Desktop Virtualization: A Strategy for Success
Advice From Your Peers
The IDG Research Services survey asked "What advice would you offer your peers who are implementing or evaluating desktop virtualization?"
Here are some of the responses:
- Be specific about areas where it makes sense to virtualize.
- Run a pilot for two to three months to get a good feel for performance.
- Start with administrative and executive staff to gain top-down ownership.
- End-user acceptance can make or break you.
- Ensure employee roles/profiles are available before you start.
- Test under the worst possible conditions to ensure performance expectations match reality.
Related Content
Sooner or later, most organizations come to the realization that beneath the calm and order of everyday work lies the chaotic world of IT. For CIOs, attempting to manage this myriad of disconnected systems while keeping everything on track is a complex challenge.
Fixing one problem creates three others. Fixing those problems creates three more. At some point, the wreckage is strewn across the enterprise — and accomplishing your goals becomes a maddening task. It should come as no surprise, then, as organizations seek to streamline PC administration, trim IT costs, reduce compliance risks, and improve security, they’re attempting to retake control and calm the chaos through the effective use of technology.
As a result, desktop virtualization is appearing prominently on CIOs’ road maps. Mandated to achieve greater flexibility and agility, these leaders have accelerated plans for improved IT management, making desktop virtualization a priority.
However, no road to efficiency is smooth, and CIOs are finding they need help. In fact, 74 percent of IT executives say assistance from a vendor would be “highly” valuable during a desktop virtualization deployment initiative, according to a recent IDG Research Services survey co-sponsored by CSC and NetApp1. And the need for help doesn’t go away once implementation is complete; 59 percent of respondents say ongoing consulting, support, and management are “extremely” or “very” valuable.
Why shouldn’t CIOs go it alone? The survey respondents cite concerns over:
- Their ability to support specialized applications
- Having the necessary network bandwidth
- Application performance
- Complexity of implementation
Ultimately, IT leaders must do three things: design an effective strategy, deploy desktop virtualization solutions that achieve performance and maximum return on investment, and keep end users happy — if not delighted — through what can be a very tricky migration. Those who succeed are rewarded with a streamlined computing environment and an improved bottom line.
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