New yearts forecast calls for clouds, no PGs

l\To* DAys INro the New Year, businesses are taking I\stock of their IT assets and wondering, is it time to upgrade those computers that still use an obsolete version of Windows? Is it time to replace all those nasty keyboards filled with dust and coffee stains and monitors that are way too big for the desk?

Setting up or even updating an office often means expensive computing equipment and hardware. However, while the right IT can make a difference in a business' bottom line, replacing aging PCs is often enough to put you in perpetual sticker shock. For instance, if you run a business that requires 20 PCs, that can easily run you over $20,000. And that doesn't even include the software license upgrades or the keyboards and monitors.

But that is the price of doing business, right? Well, not necessarily. What if you could set up or upgrade your office by replacing all of your PCs, keyboards, monitors and servers, as well as install new software and operating systems, at half the cost? What if you only had to purchase one or two PCs and servers, but could still outfit your entire staff with their own desktops? What if you could save on energy, train new employees quickly, and basically run lN A DESKTOP virtualization system, all soff ware and files are held in one master serverlike a cloud-and can be accessed by 100 or more workers, using their own access device, monitor and kevboard. your IT for a fraction of the cost?

No, we are not talking about buying refurbished PCs. There is actually a technology called Desktop Virtualization Infrastructure, or VDI, and it is changing the PC industry as we know it.

Today, IT administrators are working hard to do more with less as they become overwhelmed by the number of desktop PCs they must maintain. While there might be 50 to 100 desktop PCs in an office, IT administrators recognize that their employees typically utllize only 57o of the capacity of a typical computer. Nowadays, there are opportunities to better address a business owner's needs and to deliver inexpensive PC computing power to more employees than ever, while simultaneously driving down typical operational expenses such as desktop PC hardware, maintenance, and support costs.

The solution lies in transitioning a desktop PC environment from a physical machine into a "client/server computing experience." That is, a user's desktop is hosted remotely by a server or another PC and accessed via a small device that sits on an employee's desk. In other words, an office worker no longer has a physical PC, but instead has an access device that is connected to one server, plus virtual desktop management software, a monitor, and a keyboard. The good news is that their computing experience would be similar to the PC experience they know-minus a lot of expensive hardware.

The new VDI system literally disrupts the economics by changing the typical structure from one operating system, one user, to one virtual or physical host, one operating system, and 100 users.

Depending on the size and scale, a desktop virtualization deployment can pay for itself from day one. Initial acquisition costs are often 50+Vo lower than traditional PCs: the cost of ongoing maintenance and support are 757o lower, and energy costs are typically gOVa lower.

There are additional strategic benefits in the form of business agility and productivity. For example, if you have a new employee come on board and you need to provision a new desktop, it can take minutes rather than hours to get them up and running.

In addition, implementing VDI automatically turns your business green. Get this: over 850 million PCs are turned on every day. According to a recent study, if virtualized desktop systems were used at a ratio of six virtual desktop devices to each PC:

Energy use would decline by over 120 billion kilowatt hours per year

. CO2 emissions would decrease by 96 million metric tons (like planting 460 million trees)

. E-waste would be reduced by 6.7 million metric tons

What this comes down to is that desktop virtualization allows organizations to reduce the amount oi hardware they purchase (which in turn reduces e-waste), minimize energy consumption, diminish costs, improve data integrity, simplify desktop maintenance, increase security, and extend PC refresh cycles. Many technology companies are continuing to innovate on VDI technology to ensure the experience is user-friendly and can perform the same functions as a traditional PC. Small and mid-sized businesses are stafiing to adopt VDI in serious numbers, and many vendors will work with your IT administrator to design an infrastructure that is right for your organization.

- John Barco Sr. is vice president of product marketing for NComputing. Reach him via www.ncomputing.com.