Barriers to Desktop Virtualization Adoption
Virtualization, which has saved enterprises millions in the data centre, is now moving to the desktop.
Desktop virtualization promises to cut desktop management costs, increase user productivity and fundamentally change desktop computing. However, existing desktop virtualization approaches have had limited success in delivering a viable alternative to traditional PCs both in terms of cost savings and user experience. To achieve broad adoption, desktop virtualization must dramatically reduce desktop management costs while preserving the users familiar desktop experience.
The Barriers to Local Virtual Machine Adoption
A virtual machine is a software implementation of a computer that enables the sharing of the underlying physical machine resources between different virtual machines, each running their own operating system. While local virtual machines have been widely adopted for development and testing applications, their adoption for general desktop computing has been limited due to resource requirements. When PCs run local virtual machines with a second operating system (type II hypervisor), the PC requires large amounts of CPU and memory resources to run properly. The result is poor application performance, the requirement to purchase and manage a second operating system license and a monolithic virtual machine that is hard to provision and tied to a single PC.
Key Barriers to Adoption:
a) Application performance
b) 2nd operating system
c) Additional CPU and memory
d) Central management and delivery
The Barriers to Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Adoption
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is a solution for server-based virtual desktop computing that improves control and manageability while providing end users with a familiar desktop experience. A total cost of ownership (TCO) comparison by Gartner shows that switching from traditional PCs to VDI requires millions in upfront capital expenditures and only saves between 2% and 10% in the long run1. For users, a switch to enterprise VDI solutions means that they cannot install their own applications or work offline as they could with their traditional laptops without incurring significantly higher costs and infrastructure build-out. Even the latest generation of VDI solutions that piece together hosted virtual desktops, application streaming/virtualization and roaming user profiles force enterprises to choose between an acceptable user experience or lower costs.
Key Barriers to Adoption:
a) Server, storage, and infrastructure costs
b) Offline mobility
c) User personalization
d) Application provisioning and patching
