In the first three parts of this series, Citrix explored strategies for reducing costs and improving efficiency in the datacenter, throughout the network and in the way applications are delivered. In this final installment, the focus turns to the endpoint: user desktops. The traditional PC, long a mainstay of corporate life, provides a rich target for those seeking to eliminate waste and maximize limited resources. Desktop virtualization—the replacement of physical desktops with virtualized versions hosted and delivered from the datacenter—not only allows you to equip your users more efficiently and cost-effectively; it enables a broad range of strategies for reducing cost, improving service and providing more agile support to the organization.

Work and IT functions can be similarly virtualized, with meetings, team collaboration and support moving online. Even endpoint hardware itself merits a new approach, with new types of LCD displays and computers that reduce both capital and operating costs—or bring your own computer initiatives that shift desktop procurement and management to the users themselves. To learn how these strategies can reduce costs and modernize your IT environment, read on.