I just read Harry Labana’s blog  VDI alone is not Desktop Virtualization, WAKE UP! Harry is currently VP and CTO, XenApp Product group and has plenty of real world experience to lean on.

VDI may be the right fit for certain scenarios, but successful desktop virtualization implementations view VDI as one of many deployment models.

There are three main drivers of desktop virtualization:

• Security
• Cost optimization - Support/management reduction
• Improved user experience

A few things to remember: you can’t just buy desktop virtualization. It requires multiple components that are oftentimes assembled from multiple vendors and they must all work together. Concerns about desktop virtualization mostly center on not disrupting users’ routines, application latency, printing, and stability. The challenge is bolting all the pieces together while meeting the needs of the end-user.

Most importantly, business objectives outweigh any concerns over increased data center infrastructure costs.  Sophisticated ROI analysis is rare. Desktop virtualization is being deployed because “I didn’t have to build a new data center” or “Billable hours increased.” These are real business drivers driven by CIO and senior IT management as shown in the below figure.

Related posts:

1. Desktop Virtualization’s Data Center Impact
2. How Does Microsoft Windows 7 Impact Desktop Virtualization?
3. Desktop Virtualization Done Right
4. Fujitsu Reminds Us That Desktop Virtualization is Not Technology Driven
5. VMware View Desktop Virtualization

Tags: Citrix, desktop virtualization, VDI, XenApp