Hosted Virtual Desktop – Who says its bleeding edge?
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I was having a minor debate this week with a colleague on why the move to hosted virtual desktop is so scary for today’s IT managers My colleague insisted it was because it was too new, untested and let’s not forget … it’s in the “cloud” (ominous music playing). My stance however was that it was more of a lack of knowledge vs. fear. About an hour and a few cups of coffee later, my colleague was ready to convert! Interested in the points I made to change her perspective? If so, this post is for you.
Demystifying Hosted Virtual Desktop
It wasn’t so long ago that end users were connected to their computer via a dumb terminal and an RS-232 cables. Visualize that – just a nice clunky monitor sitting on your desk with a cable that disappeared into the wall and miraculously connected you to a mysterious computer that was located “somewhere behind locked doors.” Fast forward about 30 years … in many ways, hosted virtual desktops sort of parallels the old dumb-terminal connected to computer scenario, only on steroids. The concept was to have a device that allowed you to connect to a machine. With VDI, the “machine” is your desktop. Let’s break this down:
The access point:
Traditionally, you’ve accessed your computer, whether it was your own desktop or that of a remote system via a monitor/display. With hosted virtual desktop, this doesn’t change – in fact, your options only broaden with the capability of accessing your desktop via tablets, smartphones and in some cases smart cars! So we agree – the monitor/display …. Not so scary!
The communications path:
Nothing special about an old RS-232 cable directly connected from a computer to the wall. The anti is upped just a little bit with today’s traditional communications paths. Most Credit Union workstations are hardwired via CAT-5 cabling back to the “wall” and brings you connectivity to a selection of computers – possibly your core system, a shared portal and let’s not forget the internet! Remote workers get to lose the cabling all together and connect wirelessly through invisible signals. A bit dramatic but it made my point to my colleague – it’s just a path. A simple means to access something else – in this case, your desktop.
The Endpoint Computer:
Ultimately, your goal is to connect to something. Old monitors connected you to a single machine. Today’s workstations provide access to the local machine, network resources (shared files) and internet. The limitations are that your desktop is physically located at your office. Every application you need to do your job is on that machine. The hosted virtualized desktop lifts that functionality up into the cloud so that regardless of where you are or what time it is – your desktop is always available.
See the logic? Access point (any internet enabled device) to communications path (wireless/wired) and finally to your endpoint (your desktop). Hosted virtual desktop doesn’t have to be scary or complex. Done right, VDI can empower your workforce with 24/7 desktop availability.
Related Content:
Hosted Virtual Desktop Applications
Top 5 Hosted Virtual Desktop “What-Ifs”
What Does my Office Need for Hosted Virtual Desktop?
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