Virtualisation and optimised desktops the Microsoft way

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Tuesday, 27 May 2008 08:11

Business IT - Technology

Microsoft says they’ve already sold over 6.5 million MDOP licenses, “making it the fastest-selling volume licensing product in Microsoft history”, with 60% of “IT Pros familiar with MDOP” saying they will deploy it within the next 12 months.

Why is Microsoft doing all of this? So, it says, it can “deliver the flexible and agile client computing required by their business users.”

And because this affects “client architectures”, there are some “new trends” which will “
ultimately define user productivity across the organization”.

According to the blog post, these are:

“Consumerization. Today many organizations are faced with potential new hires, coming from universities, with personal computers and cell phones that provide power and personality. They expect to have the same or even greater computing power at their fingertips at whatever organization they choose to work for. It's important that you don't lose a good hire because the flexibility they yearn for is not available. How do you ensure you can meet this challenge?”

“Carbon-Neutral. Many organizations around the world have initiatives to reduce power consumption and increase environmental awareness and responsibility. IT can play a critical role here. Using power management features in Windows Vista can help reduce power consumption. Extending the life of older PCs can save on hardware acquisition costs, but more important, it can also reduce the amount of non-biodegradable technology that hurts our environment by languishing in landfills. Are you able to use your older hardware for a little longer while still providing your users with the latest applications they need to be successful in their jobs?”

“Contingency. What if there is a major flood or snowstorm and a significant part of your workforce cannot get into the office to work, or if airlines ban laptops on flights? It's imperative that your users can still have access to their applications, data and settings from wherever they are. Are you prepared for such events?”

“Costs. Of course, reducing costs is on the top-of-mind of all IT Pros, from the Support Engineer to the CIO. How can you deploy a powerful and flexible desktop across the organization, but do it efficiently?”

“Compliance. Organizations around the world are now required by law or industry regulations to protect sensitive data. Over $30 billion has been spent worldwide in becoming and staying compliant, and that cost will continue to rise. How do you give users the flexibility to easily access data critical to their jobs, yet protect that data at the same time?”

Microsoft also says it has developed five “Windows Optimized Desktop Scenarios” for its customers, which revolve around the mobile worker, office worker, task worker, contract/offshore worker and the anywhere access worker to “highlight how you can use OS, application and user state virtualization to deliver very flexible yet manageable environments for your users”.

So, the Microsoft virtualisation bandwagon continues, while VMware and Citrix work to stay not only one step ahead of each other, but the looming threat that is Microsoft itself.

The virtualisation wars really have only just begun, with plenty more virtual fireworks to come!