Despite the economic downturn, 2009 was a year of epic acquisitions. Oracle bought Sun. Xerox bought ACS. EMC bought Data Domain. But after the papers are signed, the press conferences are held and the lawyers are paid, who is left to handle the massive integration of employees? IT.

Whether the acquisition is small or record-setting, the task of assimilating the PCs of the new employees to meet the acquiring company’s standards is critical. The faster this happens, the faster people become productive.

What if there was a way to centrally and easily install an IT-approved OS version and applications on the PCs of the company being acquired, including for remote and mobile employees, without causing them to lose their other applications, data and personalization?

Here’s the scenario:

Company A acquires company B. Company B has thousands of laptops with various versions of Windows XP, plus the usual glut of office apps , user-installed apps and data.  The desktop managers at Company A sigh, and wonder how many weekends they will spend bringing all those devices into compliance with their corporate standards. Then, they consider using Wanova.

With Wanova Mirage, the desktop managers can quickly and efficiently transfer the user data, applications and personalization over the WAN to the data center, where IT can augment the transferred data with a Base Image (BI), comprised of the approved OS and corporate applications. When the BI is combined with the endpoint data, we call this a Centralized Virtual Desktop (CVD). A CVD is maintained for each user, but the BI may be the same across many users. This allows IT to patch or update a single BI, and automatically propagate changes to an entire set of CVDs.

IT can now begin ongoing synchronization, where the BI data is moved to the endpoint, (without removing user personalization) and any changes the user makes are efficiently and optimally transferred back to the datacenter.

Centralized management, single image updates that retain personalization, full data protection, fast troubleshooting and restores – optimized for remote and mobile users. That’s what we do at Wanova.

In his recent article on The Challenges of Desktop Virtualization, Daniel Feller comments on how difficult it can be to support non-IT-delivered applications, which can proliferate into the tens of thousands, in virtualized desktop environments. He recommends doing a multi-level assessment to try to figure out which applications are in use, and their appropriate delivery strategy. Do you know any IT organization that has time to do this?

The Wanova alternative: Use distributed desktop virtualization, which allows IT to manage groups of endpoints with a single image for core IT-approved OS and core applications (and patch them regardless of whether the endpoints are connected). By ‘splitting’ the PC into separate layers, Wanova also creates a persistent area for user-installed applications, as well as user data and settings.  IT can manage the apps that are critical on a departmental or company level, while end users can install their own applications without compromising IT’s ability to control the base image. Further, if a user loses or damages his or her PC, IT can restore the endpoint, complete with applications and personalization.

Good for IT. Good for the end-user. This is how desktop virtualization should be!

Brian Madden – in his typical, non-controversial way – recently posted that “everyone who needs VDI already has it.” He has a point. The reality is that VDI is constrained in its deployment because it was not built to address the needs of remote and mobile users. Existing approaches have forced compromises: server-based solutions provide strong management capabilities, but poor user experience. Client-based solutions make end-users happier, but add another layer of complexity for IT.

In order for desktop virtualization to gain broader deployment, we must provide an architecture that supports the way companies really work: with strong centralized management so IT can easily provision or migrate endpoint hardware, and use a single base image for patching and updates. We also must also take into account the needs of end users – especially those who are remote or mobile. They want to work as they always have, without complicated check-in procedures or being tethered to a slow network. The right approach can add value far beyond image management.  Companies can improve their support SLAs by troubleshooting an ailing laptop – even if the end user isn’t connected to the network, or re-imaging a remote PC in minutes instead of days. Wanova can do this — in-place, and without losing personalization or requiring a painful data restore.

What do you think? Is it time to re-define desktop virtualization?

Using Mirage, our customer upgraded target desktops to a new multi gigabyte “golden” base image — over the WAN, while preserving user personalization — in less than one hour. After completing the process, the customer said, “Amazing. This usually takes 2 days, and the end-user doesn’t have access to their PC during that time.”

A different customer loaded a remote user’s CVD from a laptop to a Virtual Machine (VM) running in the data center in order to troubleshoot a problem locally. Within two hours, the customer was able to fix the user’s issue and re-assign the corrected CVD to the end user’s laptop. After resolving the issue, the customer commented, “This process usually requires that we send someone onsite, and it can take days to resolve a problem like this for a remote user. Mirage is going to save us a ton of time and money by centralizing many of our support processes.”

Another customer (yep – we have a lot of beta sites) had a desktop corrupted beyond repair; the system was non-responsive, and Office applications were not functioning. Normally, the only (very painful!) way to recover from such state would have been to re-image the desktop with a clean corporate image, then have the user re-install all of her user-installed applications, re-configure her settings, and backup and restore all of her files before and after the re-imaging, respectively. Moreover, for remote users the shipping of the new image over the WAN is a big challenge in its own right, and often requires an image-server infrastructure from which the desktop can PXE-boot.

Using Wanova, the IT administrator simply invoked a “Reinforce Base Image” operation, which applied a clean base image on the endpoint that corrected the system and all corporate applications, while preserving her personalized applications and user-data. The user’s system was up and running with a clean OS and a fully operational Office suite within an hour. Our customer’s initial reaction was “Wow.” Then, after a (we think, stunned and amazed) pause, he said, “It usually takes a week for a user to get back to a full working environment – my users hate this. And the best thing, I can apply this same magic both to my local and remote employees. This is awesome!”

Finally, another customer had a dead laptop. Rather than sending the laptop back and having the user down for several days, IT simply migrated the user’s CVD to a new laptop (different hardware, incidentally) using the correct base image for the new hardware. Further, all user data, personalization and locally installed applications were also installed. Because Wanova first downloads the minimal working set, the user was up and running again in 20 minutes. Any missing data was streamed in the background. After seeing this process, the customer said, “This is a game-changer. We just took a process that is extremely painful and time-consuming – both for us and and for the end-user — and completed it in minutes!”

So, this is my first official blog written (and posted) from an airplane at 30,000 feet. As I post this blog, I’m somewhere over Portland in an airplane using the in-flight wireless service. First thought – how have we gone this long without wireless on a plane? This is really, really cool. Second thought – this scenario pretty much defines mobility. Third thought – when given a choice between the pizza and the salmon on the plane, I always go pizza. I know it’s not as good for me, but it’s also less likely to kill me if the airline’s “chef” had a bad day at the office. But I digress…here’s the really, really cool part…

While using the plane’s in-flight wireless service, I’m synchronizing with my Centralized Virtual Desktop (CVD) in our data center in San Jose. Because Wanova doesn’t require a hypervisor, I’m working as I normally would. The only difference is that I have an icon in my system tray which tells me whether I’m working online, offline, fully protected, etc.. I’ve been in IT for longer than I’d like to admit and I’ve never had this kind of “cool factor”…ever.

Here’s the way Wanova works. I have a client running on my laptop. Our software runs on a physical or virtual server in the data center. Conceptually speaking, we centralize my laptop in the data center in a CVD where IT can centrally manage, protect, and support it. The client on my laptop has a cache, which allows me to work offline. When I re-connect, any changes made by IT are optimally downloaded to my laptop, and (based on IT policy), any changes I make are optimally uploaded to my CVD. Now, the only way this works effectively over the WAN, VPN, or, in this case, at 30k feet is we have technology called “Distributed Desktop Optimization” (DDO). Basically what this means is that we eliminate any redundant data at the network and storage layers. So, we never have to send any redundant data or store any redundant data. And, because we work at the file and block level, most of the changes I would make already exist on the server side so they don’t have to be sent or stored.

For all I know, our IT group in San Jose may be applying a patch or fixing an issue, and I’m working as I normally would – regardless of whether I’m offline or online. So, there’s a huge productivity benefit both for IT and for me as an end-user. And, I can honestly say that my user experience is unaffected. I can’t even tell that our client is running on my laptop. This is really cool stuff!

I had an opportunity to present at a virtualization user group in Montreal this week, and talk with many of the attendees at length. One theme came across loud and clear – after successful deployments of server virtualization, customers are now fully turning their attention to desktop virtualization. Several of the attendees mentioned that they were piloting a VDI solution and they were really happy with it for their local users. Where things started to breakdown was when they added remote or mobile workers to the mix – due to a minor little detail called the WAN.

You see, the challenge that many desktop vendors face (and customers experience first-hand) is they approach the problem from a server or client perspective and they treat the network as an afterthought. That misses the point. With desktop virtualization, the network is the PC bus. And unlike the PC bus running on your laptop or desktop today – which always works – the network introduces all kinds of complexity to the mix, including latency, bandwidth constraints, and even occasional availability issues. When I made this point during our presentation in Montreal, there were a lot of heads nodding around the room. Customers get it. It’s an easy problem to identify but a hard one to solve, and even harder if you treat the network as an afterthought.

Several attendees also mentioned that what was interesting to them was not the hypervisor, but improving PC lifecycle management. People are thinking about how they ease OS migrations given the release of Windows 7. But OS migration is just one aspect of PC lifecycle management that includes desktop provisioning, desktop management, desktop continuity – to name a few.

In retrospect, I’m glad attendees weren’t interested in the hypervisor since Wanova doesn’t require a hypervisor. That would have been a much tougher crowd for us.

TechTarget’s SearchVirtualDesktop.com recently published the results of a survey that caught our attention. The survey supports the need for a new approach if desktop virtualization is ever going to realize wide acceptance in enterprise environments.

The survey asked exactly the right questions and identifies key pain points that are preventing desktop virtualization from really taking off. While interest in Desktop Virtualization is growing, the biggest obstacles for adoption are the required hardware and software costs including datacenter upgrades — all areas that our technology “Distributed Desktop Virtualization” addresses quite handily.

Let’s look at cost, which the survey called out as a major barrier to desktop virtualization adoption. Twenty-nine percent of the respondents said that desktop virtualization is too expensive. Also, about 1/4 of the respondents said that the cost of hardware, including the need to upgrade datacenter servers to support a widespread virtual desktop deployment, was a problem.

In addition, nearly a quarter of those asked said that current desktop virtualization products are not mature enough for widespread use. This can be interpreted in any number of ways from “it’s not robust enough for mission-critical, enterprise use” to “the end-user experience is so bad, employees are less productive when forced to use it.”

So, where does Wanova fit in?

Our technology fits squarely in a couple of sweet spots: First, managers get the control they need without the up-front costs since Wanova scales to 1,000 virtual desktop per server. Also, as I mentioned in my previous post, Wanova works with what you already have – servers, network and endpoints. End-users continue to work productively with their existing laptops, desktops and netbooks, as though nothing has changed.

Anyone thinking about desktop virtualization should consider the TechTarget survey results. It raises questions about costs, management, and end-user support. Wanova’s Distributed Desktop Virtualization provides new answers to these important questions.

News about desktop virtualization seems to be flowing fast and furious these days. That doesn’t surprise us. Desktop virtualization is where the action is and Wanova is certainly happy to be in the scrum.

A recent article discussed an upcoming announcement about the desktop virtualization ecosystem. Perhaps we’re going to hear about all the technology partners and vendors who have lined up to support a particular vision of how desktop virtualization can and should work.

On one hand, you might say (if you were an enterprise IT manager) “It’s about time”. As we all know, desktop virtualization needs to integrate into how we run our businesses and, for years, there has been a huge gap between the promise and the reality of a desktop virtualization solution that truly transforms a business for the better.

On the other hand, an enterprise IT manager might say “Oh great. Yet another infrastructure that I have to adopt in order to make desktop virtualization work for me.”

We feel your pain. When we announced our “Distributed Desktop Virtualization” architecture in August, we did so knowing that a need in the marketplace is simply not being met. Specifically, there is an ongoing need for IT managers to get a handle on the management and maintenance of all those distributed laptops, desktops and netbooks that are being deployed to remote and mobile workers.

Of course, all those remote and mobile workers want to remain productive by using computers that do what they want them to do, without any compromises on features, performance or applications.

Now, someone could ask why they should adopt Wanova’s architecture over, say, competitive solutions.

The answer is simple: Wanova works with what you already have.

On the management side, IT can put up to 1,000 virtual desktop images on an existing x86 server in their datacenter and effectively deploy and manage those virtual desktops without any forklift upgrades or major storage requirements.

On the other side of the network, the workers can use their current computers, just as they always have, but with the peace of mind that comes through a centrally managed solution. And best of all, it’s all done over the existing WAN infrastructure.

So, keep an eye out for desktop virtualization announcements, but make sure the other eye is wide open with regard to what is required to make it happen.

In the meantime, watch this space for the launch of our first product and shoot us an email if you’re interested in hearing more about what Wanova’s approach will be able to do for you.

A vendor recently touted their type-1 client hypervisor as the “killer app” for Windows 7 and desktop virtualization adoption. Client hypervisors are great. I get it. You can run XP side-by-side with Win 7. You can have a personal desktop completely separate from your corporate desktop. But how exactly does that dramatically simplify management? A client hypervisor by itself does not automatically improve manageability. You multiply the number of operating systems on a desktop and introduce another layer to manage on the hardware. Some things are easier, conflicts are isolated, but a hypervisor doesn’t necessarily transform desktop management for the better.

Server virtualization changed the data center. The hypervisor’s ability to isolate and run multiple applications on a server continues to drive huge returns. On the client side, desktop virtualization provides the potential to improve the manageability of desktops. However, desktop virtualization is not tied directly to the client hypervisor. End-users aren’t screaming for more sessions running on their PCs. They want to be productive. For many users this means at work, on a plane, at home, wherever. When it comes to things to think about, patches, upgrades, back-ups, are not at the top of their lists. On the other hand, if their laptop is crippled with a virus or they have to wait a couple of days to replace a fried laptop, then you can bet that the corporate helpdesk will be the first to hear about it.

The critical issue for IT is how to more effectively manage, protect and support all of the PCs in an organization without affecting the end-users. The more transparent the management is to the end-user, the better. If that solution includes a hypervisor as a component, great, but end-users don’t care. And it’s not a requirement for IT either, especially if IT can centralize management and control without deploying and managing a client hypervisor.

The bottom line. Desktop virtualization does not need to be based on a client hypervisor. Desktop virtualization is bigger than that.

At the recent VMworld conference, there were a lot of discussions around desktop virtualization. In fact, both Paul Maritz and Steve Herrod devoted significant time in their keynotes to the topic. Interestingly, Steve stressed the importance of user experience and talked about differing levels of user experience including a “productive desktop” over the WAN and a “PC-like desktop over the LAN”.

This is a great starting point, but there shouldn’t be a distinction in end-user experience based on whether users are operating over the LAN or WAN. This sort of compromise is what has left many organizations with a bad taste in their mouth about desktop virtualization. Most users‚Äô experience would be severely impacted if they weren’t able to:
- install applications
- work offline
- change settings and configurations

The best measure of user experience is productivity. Is a user more — or less — productive after deploying a particular solution? And not all workers are the same. Knowledge workers may need more compute power, freedom, and flexibility than task workers. IT must also consider other factors that impact productivity: What are the impact of break/fix tasks on the end-user? How fast are desktop restores? Does an end-user need to worry about running back-ups?

When evaluating desktop virtualization solutions, do focus on user experience, but make sure you consider ALL aspects of productivity.