Virtualisation: it's practical

As the sophistication of both desktop and application virtualisation increases, the gap separating the two is becoming narrower. By separating a user's physical machine from the applications and data traditionally stored on its hard drive, and storing it in a centralised data centre, users are able to access their desktop environment from anywhere, using any capable device.

The creation of such an environment, says Albert Gazendam, Business Development Manager at Dimension Data, South Africa, centralises, automates, and safeguards data and applications. “In addition, overall costs are reduced in the administration of end-user computing environments,” he says.

Cost reduction is a key benefit, but seldom the most important, says Gazendam. Clients need to be made aware of the myriad other benefits accompanying a full desktop and application virtualisation deployment.

Desktop and application virtualisation enables enterprise mobility without having to purchase expensive hardware, as applications are consuming resources elsewhere. The end-user device becomes a simple input/output tool, he says. This could, for instance, allow users to run applications previously reserved for hi-tech devices, on simple thin client machines with limited hardware capabilities. This opens access to applications to a much wider group of users and devices, increasing sophistication at minimal cost.

Operationally, because applications are hosted centrally, a desktop and application virtualisation infrastructure curbs the time and cost of administrators, and significantly reduces inconvenience for end-users. “Furthermore, users experience an increase in flexibility and mobility, as they can work from anywhere, and on a large range of devices.”

Any business that works with sensitive data, from sales strategies to sensitive client information, and for whom security is a consideration, can control how and who accesses information. “Access is easier to control in a virtual environment,” says Gazendam. Security is also boosted through the concept of a “single image” for virtual machines. “Any change to the virtual image by the end-user - such as the installation of a virus or other malicious software - will be eradicated when the machine reboots, as it always boots from the remote centralised server,” he says.

“Additionally, virtualisation fundamentally impacts business continuity. People are not disciplined enough to backup data regularly. If a machine is lost or the hardware fails, the disruption to productivity can be catastrophic, with a full system restore taking days or even weeks. In the world of virtualisation, this is different. Even if a user is on someone else's machine, the data is stored safely and remotely. There is never a disruption to business and productivity in a virtualised environment.”

While virtual infrastructures are offering companies a host of benefits, which will increase the quality and reduce the cost of operations, IT managers need to investigate dependencies, says Gazendam.

“A mature data centre is a critical element in a successful virtualisation deployment. To ensure user experience is not compromised, IT managers need to ensure reliable connectivity, with built-in redundancy. There needs to be alternative routes to wide area networks (WANs), and additional redundancy built in through things like cellular networks.

Desktop and application virtualisation enables enterprise mobility without having to purchase expensive hardware.

Dimension Data

“The advances that we're seeing are overcoming many reservations previously held,” he says. The proliferation of tablet devices is allowing for a full, rich remote experience. And until recently, virtualised end-user environments were not able to support softphones. With important developments in this area, VOIP applications, for example, can be hosted in a central location, and enable end-user devices and headsets without any need for customisation. If there is a failure anywhere in the system, the application can be rerouted to the secondary device, service is not disrupted, and users might not even have been aware of the failure, he says.

“Network acceleration techniques allow network traffic in WAN environments to approximate the speeds experienced on a local area network (LAN), increasing productivity and improving the overall end-user experience. When connectivity is not available, users can continue to work, while transparent processes take care of synchronising the end-user device and the data centre as soon as connectivity is restored.”