Virtual Desktops: Where Enterprise Computing Meets Telco Delivery

By Harry Ruda
published: Monday, June 23 2008

Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) is an extremely compelling technology because of its potential to reduce desktop costs, improve manageability and enhance security. But for many use cases today it cannot be justified because it is simply too costly and complex for enterprises to implement internally.  For these cases, enterprises need a more efficient, cost-effective and flexible implementation model.  At the same time, service providers such as telcos and integrated computer vendors, who have been delivering outsourced computing services and have extensive data center infrastructures in place, are looking for new, value-added services that they can offer their enterprise customers. 

These two needs are converging into an attractive new model - called desktops as a service (DaaS) - which enables service providers to deliver virtual desktops as an outsourced monthly subscription service, at dramatic cost savings.  Let's take a look at the drivers for DaaS, its value to enterprises and service providers, where it does (and doesn't) make sense, and when to expect DaaS adoption.

DaaS Drivers: Converging Trends

The following enterprise computing and service provider trends are converging into a perfect storm for outsourced virtual desktops:

• Inexpensive, highly available bandwidth:  Everything is connected, making digital transmission of information easy for enterprises.
• Desktops are extremely expensive:  More than ever before, enterprises are grappling with the high cost of supporting increasingly non-strategic, commoditized desktop PCs.
• Emphasis on security and compliance:  The proliferation of viruses and malware, due in part to open internet access and software downloading, is making it very difficult for enterprises to secure desktops.  This dovetails with the increase in compliance mandates for security and privacy.
• Virtualization seen as a potential cure, but with recognized limitations: By centralizing desktops in the data center, VDI can address the security and compliance concerns, and potentially the cost and manageability concerns. However, because most of today's virtualization technologies were designed for server workloads and address the cost of proliferating servers, applying them to enterprise-wide desktops is not a straightforward, nor, in many cases, a cost-saving measure.  Desktop computing workloads are inherently different than server workloads and impose a different set of constraints on the data center.  An enterprise will have orders of magnitude greater number of desktops than servers, for one.  And resources such as storage that are relatively cheap on physical PCs are much more expensive when desktops are hosted on servers in the data center and expensive SAN storage is required.  These factors, combined with increased data center power and cooling requirements, and the complexity involved in integrating all the technologies needed for an end-to-end VDI implementation, often result in higher costs, more difficulty and more frustration-for both IT and end users.
• Service providers facing margin squeeze:  Traditional service providers, such as telcos, are seeing significant margin reductions because of the commoditization of most of their service offerings both in voice and data delivery.  They need to offer new, value-added services that leverage their investments in data centers and networks. Many already have services relationships with enterprises which provide top-line revenue but low margin.  Large integrated computer vendors, such as HP, IBM, Dell, Siemens and EMC, who already have managed services businesses and strong relationships with customers, are looking for new, incremental services that can be upsold into their existing service accounts.  Another class of service providers, mid-tier managed service providers (MSPs), who generally have a geographic or vertical market focus, are looking to expand their service offerings to their customers, who typically are small to medium businesses.

Desktops as a Service:  Marrying Enterprise Computing and Service Provider Needs

Imagine if enterprises could centralize their desktops and, thus, dramatically reduce the cost of deploying and managing these commoditized assets, while giving users an equivalent-if not superior-desktop experience, without bearing the capital expense and labor cost of building the infrastructure themselves.  Imagine if IT executives could also budget their desktop costs as a linear function based solely on the number of desktops deployed.  And imagine if service providers could offer a differentiated, high value-added service that their enterprise customers might have difficulty implementing internally, but could be available on a turnkey basis. A service that makes greater use of the service providers' infrastructures, enables them to derive healthy margins, and yet can be managed just as they do other digital service offerings.  This is the promise of DaaS, and it represents a dramatic win-win for both groups.

With DaaS, service providers can drive higher value out of their existing infrastructures while delivering a cost-effective service.  In addition, enterprises can quickly transition to a VDI environment with a turnkey solution that converts capital expenditures into an operating expense; and in so doing, dramatically reduces IT costs while preserving scarce data center resources.

DaaS Adoption:  What to Expect and When to Expect It

VDI is best suited for knowledge workers and/or organizations that have large, homogenized desktop environments, such as call centers.  Good network connectivity would be a requirement as well. Power users who generally require significant numbers of applications and a high degree of personalization, workers who often work when disconnected, and users who require interactive, multi-media applications, are not the ideal profile of early adopters to VDI.  (However, many companies are coming to market with new technologies that will accommodate these users and enable them to benefit from VDI in the near future.) 

In all likelihood, enterprises will adopt both internal VDI implementations for strategic, power desktop scenarios, and will outsource DaaS as a subscription service for the rest of their environment.  Ultimately, both internal VDI and outsourced VDI (DaaS) will co-exist within the enterprise, and they will be integrated to provide enterprise IT with a unified view that enables greater, simpler control.

In order for DaaS to be viable for enterprises and service providers, it must be built upon a computing platform that enables service providers to efficiently implement, manage and support a highly scalable, distributed and global virtual desktop operation.  The platform must also enable enterprise IT to manage and control the configuration and provisioning of desktops to their users while adhering to internal and regulatory policy requirements. This technology is available today and, in fact, many service providers, including IBM, Verizon and HP, are using it to create DaaS offerings.

The adoption rate for DaaS is expected to track that of VDI.  Because VDI is a relatively new technology, 2008 will be the year of both internal VDI as well as DaaS trials, and 2009 will see increasing adoption and more numerous production roll outs.  As user experience and cost containment continue to improve and more service offerings are made commercially available, both VDI and DaaS will become broadly deployed.  Expect to see DaaS implementations lag VDI by one to two quarters due to the need for service providers to trial and implement distributed service offerings.  By the end of this year, commercial DaaS services will be generally available in the US, Europe and Asia through a number of service providers.  Expect to see a growing population of service seats by year's end with a tipping point occurring by mid-2009.

The bottom line is that VDI is so compelling, it will be adopted broadly.  For this to happen, however, and for enterprises to fully realize its benefits, VDI must be available as a flexible, cost-effective, scalable service rather than a complicated mélange of expensive and temperamental pieces and parts. DaaS - outsourced, subscription-based virtual desktops - makes this possible.