Top 5 obstacles to wider VDI adoption

Organizations of all sizes have been embracing the notion of virtualization within their environments over the past decade, and they’ve implemented server and storage virtualization solutions in order to lower their costs and reduce complexities. Despite the fact that desktop virtualization offers many of the same technological benefits as its virtualization siblings, virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) hasn’t yet received the same warm reception.

Why is that? What makes the desktop so resistant to change? The first generation of VDI technologies certainly didn’t help the cause. It was too expensive to deploy, speeds were slow, and users could easily tell the difference between it and their normal installations. But with advancements made over time, these common objections have either been dismissed or greatly improved upon with next-generation VDI technologies.

[ Also on InfoWorld.com: Check out the top five reasons to consider VDI in 2011 | And find out why networking may be on the path to becoming ‘interesting’ again. | Keep up-to-date on virtualization by signing up for InfoWorld’s Virtualization newsletter. ]

“Customer perception around VDI is stuck in what they understand of Gen1 technology — poorly planned proof of concepts and out of control TCO due to technology gaps,” explains Antony Satyadas, solution strategist at IBM. “VDI Gen2 is a game changer, and as customers have an opportunity to experience it, we expect the momentum to swing.”

So with increased security concerns, rising energy costs, and an economic slowdown in 2011, why aren’t more companies looking to VDI as a possible alternative? What could be holding them back from moving to this alternative desktop approach? Here are five of the key reasons that may be currently blocking your organization:

VDI obstacle 1: VDI requires the desktop, storage, network, virtualization and data center guys to work together. Where we are with VDI is very similar to where we were with the Web in the mid-1990s — adoption was slow but growing, and consumers were interested but cautious. Much of that caution originated with the lack of oversight into various IT projects. One of the driving forces in the acceleration of the Internet was the rise of the CIO. This role meant someone could formulate a coherent strategy around the Web.

These days, VDI is driving a centralization of infrastructure strategy in a similar way. As IT has evolved, it has become increasingly siloed, once again. In perhaps most cases, the desktop management group knows very little, if nothing at all, about the server management group. The storage strategy for PCs versus the storage strategy in the data center and the associated costs and complexity are colliding worlds.

Jim Curtin, CEO of Virtual Bridges says the impact of elevated traffic on the network infrastructure brought on by virtual desktops is yet another area of concern. Curtin stated, “This siloed nature is wreaking havoc on the network, and as a result, we are seeing a re-centralization of siloed functions and services that is forcing various IT departments to work together. CIOs are playing a larger role and are showing a significant interest in VDI. As they continue to take back the network, we expect to see a serious transformation from the PC era to the virtual desktop era.”

VDI obstacle 2: The nature of desktops has changed, but many IT organizations are at a standstill, unsure how to respond. Whenever there is change, some organizations embrace it, while others fight it. The organizations that embrace it in a proactive way with planning and foresight, typically end up with a leg up on the competition. In the world of desktop management, organizations need to face the music and recognize it’s no longer a desktop-only world. Employees are accessing the network and their desktops through an ever-growing variety of devices, from every location imaginable. New devices are launched daily at a pace that makes it a challenge for management to keep up, especially for those organizations that want to manually provision, install and update each machine.

“Change is inevitable,” exclaims Curtin. “Those resistant to change will face tremendous challenges. We think VDI solves these challenges and more. The sooner IT organizations recognize this and jump on board, the more competitive they will be.”

Mark Bowker, a senior analyst with Enterprise Strategy Group, said he believes the organizations that are willing to make the shift are driven by mobilization of employees, endpoint device support and application modernization.

VDI obstacle 3: Some people believe VDI is too costly, complex, and ineffective. “I think people are still under the impression that VDI is a one-size fits all solution, and it is not,” said Bowker. “VDI is one of many desktop virtualization deployment models and understanding when to use it and when to look at an alternative model is key to success and long-term strategic planning.”

“In some ways, it is complex and can be a bit more costly,” explains Tyler Rohrer, Founder of Liquidware Labs. “However, it can be very, very effective if you focus on a truly real world design, and pick the right use cases. There are trends in one-to-many image strategies and falling costs of storage, however the premium for VDI will persist this year. Now, if you focus on ‘does VDI make my staff, budget, and users more productive?’, then you really have something tenable.”

According to Curtin, VMware and Citrix have done a great service to the market by educating companies on the potential of VDI, but adds that they have also unintentionally created great challenges. “By coming to market with a re-purposed solution, they have made a strong impression on the market that VDI falls short of the dream. This disillusionment creates an opportunity for innovative, focused companies to learn from the mistakes of the Gen1 solutions in delivering a Gen2 offering that ultimately becomes the ‘category killer’ in this space. History is replete with examples of where Gen1 hype succumbed to inevitable disillusionment only to rise again stronger and broader as Gen2.”

VDI obstacle 4: Companies are still looking to squeeze efficiencies out of their current investments. Expecting to save money by doing nothing is like not spending mortgage points to refinance the mortgage where the refinancing would pay for itself in only a few short months. The payback time frames on next-generation VDI and the innovations that allow companies to leverage a lot of existing hardware should encourage companies with tight budgets to revisit VDI. Not only is there a short payoff, but the benefits to security, business continuity, organizational agility, and worker mobility often more than compensate for any investment, as difficult as that investment may seem at the time.

According to Rohrer, this roadblock is clearly present given the global economy, but adds “many are finding that staying on the hardware refresh treadmill is even more costly. Changes in paradigms are risky — focusing on the right use cases and the right technology stack help ensure those investments have a chance to deliver returns.”

VDI obstacle 5: VDI has been slow to promote successes. Companies are beginning to pursue VDI at much faster rates. The first generation of VDI technology has slowed down the successful deployments beyond the most obvious use cases, like security, where cost was less of a consideration. But as next-generation VDI implementations come online, there should be more success stories of organizations that have saved money moving to VDI, while accruing all of the other benefits as well.

“K-12 is one of the industry’s that we are seeing significant traction and the results are incredible,” said Curtin. “On average, Virtual Bridges education customers save $400 per desktop and reduce their OPEX spending up to 50 percent due to centralized management provided by VERDE. The momentum is growing and VDI will soon be mainstream. It is just now entering the Gen2 phase where it is taking off.”

Liquidware Labs is seeing the same thing. Rohrer told InfoWorld he believes “most of the early adopters and large projects are inside of the Fortune 500 and tend to be undocumented, and thus, the success stories don’t make their way into the press. Most of the ISVs and platform vendors working with these companies tend to be more vocal than the companies themselves. We see this changing in 2011 as best practices are not only shared, but also more widely proliferated.”

In addition to the lack of awareness, Bowker tacks on another potential roadblock: failed POCs (proof of concepts). He added, “We see a lot of POCs fail when they have to scale beyond the initial 200-250 desktops. We also see the TCO model broken when factoring the storage component and customers, resellers and system integrators not being armed with tools or solutions to drive through to the next phase of adoption.”

For IT administrators, it’s about delivering service and doing their jobs efficiently and to the best of their abilities. But at the end of the day, what really matters is that the user has a positive experience. If the user isn’t happy, nobody is happy.

Will current advancements in VDI finally push the technology into the mainstream? Is IT ready? Are users ready? And will this latest generation of VDI technologies be enough to answer these top five roadblocks and challenges that await them?

What’s holding you back?

This article, “Top 5 obstacles to wider VDI adoption,” was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Follow the latest developments in virtualization at InfoWorld.com. For the latest business technology news, follow InfoWorld.com on Twitter.