasingly using cloud computing services to deliver their software from remote servers, […]
H&R Block’s virtualization project is putting thin clients in the tax preparer’s thousands of retail stores in an effort to simplify its operating environment and cut expenses. The change should also help it to better compete with chains such as Jackson Hewitt, as well as with independent tax preparers and software-only rivals such as TurboTax and Intuit (INTU). “Typical of any mature company, the competitive landscape is tough. You’re continually looking at ways to optimize,” […]
Talk to vendors and they will tell you that desktop virtualization is heading for an inflection point. Clearly, in the IT/ITES segment, this technology makes a lot of sense. Other industry verticals, BFSI in particular, also stand to benefit. However, it must be noted that desktop virtualization isn’t everybody’s cup of tea. It needs a large number of users who are deskbound at work. While you can deploy the technology on a laptop and solutions […]
Microsoft on Tuesday trumpeted the release to manufacturing of Windows Thin PC (WinTPC), software that lets organizations repurpose their older PCs as thin clients. Microsoft plans to make WinTPC available for public download on July 1. The WinTPC RTM doesn’t include much in the way of new features, only minor tweaks such as a keyboard filter that prevents the use of common Windows key combinations like Ctrl +Alt + Delete as a security measure. WinTPC […]
There will always be a need for conventional desktops and notebooks for specific users, but desktop virtualization has matured today. In fact, it’s time to take a hard look, not just a passing glance, at what it can provide. The magic that virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) can provide is in taking a fairly inexpensive thin-client device, giving it access to your data center from anywhere, and allowing that device to take on the image of […]
At the most fundamental level, virtualization is the separation of the physical from the logical, so desktop virtualization is the separation of the physical client device from the management of the OS. When most people hear the term desktop virtualization, they immediately think “VDI!” Note that virtual desktop infrastructure is just one type of desktop virtualization. In fact, the technology can be any of the following: VDI. Despite the term’s literal meaning, IT today uses […]
This cloud computing video discusses hosted desktops and virtualization. meshIP uses Quest vWorkspace as part of its public cloud service offering:
If Microsoft’s lukewarm comments about VDI or its repeated “concerns” about the cost of desktop virtualization haven’t told you anything about the company’s stance, a look at Microsoft’s licensing rules should help you nail it down. Microsoft really doesn’t like desktop virtualization. The reason? Because customers might get the idea that virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) can solve two problems, both related to the vendor’s most profitable product line, at once: * The high cost of […]
Earlier this year, the Wikibon community held a Peer Incite to discuss the realities of Desktop Virtualization. What we found was that while desktop virtualization is seeing significant growth, it tends to be strongest in certain vertical niches and the ecosystem is highly fragmented. As Michael Keen of Lakeside Software says, one of the biggest challenges is mapping out a customer’s environment and finding the places where Here Be Dragons which can be the downfall […]
The VDI skeptics firmly believe that business comes first, not technology. While they feel that VDI technologies are undeniably cool, they don’t necessarily believe that they offer true value to a lot of the businesses that pursue them. In this series of articles, the skeptics outline their arguments for and against various VDI technologies, helping you focus on what your business actually needs — not on what vendors want to sell. One of the hardest […]
John Glendenning, Virtual Computer’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Business Development, and I had a very interesting conversation about Desktop Virtualization in general and where his company’s product, NxTop, is enjoying a great deal of success. During that discussion we covered quite a bit of territory. We ran out of time long before we ran out of interesting topics to discuss. Here, in a nutshell, are a few of the reasons that desktop […]
In the future, mobile phones will dominate, with businesses moving to a ‘bring your own device’ strategy and voice virtualization will take on more importance in business’ networks according to survey results taken by business communications and collaboration software and services provider Mitel Networks. The survey found 53 percent of respondents felt that, in the future, mobile phones would become the dominant communication device in the workplace. These same responders also stated that their organizations […]
The research includes predictions for six technologies IT departments should consider in the coming year, including adoption of social media strategies, cloud computing and virtualization, as well as mobile applications and analytics tools. According to a study by IT analytics firm Info-Tech Research Group, 2011 will be the year of mass adoption for technologies the company said businesses have been slow to adopt. The research includes predictions for six technologies IT departments should consider in […]
Being that we’re at the start of a new year and all, I thought I’d launch the 2011 newsletter by sharing predictions from a variety of network and systems management vendor executives. Many, of course, have high expectations regarding the continued maturity of virtualization and cloud computing within the enterprise and, along with that, a better understanding of the management challenges and how to go about addressing those effectively. Srinivas Ramanathan, CEO of performance monitoring […]
Citrix CTO Simon Crosby looks back at 2010 in the cloud computing sector–and ahead at what 2011 may bring–and isn’t very comfortable with a number of things emerging on the security side of that very hot business. Crosby has become a go-to resource for knowledge in virtualization, cloud computing and data security. He was founder and CTO of XenSource prior to its acquisition by Citrix for $500 million in 2007. Previously, Simon was a principal […]
With Thanksgiving and Christmas behind us and the New Year upon us, it is time to take stock and see what changed for desktop virtualization in 2010. One thing is very clear: We have moved from desktop virtualization being ‘about to take off’ to ‘has taken off’ — the evidence for this is pretty clear in the number of licenses sold. With volumes sold in the low millions, desktop virtualization is way beyond the tryout […]