The Changing Face of the Enterprise Desktop
Capital investments in enterprise desktop infrastructure are often a sizeable part of an IT department’s budget. Add in the cost of maintaining the hardware, OS, software stack, etc. and the total cost analysis would shock most. Technology leaders who are savvy enough to understand this, have already adopted alternatives that present a much smaller impact and address some evolving pressures in the industry.
Many shops have developed a strategy to address recurring desktop costs by involving a blend of thin client and virtualization. These solutions can present an enormous effect on a budget and overall support costs in a short amount of time. With products from WYSE and HP being very popular here in the US these solutions offer zero or minimal configuration, which can be done by unskilled labor, and within an enterprise network offer more than adequate performance standards. Because these clients don’t perform much in the way of processing or storage they have a very low cost, and offer some additional security benefits as a consequence. Many studies place the utilization of these types of systems at about 20-50% of a work forces’ desktop computing needs. In these environments a strong network management component is important for success, something you will see is a theme that is developing in the industry.
As data centers reduce in size and hosting applications on private or public Cloud solutions evolves it’s impact on the enterprise desktop has already seen a dramatic impact. While it’s rare there are studies where the elimination of a desktop product (thin client, thick client) was not only possible but also more efficient. A biotech research company eliminated desktop clients for it’s sales force, replacing what they carried into a sales call with an iPhone based solution utilizing Google Apps for it’s needs. While this is not typical it’s representative of what is possible and where the face of enterprise desktop will go. Application hosting is another article entirely, but the consumer success of Google Apps, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIN and those of the like are undeniable. Cellular based networks are maturing in the US making this a viable option in the enterprise desktop market and something to consider.
The change we have seen in the enterprise desktop space has been dramatic. Gone are the days were the only option was Wintel or Mac OS and a piece of hardware. As the economy tightens and applications migrate to a web based platform opportunities become more available, cost effective and efficient. Some day we may look back at the days of sitting in front of a computer as archaic and unnecessary. Where will your enterprise desktop roadmap take you?
Robert Zullo
Vice President, Technology Consulting
ZuCom
www.zucom.com
rzullo@zucom.com
518-496-2592
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