Hosted desktop virtualization has been around for quite some time now. The benefits are well known, the technology matures but adoption remains low. In 2009, Gartner expected a 15% market share for corporate desktops in 2014 resulting in 66 million connected devices. Today we know that these numbers will be lower, much lower. But why?

High capex andor the financial crisis might be part of the problem but is for sure not the main cause. Even large service providers, offering hosted virtual desktops as a service (pay as you go) are also not meeting the numbers they aimed for.  So it is not just about the money.

As an expert on workspace management within HVD environments, we know that the problem lies within the use case. The hosted virtual desktop use case is just too limited. And part of that problem is the limited user acceptance.

Knowing that, the best approach to a successful virtual desktop implementation, is to also consider a new wave in desktop virtualization’: Intelligent Desktop Virtualization.

Intelligent Desktop Virtualization

Increasingly, IT departments are using desktop virtualization technologies to increase control and gain flexibility in end-point devices. However, these solutions typically aren’t broad enough to address the majority of the enterprise user population; they can’t scale economically and they can’t deliver consistently on user experience.

To move forward, a company like Intel believes that desktop virtualization must evolve into a more intelligent system. Therefore, the next evolutionary step in traditional desktop management is called Intelligent Desktop Virtualization.

Three Tenets of Intelligent Desktop Virtualization

There are three key tenets that distinguish Intelligent Desktop Virtualization from Desktop Virtualization. Each tenet is considered to be central to IDV, whereas the concepts are usually considered to be peripheral in desktop virtualization. The three tenets represent a progression:  if IT departments embrace the first tenet, there will be critical benefits to proceeding to the second tenet. If the first two tenets are fully adopted, the third tenet will be considered essential.

Tenet 1: Manage Centrally with Local Execution Tenet 2: Deliver Layered Images Intelligently Tenet 3: Use Device-Native Management
Maintain central control and use the local compute resources of the user’s device. Create layered images to simplify management and allow for user customization. More options are available when the device takes an active role in its own management.
  • Improve manageability and security  by controlling operating system and application updates
  • Provide the best possible user experience by using local compute resources
  • Optimize data center resource usage
  • Enhance central management
  • Deliver the appropriate layers transparently to user-chosen computing platforms
  • Use bidirectional synchronization and de-duplication for intelligent delivery and storage
  • Supplement central management capabilities
  • Leverage hardware resources independent of the operating system to ensure a robust computing platform

For more information about Scense and Intel’s Intelligent Desktop Virtualization, please read our whitepaper.