Desktop Virtualization – Transform the Way IT Manages Desktops
“Desktop Virtualization” is a term that we have been hearing now more frequently. What does it mean anyway?
Desktop virtualization (DV) is poised to make significant strides to transform how IT manages desktops and how end-users consume applications, choose endpoint devices and increase their productivity. Desktop virtualization, simply put, is a virtual desktop that is hosted on a remote server running in a data center; instead of on the hard drive of a local personal computer. This allows users access to their applications, programs and data via any device including smartphones like the iPhone or Android, laptops, netbooks, etc.
Desktop virtualization software provides a more efficient way to prevent server sprawl and helps reduce energy emissions, centralizes management and is quickly and easily deployed. Dynamic virtual desktops have paved the way for optimized performance that saves on costs and offers an unparalleled user experience.
Benefits of Desktop Virtualization
- Centralized Management – In the traditional computing model, IT has to manage thousands of desktops across the organization. With this the burden of support increases, security is an issue and each desktop has to have its own set of applications and OS. Desktop virtualization’s single image management shrinks these numbers to one. That is, DV makes it exponentially easier for IT to manage and maintain single copies of entire desktops, applications and operating systems and one point of management for the whole enterprise. The update is applied to a single image, and the user will receive the changes the next time they log on to the system.
- Dynamic Desktop Assembly of hosted desktop images, user settings, applications, and the operating system. The advantage of this method is that it ensures the user receives a PC experience despite their desktop being ‘constructed’ using various delivery mechanisms and technologies. A desktop is personalized to each user, without managing and maintaining a virtual desktop image for every user.
- Application Centralization – Organizations now have central control of operating systems and applications for improved delivery, access, centralized control and ongoing patching and upgrades. Centralizing applications reduces management overhead and reduces the cost of maintaining applications, improves security and delivers applications to a variety of devices.
- Secure Remote Access – Users no longer need to log on to a local machine and enter network identification etc. When the user enters his username and password, the personal part of his or her desktop on the network gets delivered on-demand for native execution on any client device.
Securing and managing desktop applications in a world of increasing data distribution, requires more than just adding new firewalls, antivirus and encryption tools. Successful desktop virtualization empowers enterprises to reduce the high cost of ownership and security risks of maintaining individual PCs, enables improved desktop management through standardization and optimizes the storage and infrastructure required. More and more businesses are opting for desktop virtualization technology and it is not difficult to imagine why.