Virtualising the desktop

While the virtualisation of servers and storage is sure to continue accelerating in 2008, there's also a lot of noise in the market around virtualising the desktop. So will this be the year when virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) makes a big impression, or will it be another false dawn for thin computing?

VMware for one thinks VDI will take off sooner rather than later and, at the top end of the market, there's certainly plenty of interest. IBM's System x sales manager, Peter Hedges, said the last four workshops has been asked to run across Asia-Pacific have all been large banks wanting to know about virtualisation and optimisation.

"The biggest focus for this year is on their desktop network, driven by pressure in the business because they have fleets up for refresh or have compliance issues with controlling data. Every single one of them is looking at VDI," he said.

"As an industry we pretty much have the datacentres under control but here's this huge opportunity for companies to lower costs while improving management capability and increasing security. I honestly believe this is going to be the year of VDI.

"Every time I talk to a customer, and admittedly these are large or medium-sized organisations, the conversation always ends with how we can get going on desktop consolidation."

Technical Architecture Solutions (TAS) is also working with two major banks on VDI projects, predominantly on business continuity planning. The technology enables large institutions to roll out VDI sessions on thin terminals within seconds rather than having thousands of PCs collecting dust at a DR site.

Ingram Micro's virtualisation practice manager, Peter Pollari, pointed to a spike in its thin clients as evidence of VDI tender activity.

"It's an economical way to deploy that reduces management overheads because you can run one SOE [standard operating environment] and push it through to everyone," he said. "It's more also secure."

Still, not everybody is convinced. Leading Solutions' national services manager, Roy Pater, questioned whether the business case stacked up and IMC Communications' technology services director, Andrew Gifford, said it was still a technology that needed evangelising.

The more sceptical among us can argue that thin client technology is hardly a new phenomenon. It's been bandied about as 'the next big thing' time and again over the years so what's different this time? IBM's Hedges said greater functionality was the key.

"As a user, it's my god given right to have a complete Windows environment at my beck and call where I can change settings as I like," he said. "The limited application push has always been a limiting factor because of social acceptance in the user community.

"With VDI you can change whatever you like and it's a better experience because everything is up all the time and it can follow me around as a mobile worker. Thin clients have always been a good solution for a certain set of customers but this [VDI] opens it right up."

Oriel Technologies virtualisation practice manager, Rodney Haywood, has rolled out VDI solutions for customers and cited massive US case studies as an indication of scalability.

"VDI is our big push and we see it as a massive opportunity. Advances in technology has removed a lot of problems because you can do multimedia, attach devices and all those things. Customers are buying," he said.

A longstanding partnership with Sun Microsystems means Frontline Systems is also well-versed in virtual desktop. Marketing and communications manager, Greg Wade, said the integrator would be putting a lot of focus on the technology this year.

"All of a sudden the marketplace has caught up and overtaken Sun. They've always had some fantastic ideas but probably don't market them as well as they could," he said. "Sun has done a lot of good legwork with large customers. Now it's time to come through and sweep it up."

TAS director, Tony Wilkinson said VDI was still in its infancy in terms of adoption and questioned how quickly the industry would be able to get through the education process. But TAS is currently working on two proof-of-concept projects that, if successful, will deliver 15,000 VDI sessions each.

"The return on investment for one on the BCP [business continuity planning] side was just incredible," Wilkinson said. "It would have been criminal not to go ahead and do it."

Oriel's Haywood said green technology considerations were also a good sales driver, particularly in government, because 40 per cent of IT power consumption is in desktops and screens, compared to 23 per cent from the datacentre.

"That's why we're seeing a return on green. The savings are there," he said.