Desktop and application virtualization
Corporate computing is undergoing a period of unprecedented transformation. While PCs remain the predominant device computing platform in most organizations, a new generation of virtual desktop and application delivery methods present new efficiency and security opportunities to corporate IT teams. Yet, for every success story, there are countless IT executives who have found the road to virtualized desktops and applications to be more complex and costly than expected.
User virtualization eliminates common desktop and application virtualization obstacles by:
- Reducing complexity
- Improving user acceptance
- Accelerating return on investment
There are three primary obstacles that can undermine desktop and application virtualization projects: infrastructure costs, migration complexity, and user acceptance. These are exactly the areas where the AppSense User Virtualization Platform can help.
Optimizing Infrastructure Costs
When designing a virtual desktop infrastructure, IT architects face a difficult choice: Deploying a standardized, non-persistent pool of virtual desktops or providing each user with their own dedicated virtual desktop image.
Deploying a standardized non-persistent pool of desktops is the best way to keep storage costs down and reduce operational complexity, but unfortunately, these benefits come at the expense of user experience. Users are accustomed to a personalized computing experience and expect the same from a virtual desktop. Constraining them to “throw-away” desktops is a significant risk to employee productivity and satisfaction.
The alternative brings a different set of drawbacks. Providing each user with their own dedicated virtual desktop image increases storage costs substantially; enough in many cases to undermine the economics of the entire project.
Fortunately, there is an answer.
AppSense user virtualization delivers the economic advantages of non-persistent desktops with the personalized user experience of a dedicated virtual desktop. Each time a user logs into the virtual desktop infrastructure, they are accessing a desktop from a shared pool. However, the AppSense User Virtualization Platform applies personalization to the desktop on a just-in-time basis, providing a fully personalized experience. Any further changes made by the user are captured as they happen and will be carried forward to any future sessions. Welcome to the best of both worlds.
Simplifying the Transition to Virtual Desktops and Applications
For most organizations, moving to virtual desktops and applications is not an all or nothing proposition. While the benefits of virtual desktop infrastructure and application virtualization are very real, these new deployment approaches must coexist alongside native PCs, locally installed applications, and remote application presentation technologies such as Microsoft Remote Desktop Session Host and Citrix XenApp.
AppSense User Virtualization simplifies the process of moving users from traditional desktop and application delivery approaches to new models. The same on-demand desktop personalization that makes the economics of virtual desktop infrastructure work empowers users to roam across any desktop delivery model, including physical desktops. The same principle applies for applications. Users can move with ease across locally-installed applications, applications virtualized using technologies such as Microsoft App-V, and applications published as Microsoft or Citrix remote sessions.
With AppSense, whenever a user consumes a desktop and/or application through a new method, it is effortless for the IT staff and seamless to the user. The result? Faster rollouts and happy users! Moreover, this is not a one way street. Users can roam on an indefinite basis across a heterogeneous mix of desktop and application technologies and enjoy the same consistently personalized experience every time.
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