Why is the right application strategy important?
Whether it is physical or virtual, the endpoint device won’t matter if you can’t get to your data; and it’s through applications that you get to your critical data. But management of applications can be an administrative burden. How can you take applications administration to the next level?
The right application virtualization tool will:
- Decrease your time to market by 20-40%
- Decrease your software license spend by 30-50%
- Reduce or eliminate your need to rewrite legacy applications
- Allow central management of all your apps
- Increase Software license management and compliance
For example, in the common case of having to reset a hung application, the average cost of a help desk ticket to reset an app is $345 without an application virtualization tool. With the proper tool, an app reset can be done in 18 seconds; virtually eliminating that cost. This has a two-fold benefit – decreased end user downtime, and decreased IT support costs. But just having a tool to handle these situations does not — by itself — solve all your problems; you must have a strategy.
The right application strategy requires a 3-pronged approach
To arrive at an optimized virtual user-centric experience requires a three-part strategic focus that encompasses the following:
- Desktop Strategy
- Application Strategy
- User Strategy
Each of these pieces is equally important. While in some cases you can have an application strategy without a desktop strategy, you should never have a desktop strategy without an application strategy. From this perspective, it becomes clear that an application strategy can actually be more important than a desktop strategy.
How it can go wrong
My thoughts based on what I see from a sales and trending perspective:
- Over time, server virtualization created such a positive ROI for both capex and opex, that it was assumed that desktop virtualization would be another no-brainer to implement. Companies who have embarked on VDI pilots and initiatives have quickly become disillusioned; realizing that the same efficiencies that were gained at the server level do not necessarily apply at the desktop. Eventually, they are forced to rethink their strategy.
- Companies that embark on Win7 migrations – and do not take the time to make a strategic decision about how they will manage their applications – may become disillusioned as well, as they are feeling the pain of long cycles to virtualize their applications for a new OS and new endpoint device. And in addition to the long cycles to prepare the applications, there are the inevitable challenges with legacy apps and conflicting apps.
- Aging infrastructures and desktop devices create projects driven by choosing an “endpoint strategy” (translated as endpoint device only) where the only thing taken into consideration is the device. Their whole strategy is around making decisions about thin client, zero client, fat client, etc.; all without thinking about the delivery method or the user profile.
Overall, as companies make strategic decisions about their Virtual Desktop Strategy, there can be tunnel vision about the desktop piece as the only strategic piece, with applications and users being an afterthought.
How to make it right
Herein lies my mission: To educate those embarking on a VDI initiative about the importance of choosing the right application strategy.
Tags: App Virtualization, Application Delivery, application strategy, Application Virtualization, Business value of virtualization, Comprehensive desktop virtualization, desktop strategy, Desktop Virtualization, Endpoint Virtualization, user strategy, Virtualization
