Q&A with Marty Kacin of Dell KACE

MK: No, it is an expensive technology that requires increased server capacity, and is demanding on the network. VDI’s ability to support disconnected users and locally distributed peripherals is still in its relative infancy. Another drawback to VDI that will hinder its adoption is the fact that it is a very different experience for end users. Personalization of the desktop is something users expect and changing this “ownership” mindset can be a political challenge for many organizations who see the sum of all these changes both intimidating as well as expensive for relatively little gain. Particularly with budgets under increased scrutiny, technologies that make radical changes for the benefit of administration will continue to be a very tough sell.

MK: If VDI lived up to the hype, it would be much more widely adopted. However, due to the reasons just outlined a number of alternative technologies, also based on virtualization, have surfaced. Most compelling is the notion of workspace and application virtualization, because these technologies do not require radical change or expense and share most all the benefits of VDI. By handling application virtualization on the client, users can leverage their investment in desktop computing power while maintaining the same user experience enjoyed today. Workspace virtualization takes things a step further by pulling user documents and settings into the mix for even more possibilities around simplified management and reliability.

MK: For each network hosted desktop, dedicated computing and storage resources are required in the datacenter. This requires a large upfront investment in new servers and SAN infrastructure. The economics of the storage investment are particularly difficult to justify since VDI entails replacing cheap storage on the client with very expensive storage in the data center. Such a heavy investment in the server room means that time to achieve a ROI can be very long and the overall economic benefits can seem tenuous.

MK: Workspace virtualization is a way of distributing applications to client computers using application virtualization while bundling such applications together into one complete workspace. Because this workspace contains application settings and user data it can be moved and managed as a single unit (applications, settings and data).  While the technology is also relatively new, it is arguably a superior methodology even today—particularly for smaller organizations that have not (or cannot) invest heavily in the infrastructure required to support VDI.