Virtual desktops – real savings
There has never been a better time to cut overheads by up to 60 and you can do it by deploying a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI).
VDI can slash the cost of your current desktop environment — and cut power use by 60 as well. At the same time, you get greater productivity, better security and more business agility. VDI also reduces your total cost of ownership by lengthening hardware life. This can help you implement your VDI programme quickly and reduce your operating costs faster.
Cut support costs up to 60/p>
Increase security
Save on equipment
Improve productivity
Reduce carbon footprint
Boost business agility
Guarantee back-up
Cut total cost of ownership
Get 12 month payback
Gain integral disaster recovery
The most important technology
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is the sure way to cut costs and increase efficiency. Forrester call it ‘the most important technology to hit the corporate PC space since the thin client’. A recent survey by IDG Research Services suggests that 34of corporate desktop delivery will be virtualised by the end of 2010. The reason is that most businesses are centred on people sitting at desktops, and it costs a lot to provision and manage this PC estate. Even worse, it has been calculated that only 1 per cent of the investment in desktop resources is used at any one time — in any organisation.
Desktops are also a headache for administrators; support and maintenance are labour-intensive and Data back up and security is a constant problem.
You gain straight away
VDI can take away all these worries and much of the cost because you create a virtual desktop infrastructure and consolidate the PC content onto centralised servers. Your users have thin client access, enabling you to immediately bring down the costs of hardware, power and licences by 40 to 60 Security is ensured, back ups are automatic, disaster recovery is integral and crucially, you will transform your administration.
Better for less
With traditional desktop computing the IT department typically has to dispatch a technician to solve many end user issues. You can stop this immediately with VDI, because the main infrastructure is managed centrally.
Everything runs on servers that can be controlled centrally from a data centre. All data and applications are provided from there to your users. This means that a technician can have any user up and running in minutes without even stepping out of the data centre. Your IT people can give better support at lower cost, and everybody becomes more productive.
As the main resource (storage, processing power etc.) is centralised, you do not have to replace the virtual devices. Typically, a VDI device can run for ten years, so you reduce your total cost of ownership (TCO) still further. You protect data to, because the servers are secure (desktops are notoriously vulnerable to data loss).
Still a good user experience
Importantly, with VDI you will not diminish the user experience. Virtual hosted desktops are not mere dumb terminals. The end users will receive the same rich experience they have become accustomed to from their PC.
Fast payback
You could see an almost immediate payback from VDI. When you add up the gains from centralised management and support, together with shared storage and the release of idle capacity, clients typically achieve a return on investment within 12 months: And it has never been more important to make these savings!
As the numbers of staff depending on desktops has grown, the support tasks have become more demanding. It is increasingly complex and labour-intensive to deploy or patch desktop operating systems, update anti-virus signatures and secure data. Also, for optimum productivity and security, you must support branch, remote and home-workers as if they were in head office.
Like taking 35 cars off the road
And, if you are concerned about your carbon footprint, think what cutting desktop energy consumption by 60can do for you. One medium-sized company that switched to VDI said it was the equivalent of talking 35 cars off the road.
Gain instantly
Because administrators can provision new desktops in minutes, giving users their own personalised environments, with less need for retraining, you not only lower your TCO — you also become more agile. You can respond faster and compete more effectively.
About the Author
Paul Moore is highly experienced Business Continuity professional accredited to the Business Continuity Institute at MBCI level; he has also recently been awarded the Lead Auditors Certificate from the BSI for the Business Continuity Management standard BS 25999.
Paul’s other achievements include the launch and development of Digitals Business Protection and Managed Network services; the development of Siemens remote System management services and defining and launching Anite’s Managed Services portfolio.
http://www.emacontinuity.com
