I want it to work, and I want it to work now!

I just read this article from ChannelWeb, and it really got me thinking….Virtualization of the desktop is nothing new!

Remember when everyone, including Oracle, was on the thin client band wagon, even having their own appliances?

Although thin client appliances still exist today, they never replaced the desktop. Appliances, VDI, Citrix and application virtualization all have their place, but there is no “one size fits all” solution. In fact, they complement each other. Some organizations already use appliances to access Citrix which runs on a virtual machine, on virtual storage and use virtual applications.

From a managed services perspective SMBs may buy into VDI however adoption may be slow and somewhat limited. Cost savings for any environment would be minimal since you are actually shifting costs from the desktop to the server and backend infrastructure environment. Issues are now shifted from your desktop to your server or “virtual desktop”. And, VDI has the same problems as the desktop with application conflicts, deployment and manageability. The biggest benefit of thin client technology including VDI is quicker time to market.

Throw in application virtualization and you now have on-demand applications that actually work!