Desktop Virtualization: Assessing Organizational Appropriateness

1. Desktop Virtualization: Assessing Organizational Appropriateness

2. See the Impact Report “Desktop Virtualization: A New Desktop Delivery Technology Takes Flight” for key definitions and adoption data. Executive Summary

3. Research Method The desktop virtualization Impact Reports are based on results from 204 surveyed IT managers and in-depth interviews with 30 IT leaders. All major industry segments, sizes of organizations, and revenue brackets were represented. Organizations at all stages of implementation or consideration of desktop virtualization were represented. Research Method

4. Key Desktop Virtualization Drivers

5. Implementing desktop virtualization can reduce desk-side support costs by as much as 40% Reducing desk side support can reduce total IT spending by 5%. Workstation management and desk side support takes up to 12% of IT expenses. Over 40% of implementers reduced desk side support costs by as much as 16-40%. Why Virtualize Desktops? Traditional Desktop Model Distributed PCs impose asset maintenance and support costs. Deployment and configuration of the hardware, as well as management of application and OS configurations and trouble shooting, typically happen at the desk side. Virtual Desktop Model With desktop virtualization a new desktop – and new or upgraded application stacks – can be delivered to the end user without a need to individually deploy or configure new desktop hardware at the desk side.

6. Expect to save 5% or more on future hardware acquisition Three quarters of implementers expect hardware savings of at least 5% or more. Many implementers noted that they would not have proceeded with the project if they could not show some upfront savings. “In our model it costs us about $1,200 to buy a desktop. So we could get a PC, keyboard, mouse, and monitor running Windows. When we go to the thin client model, we are looking at about $900. That is a 25% difference.” IT Director, Financial Services Why Virtualize Desktops? Helpful Hint: Focus on short term gains as long term gains are hard to demonstrate. Almost all implementers agreed that demonstrating hard dollar savings up front was essential to getting budget approval.

7. Additionally, virtual desktops offer significant productivity, security and cost avoidance benefits. Why Virtualize Desktops? Improve Productivity & Security Defer Costs • Centrally deploy and manage desktop operating systems and applications. With virtualized desktop computing, applications and desktops OSs are managed in centralized processing and storage. • Secure access. Application and user data remains secure behind the central firewall. This is particularly useful for user desktops accessed from remote locations. • Gain hardware independence. With desktop virtualization a new desktop – and new or upgraded application stacks – can be delivered to the end user without a need to deploy or configure new desktop hardware. Application deployment is more efficient as there is less need for multiple configurations to mitigate conflicts with variable hardware and software. • Extend refresh cycles. Virtualizing the desktop can prolong the life of existing desktop hardware. New hardware deployments need not be the latest and greatest in performance and in some cases can be thin client hardware. “There are some big security gains if we can get both the applications and the desktops themselves consolidated into our data center. Being a financial institution, we like the idea of there not really being a C drive and there not really being data stored on that computer.” IT Director, Financial Services

8. Other benefits of virtual desktops include improved user productivity and green savings A fresh desktop every time. Virtual desktops generated from centralized master images produce a new virtual PC with every start-up. Distributed PC performance tends to degrade, and start up times lengthen over time as more junk is added to the system. What “blue screen of…?”. Virtualized desktops are more reliable (less likely to hang or crash) and if they are brought down, restart time is faster than a stand-alone PC. Fast updates. New desktops operating systems (such as a Windows upgrade) and new productivity apps can be delivered with zero downtime to end users. The central deployment means it is a win-win for IT as well as end-users. Why Virtualize Desktops? • Green savings. Migrating to diskless thin client hardware to access virtual desktops has potential green savings particularly for larger implementations Note that reduced power consumption at the desk side will be mitigated by increased power in the datacenter for hosting servers.

9. Why Virtualize Desktops? Cost and user characteristics main reason why some decide not to deploy virtual desktops • Of 200 IT decision makers surveyed by Info-Tech, approximately 17% had evaluated virtual desktop solutions but had decided not to implement. • In interviews with IT decision makers, reasons given for not proceeding with a desktop virtualization implementation include: • Total cost of solution per desktop was too high to justify deployment. Cost areas include backend server and network and licensing. • User needs were judged to be sufficiently met by existing remote client access technologies such as Citrix presentation server. • Too many users were unsuitable candidates for virtual desktop solutions (due to mobility needs or local PC performance needs). “There’s limited benefits for us to move to VDI because we already are gaining the advantages of application virtualization through Citrix Presentation Server, or Xen App as it’s called now.” IT Director, Waste Management

10. Desktop Virtualization Appropriateness

11. Desktop Virtualization Appropriateness Desktop virtualization appropriateness comes down to three main characteristics

12. Desktop Virtualization Appropriateness Desktop virtualization can solve the age old IT problem Centralize all the applications and data in the data center (or server room) and have users remote access it. Benefits of doing this include: • Reduction in desk side support costs • Streamlined application deployment and management • Improved data security and user-proofing Deploying and managing personal computers is a pain for most IT departments. Why? Because distributing applications and data across a large number of distributed processors is difficult to manage and support. The age old IT problem: The solution: Organizations that could benefit from the above should evaluate desktop virtualization. The end result should be more efficient desktop deployment and management while providing improved deskop service to end users.

13. Desktop Virtualization Appropriateness To effectively deploy desktop virtualization, strong infrastructure needs to be in place • Having capable IT infrastructure in place will ease implementation complexity as well as improve the business case for desktop virtualization. • Leverage the skills, experience, and tools developed in managing virtual infrastructure for servers for the deployment and management of virtual desktops. • Use existing server capacity for the initial pilot to avoid buying a server solely for desktop virtualization. • A previous strategic investment in network storage will provide not only capacity but also enable higher availability/recovery of the virtual desktop infrastructure. • Network requirements are heavily dependant on the remote access protocol used as well as whether value added features will be used for things like streaming media redirection to the desktop. Upgrading the network to meet baseline requirements will add significantly to the total cost per desktop of the desktop virtualization implementation.

14. “We have 459 unique PCs out there whereas desktop virtualization would force us into a more standardized image, so that it wouldn’t take 15 minutes to image that PC and a half a day to customize it.” Director of IT, Finance Industry Desktop Virtualization Appropriateness Virtualization is a good option for organizations with high support costs and who plan to refresh many devices • A major refresh provides an opportunity to explore the potential of virtual desktops to delay refreshes or to replace with lower maintenance alternatives such as thin client. • If the current cost to support and configure PCs is an issue, desktop virtualization is an appropriate means to help contain those costs. Your organization’s current IT infrastructure plays an important role in determining appropriateness for a desktop virtualization implementation.

15. Desktop Virtualization Appropriateness Desktop virtualization is inappropriate for users who need high-performance graphics processing DV Enhances Performance In: DV Degrades Performance In: Data intensive applications such as SQL client applications. • Why: There is likely a shorter physical distance and wider pipe (more bandwidth) between the client application on the virtual PC and the database server in the datacenter. Processor/Memory Intensive Applications. • Why: Virtual PC can be provisioned with more virtual processors and memory from the server. Full motion video, high resolution 3D graphics animation, duplexing sound applications, high end camera-ready design and publishing. • Why: If the application is accessing a virtual graphics processor unit (GPU) plus potential latency of transmission. “There are some job functions that are standard enough that we’d be able to push out VDI. But those pockets of users, such as software development, or advertising, marketing, your high-end Photoshop users, it just really doesn’t make sense for them.” Information Systems Manager, Credit Union

16. Desktop Virtualization Appropriateness Mobile users are currently not appropriate for a virtual desktop • Note that mobile users is in reference to truly mobile users, not just laptop or remote access users. A true mobile user has significant offline use while traveling. Such users may not always have access to an internet connection in order to access their desktop. • A work at home scenario where a laptop is employed is not a mobile user case. These are remote/home users and are an appropriate group for evaluating remote access of virtual desktops. • Virtual desktop use for mobile users isn’t something expected until 2011. See “The Future of Desktop Virtualization” of the Impact Research Report, “A New Desktop Delivery Technology Takes Flight.” Outside of high performance users and mobile users, desktop virtualization can be applied to many different user types successfully.

17. Desktop Virtualization Appropriateness Use the “Desktop Virtualization Appropriateness Tool” to assess your organizational fit with the technology. Summary: Consider motivators, infrastructure characteristics and user base to determine appropriateness

18. Calculate the cost per desktop to compare a virtualization solution to standard deployment Desktop Virtualization Appropriateness Use the “Desktop Virtualization TCO per Desktop Tool” to calculate a TCO for your organization. Screen Shot of Info-Tech’s TCO Tool:

19. Challenges of Desktop Virtualization

20. Challenges of Desktop Virtualization The paradigm shift is from servicing assets to servicing people Desktop virtualization involves a change in perspective on desktop computing, from the deployment and management of desktop assets to the delivery of the desktop as a service to end users. Traditional Distributed PCs Hosted Virtual Desktops • Focus on acquisition, configuration, and deployment of distributed hardware assets. • Ongoing support involves configuration and deployment of applications OS across distributed assets. • Desktop PC is the focal point between user needs (demands) and IT ability to deliver service. PC support critical to service levels. • Focus on delivery of centrally hosted desktop computing experience to end users. • Quality of service dependant on hosting servers, network, connection brokering and endpoint access device. • Desktop access device (PC thin client) no longer the focal point. Drive end point maintenance and support toward zero while maintaining or improving service. In traditional distributed processing, service is intimately connected to what IT can deploy and maintain on the desktop. With desktop virtualization, service depends on what can be delivered to the end user from the datacenter or server room. This shift results in a variety of challenges that must be dealt with.

21. Challenges of Desktop Virtualization Key cost challenges include licensing and back end infrastructure costs “We pay for two operating system licenses, or maintain two profiles, which lead to two systems to maintain at the client side and DC side.” IT Manager, Insurance Firm Virtual machine density – the number of virtual desktop machines that can share a single server - is a critical measure both for service to the end user and for calculating the total cost per desktop.

22. Operating System licensing for virtual desktops: Microsoft licensing still an impediment Other Microsoft VECD VECD with SA • Vista Enterprise Centralized Desktop license is required for running any of Microsoft’s operating systems in a virtualized environment. • VECD is licensed per device on a non-perpetual subscription basis. • Without Software Assurance, VECD comes to $110 per device per year or $320 for three years. • Vista Enterprise Centralized Desktop with Software Assurance (SA) is $23 per device per year or $59 for three years. • Vista Enterprise with SA comes to $349 per device for three year subscription. • Alternatively, SA can also be added to existing Windows licensing for $169 per device for three years. • Apple’s Mac OS X is not allowed to be run on a virtual desktop. • Ubuntu (or any Linux variant) is free to run on virtual machines. It is increasingly being looked to as a possible alternative to Microsoft. • Solution providers such as IBM or HP can provide Linux based virtual desktops to cost conscious enterprises. Microsoft announced updates to its Vista Enterprise Centralized Desktop (VECD) licensing in February, 2009 to make it more affordable and flexible for virtual desktop implementers to deploy. However, organizations still site Microsoft licensing as one of the biggest hurdles in deploying VDI. Virtual machine density – the number of virtual desktop machines that can share a single server - is a critical measure both for service to the end user and for calculating the total cost per desktop.

23. “I have to take my hat off to our systems admin. It takes guts to move away from something that you’re totally comfortable with and can do in your sleep. To walk away from that to try something that’s totally foreign to us is a little bit of a risk. But so far, I’d say overall it’s been a good decision.” IT Director, Finance Company Challenges of Desktop Virtualization Compatibility, resistance and service are other challenges in moving from servicing assets to servicing people Making a desktop a service rather than a computer puts greater availability and performance demands on the network infrastructure.

24. See the Impact Report “Desktop Virtualization: Key Implementation Considerations” prior to planning your deployment. Key Conclusions

25. Case Studies

26. “Getting buy-in and support from doctors and nurses to attend an hour training is as difficult as getting initial approval to deploy the technology in the first place. Not sure yet how I will deal with it, not a clue!” Case Studies A healthcare organization wanted ease of desktop management, security and improved access from VDI

27. “Our biggest challenge with VDI is the hit we take with Microsoft licensing. We’re an enterprise CAL customer of Microsoft, and we see an issue where if it’s a company asset and company license on the workstation, and then they connect to a VDI, we’re getting double hit. So to-date, probably our biggest barrier to expanding use of VDI is that we don’t have a clean way to have a client workstation running something other than Windows.” Case Studies Licensing issue the main challenge for an automotive organization’s implementation