Hailed by top analysts as a need-to-know technology and the future of enterprise computing, the benefits of desktop virtualization can be summed up in four words: Do more with less. This article will delve into the options, outcomes and business benefits that desktop virtualization can bring to your business.
When it comes to virtualizing the desktop, there are two approaches to take--local or hosted. However, depending on your business needs, your organization may warrant a combination of both.
With local virtualization, the whole desktop environment is deployed as one large file onto the individual computer. This approach allows you to:
Deploy customized desktops in one file, to any machine.
Encrypt entire desktops and back them up as individual files.
Run multiple operating systems at one time.
With hosted virtualization, all of the components that make up the desktop environment are deployed from a protected environment in the data center and do not reside on the individual computer: This approach allows you to:
Secure components in the data center.
Make desktops available 24x7.
Support, patch, and perform maintenance faster and easier.
Transfer virtual machines (VMs) to different servers in outage situations.
Back up data without causing a local performance drain.
By isolating the operating system software from the hardware it runs on, desktop virtualization brings notable benefits to the business, IT and users alike. For instance, users have access to all of heir data and applications without being tied down to a specific hardware device. And IT can reduce support and management costs along with expenses for hardware. Additionally, desktop virtualization affects the manageability, migration and security of your business--for the better.
