O’Haire said that since desktop virtualisation is “already being considered or has already been adopted by many to roll out the latest Windows operating systems and applications to users, organisations are questioning whether running these virtual desktops on premise is the right thing to do”.
For larger organisations with existing infrastructure and skills, he said, “running virtual desktops from their own data centres may be appropriate but for smaller organisations it can make much more sense to outsource this to professional DaaS providers”.
“The desktop virtualisation offerings which have gained the strongest foothold in the Irish market over the past year are those that securely provide users with the same high quality of experience across all mobile devices,” Jim Kelly, Datapac
End-to-end solution
Trevaskis also said that “in 2014 we expect DaaS to be a well-known deployment option for desktop virtualisation”. The Dell enterprise marketing manager said that IT departments have “always been reluctant or unable to support non-standard devices in their environment”.
He continued, “With the latest tablets such as [Dell’s] Venue 11 and Venue 8 Pro, Windows 8 is starting gain ground as a device of choice for the corporate user. DaaS solutions will play a key role in the adoption of these devices as it enables organisations to adopt a simplified, secure, end-to-end mobility management solution.”
Trilogy’s Paddon too said that “the general acceptance of hosted solutions means that more companies will be looking for VDI as a service” as 2014 develops. Paddon said the concept will be a winner for many companies as it “removes the need for the company themselves to acquire new skills in the own in-house IT team who can instead concentrate on support of line of business applications and new project work”.
Not everyone is convinced just yet though and Qualcom CEO, Breen said that thus far DaaS hasn’t taken off in Ireland, adding that the “main barrier” is “cost for the SME environment”.
“For one thing, truly mobile workers may need to operate with no connectivity at all, in this instance a typical VDI solution here will be of no use, as the desktop runs in the data centre. This requires centrally managed, virtual machine desktops for offline use on Windows or Apple laptops,” Francis O’Haire, DataSolutions
Hype
Citrix chief, O’Rourke Veitch meanwhile added that “the potential of cloud-hosted desktops is front of mind for many IT decision makers over the coming year, as organisations look for solutions that don’t involve buying, configuring and managing the entire solution on their own”.
The introduction of Amazon WorkSpaces and the acquisition of Desktone by VMware show that “this already healthy market will continue to expand”, she said. Though, O’Rourke Veitch added, “the hype around such announcements, as in the early years of VDI, has hidden the important details”.
Expanding on her point, she said, “It all comes down to maturity, while VDI can certainly play a role in cloud-hosted desktops the conversation has changed from where the desktops are running to managing the lifecycle of those desktops. Providing the right service for a user takes more than just hosting a desktop OS.
“You have to be able to understand the role of data and apps in the productivity of employees in order to provide them with a tailored experience. The services that will succeed are those that don’t just host a generic desktop but deliver the right apps in the right way for their users,” said O’Rourke Veitch. “As IT departments begin using public cloud infrastructures to provide desktop and app services they will also want a high level of control to ensure they are delivering the right tools and services to each individual.”
“When it comes to intertwining the virtual desktop with mobile devices, the gains to be had in user productivity have to be offset against the cost of protecting the organisation and its data from the gaps that can appear through an unplanned BYOD strategy,” Peter Trevaskis, Dell Ireland
Culture shift
On a similar note, Logicalis’ Sheeran said that looking towards the next 18 months one “obvious” development to watch out for will be “the culture shift towards apps, instead of desktops, servers and data”. Explaining further, the Logicalis-man said, “These IT staples will always be in the background, but users are growing very accustomed to using mobile devices and iPhone or Android-style one touch apps, that provide a very succinct operation, or data function.
“This field has been rapidly developing in recent years, such that software houses are providing mobile app versions and plugins for their staple enterprise products, and software as a service (SaaS) as well as web service providers are doing the same,” he said, citing VMware Horizon App manager as an example which has “embraced this culture shift”.
Looking toward the rest of the year and into 2015 Citrix country manager, O’Rourke Veitch said she was “certain” this period would represent “very exciting” times for enterprise mobility and cloud-hosted desktops.
“However,” she said, “those companies that focus and limit themselves purely to VDI will be clinging to the outdated market predictions and limited strategies of yesteryear. Two emerging trends will be the maturity of enterprise mobility strategies, underpinned by desktop virtualisation, and cloud-hosted desktops – as leading telco providers such as BT realise the market opportunity.”
Lifecycle management
O’Rourke Veitch added that, “While VDI can and will play a role in cloud-hosted desktops, the conversation is likely to move away from where the desktops are running and instead focus on the lifecycle management of those desktops.”
DataSolutions’ O’Haire said the industry will see the release of “more technology which allows applications and desktops to be managed as a service, whether on premise, in the cloud or a hybrid combination of both”. While for Datapac’s Kelly, developments in the desktop virtualisation will likely “develop in two directions” during the next year to two years.
“The first is much tighter integration with cloud computing, especially public clouds. With the disconnect between hardware and systems through the use of software-based SANs and networks, it is becoming easier to move workloads around as well as being easier to provision resources on demand as needed,” said Kelly.
He added that this development will lead to a greater prevalence of private and public cloud hybrid systems, where the public cloud will be used to augment private cloud resources at times of peak demand for resources. “The second area of development is data security,” said Kelly. “New and easier ways will be found to facilitate users desire to access systems remotely, while at the same time providing higher levels of security for corporate data.”
Finally, Trilogy Technologies’ Paddon, told TechPro that with the continued development of mobile VDI solutions “the reporting and management aspects of the solution will become more critical” over the coming year.
“Many companies have historically viewed VDI as a technology platform decision, weighing the technical merits of the features and functions offered by the vendors,” said Paddon. “We see an increasing requirement for operational support, management and reporting capabilities that can easily integrate into existing management frameworks,” he added, “especially hybrid cloud models.”
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