Research
conducted by Matrix42 at the 2011 Citrix Synergy San Francisco conference shows
that desktop virtualization is finally being adopted by the mainstream market,
with 59 percent of companies either in the process or planning to deploy within
the next six months. Desktop virtualization initiatives are driven by a number
of perceived benefits, but the biggest is reduced cost of management and
support. An overwhelming number of respondents (70 percent) confirmed their
desire to use a single tool for managing both physical and virtual desktops
rather than having to use separate solutions.
While
many companies are adopting desktop virtualization, few are going completely
virtual in the near-term. Only 4 percent said they expect to go completely
virtual, and another 21 percent said they expect a relatively short transition
period while they move to a virtual desktop infrastructure. The rest expected a
long, or even indefinite, period where they will support both physical and
virtual desktops.
“2011
seems to be the year that businesses stop speculating about virtualization and
actually invest in it,” said Matrix42 CEO Herbert Uhl. “Unfortunately, however,
there won’t be a clear-cut switch for most organizations. For the IT manager,
the new challenge will be managing a mix of physical and virtual desktops—for
the long run.”
The
survey found that while just 5 percent of desktops today are virtualized, by
next year that is expected to rise to 20 percent. Half of those surveyed said
they expect to support a mix of virtual and physical desktops indefinitely, and
42 percent percent of respondents cited reduced cost of management and support
as the biggest perceived benefit of desktop virtualization.
More
user flexibility and mobility was stated by 33 percent as the main benefit of
moving to a virtualized desktop, followed by improved availability and
performance (24 percent), hardware and software cost savings (22 percent) and
improved security and compliance (22 percent). The survey also found BYOD (bring
your own device) initiatives are popular, but managing and securing multiple
devices creates extra challenges. Nearly a quarter (24 percent) of companies
already support use of their employees’ own devices like smartphones and
tablets in the workplace, while 38 percent said they are planning on it.
Virtualization 
