In an effort to expand upon the topics discussed in our first #VDIchat on Tuesday, we want to provide further information on one of the discussion topics in which participants were most involved. The topic: “What hurdles do you face with VDI deployment?”
Your Environment – Is VDI the Right Fit in All Areas?
One of the first questions you may ask is, “Is this right for my environment?” Although the technology has advanced drastically in the last decade, conventional VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) may not always meet the performance levels of a personal computer. For example, in certain areas of business such as design, users tend to run many applications simultaneously, so the speed and power provided by full-featured PCs may be required. However, in less resource intensive positions such as healthcare, education, government, call centers, and more, users can’t tell any difference in operations. Depending on the business, different sections of the company could deploy a VDI environment while others remain a typical PC environment.
An Abundance of Product Choices – Research and Choose the Best
There is a tremendous value in desktop virtualization for reducing operational expenses through centralizing desktop management and data centralization. In fact, there’s a growing interest in VDI as an alternative to traditional computing environments. As a result, a number of companies are competing for that market with an abundance of products. Although there is no negative in growth, it is vital that all IT personnel and businesses do extensive product research and product compatibly comparisons. You could deploy great hardware, but it may not have the best software embedded in the product. You also need to look at the connection protocols, operating systems, and embedded software compatibility between thin clients and servers. With the best product selection, VDI deployment is not only more economical over time than PC deployment; it is also easier for IT administrators to manage.
The Cost of a Full VDI Deployment – Finding a Financial Solution
There are a few solutions to lower the initial cost for your VDI deployment. Some find the initial investment for VDI daunting. However, look at the long term: between lower capital investments for terminal deployment, reduced maintenance and administrative costs, and lower energy bills, a VDI environment is much more cost effective than traditional PCs.
Consider a Few Options Which Vary by Business Size:
- Can you conduct deployment with different departments over “X” amount of time?
- As mentioned in the beginning, are there certain users that won’t benefit from a virtual desktop? i.e. designers, or personnel running many programs at once
- Have you considered software that will convert old PCs to act like thin clients? Something like VDIBlaster can be used to convert PCs into thin clients, which can ease the transition to VDI.
Overall, VDI environments will not only cost less in the future but will add benefits to your organization. According to IDC, most companies, given their limited budget for tech refreshes and new purchases, will be putting their money where it will have the most impact: green IT.
Need to Meet Specific Thin Client and Software Requirements – Hardware and Software Solutions
With the advancements in thin client technologies, companies are producing thin clients that support applications requiring multimedia (video, voice, Flash) as well as high performance and 3D applications —especially over a wide-area network. Acer recently developed the thin clients supporting these requirements.
Also, businesses sometimes have specific software requirements that are not embedded or provided with the thin client hardware device. Some software personalization may require expensive third-party software or sacrificing storage and image management efficiencies. However, there are services that offer standardized and refined software development process that provide a flexible and scalable framework for delivering any thin client custom software project (regardless of size or complexity), within budget, and with high quality, to meet both current and future IT challenges. After successful delivery of the completed custom thin client software product, make sure the software developer undertakes ongoing application support to assist you in setting up a series of planned releases to incorporate upgrades and enhancements to your thin client program and new releases of the operating system.
As with anything in the world of technology, a little education can go a long way, and more is always better. In the end, the biggest hurdle to a VDI deployment may come down to knowing what is needed and, just as importantly, what is not needed. VDI is growing in new and interesting ways every day, and keeping up to date with the new innovations is the best way to ensure a successful deployment.
Please join us next week for our next #VDIchat; we look forward to talking with you!
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