Transforming the

Desktop to Align with

Todays Mobile Reality
W H ITE PA P E R

Transforming the Desktop to Align

with Todays Mobile Reality

Introduction
Desktop transformation, aligning desktop computing with todays dominant trend of
business mobility, represents an unrivaled opportunity for organizations to drive
business advantage.
Despite the mass adoption of mobile platforms, smart phones and tablets, the
desktop is and will remain a core computing form factor; it will not go the way of the
dodo any time soon. Yet the traditional standalone desktop architecture is significantly
flawed. It is costly, insecure, and inflexible. Moreover, technical innovation around the
desktop is limited and focuses largely on the device, rather than the user. Nor does
the traditional desktop meld particularly well with increasingly mobile and cloudbased computing environments.
In order for desktop computing to evolve past its limitations and successfully
enter the modern age, the next generation desktop must be inspired by mobility.
The key attributes of mobile and cloud computing need to be incorporated within or
supported by the desktop architecture, including:
Real-time application delivery
End-user freedom
Secure access to services at the lowest cost
IT agility in meeting changing business needs
When this happens and it is starting to happen now in forward-looking
organizations an enterprise can look forward to a wave of hard savings, workplace
productivity, and business innovation that can catapult it ahead of the competition.

Stalemate with Todays Standalone

Desktop?
The advent of widespread mobility has turned the desktop into a legacy-computing
device, weighing down user productivity, IT budgets, and innovation. It has emerged
as the poster child for device-centric computing, with applications and data tightly
bound to this device sitting in a single location. As a result, the modern demands for a
consistent experience with anytime, anywhere access eludes the current desktop. The
desktop experience differs according to the particular device and its age. And when it
comes to having a unified and thus productive experience across mobile platforms
and desktops, the current desktop does not play well with others and sabotages user
freedom and choice.
There are also issues around the architecture of todays desktops. It is an outmoded
architecture that does not take advantage of advances in cloud computing. Desktop
operating systems are bloated. Application delivery is slow. And desktop devices are
over-provisioned (locking organizations into lengthy hardware and software refresh
cycles), prone to breaking, and increasingly not cost-effective for the tasks at hand.
Finally, from an IT perspective, current desktop environments are a significant
drain on resources. Todays desktop equates to high CapEx and OpEx. Buying and
maintaining desktop PCs is a costly proposition. Aside from upfront costs, an
immense percentage of IT budgets are spent on managing desktop hardware and
software refresh cycles and on patching, updating and managing desktop applications.
This is money that should be spent on IT and business innovation, not on maintaining
an antiquated architecture where innovation goes to die.
The good news is that desktop transformation empowers organizations to break
through the current desktop stalemate and change every part of this picture.

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The VMware Advantage

How does VMware help in
transforming an organizations
desktop? The company that
fundamentally changed the IT
industry with the VMware SDDC
architecture is today the pioneer
and leader in taking the desktop
into the modern age. VMware is
paving the way for IT to evolve
past the limitations of legacy
desktop architectures, delivering
end-user freedom with secure
access to services at the lowest
cost, and the flexibility to deliver
these services on-premises or
through a hybrid cloud. With this
approach, users can enjoy a
consistent and personalized
experience across devices,
locations and connections; and
businesses can drive down costs,
improve workplace productivity,
and respond more quickly while
maintaining security. By
combining the power of the
SDDC, real-time app and user
management, and flexible hybrid
cloud delivery, VMware delivers
the foundation of a new mobile
cloud architecture, thus leading
the charge in delivering nextgeneration desktops to
organizations today.

The Promise of Desktop Transformation

Just what does desktop transformation enable? Desktop transformation is more
than just a matter of revitalizing the desktop. It is about realigning the desktop with
the prevailing trend of business mobility, which is made possible by the cloud.
Implemented properly, the results play out across user experience and flexibility,
costs, portability of applications and data, security and choice of architecture.
Essentially, you can look to desktop transformation to enable:
A modern user experience This means simple, consistent and secure access
to applications and data across devices and locations, regardless of whether you
are in the office, at home, in a hotel, in transit, or out in the field. In other words,
genuine user freedom.
Simplified management Todays complex desktop management environments
give way to simplified, low-overhead management models that provide integrated
management across operating systems and devices, self-service capabilities that
off-load tasks from IT, and automated image, application and service delivery and
monitoring.
Lower CapEx and OpEx On average, organizations can anticipate up to 30
percent lower CapEx combined with ongoing OpEx savings of up to 50 percent
through streamlined management (separated from the device), user self-service,
and the elimination of having to refresh, update, patch and otherwise babysit
hundreds or thousands of individual desktop devices and applications.
Secure just-in-time applications and desktops Business users and IT alike can
benefit from real-time delivery of applications and desktops through the use of
stateless, or virtual desktops. Along with this comes enhanced security with data
centralized and protected in the software-defined data center (SDDC), rather
than on each device.
Flexible delivery across the IT landscape The promise here is of fast, agile
and consistent delivery across an enterprises on-premise, cloud and hybrid
environments. Organizations are able to deliver services on demand as required,
leveraging a fluid infrastructure enabled by the SDDC and/or the cloud, while
paying only for what is actually needed and used.
The net results of this transformation include more efficient and more satisfied
employees who, now un-tethered from their devices and free to move, can use the
desktop as one more productivity device in a galaxy of such devices. IT benefits from
being able to eliminate the baggage of the legacy desktop environment, thus freeing
more resources for innovation that will drive business advantage. And the business
benefits from lower overall costs, more secure information environments, and the
ability to extend a higher level of services to customers.

Next-Generation User Experience and

Unified Access
VMware makes the desktop truly user-centric, with seamless, secure and contextual
access to each users specific applications and data provided via a unified workspace
portal. With applications, content and policies tied to the individual, rather than to the
device, users are empowered to:
Immediately and consistently access precisely what they need at all times across
devices and locations.
Move seamlessly from device to device, taking their applications, data and
preferences with them.

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Hand in hand with this unified access comes a modern application experience that
mirrors the capabilities users have become accustomed to with their personal devices.
This includes:
The ability to instantly add, update, manage and remove applications at will.
Self-service capabilities akin to todays consumer and mobile experiences to
custom and control the experience.
Critically, the new user experience never becomes stale, as it can be easily updated
across all devices as new capabilities become desirable.

Simplest, Lowest Overhead Management

VMware Workspace Environment Management provides an end-to-end approach to
application and user management across desktop environments. IT organizations are
able to engage in uniquely cost-effective application lifecycle management while
controlling and streamlining application and end-user management operations across
desktop and mobile devices. Capabilities include:
Simplified user management with easy creation of end user personas that are
tied to the individual and not the device.
Easy creation and management of dynamic IT policies.
Rapid application isolation and delivery.
End-to-end monitoring.
Easy maintenance with desktops being handled almost as if they were mobile
phones i.e.: break it, switch it out, and get up and running again immediately.

Unbeatable ROI
From CapEx to OpEx to infrastructure, organizations are beset with numerous hard
costs resulting from legacy desktop environments. On the infrastructure front,
VMware enables organizations to leverage VMware software-defined compute,
networking and storage through VMware EVO:RAIL and EVO:RACK with hyperconverged infrastructure appliances to:
Ensure users consume only the compute, network and storage resources they need.
Simplify infrastructure design, set up and management, with predictable sizing
and scaling and streamlined deployment.
At the same time, organizations are able to dramatically slash acquisition and
operating costs. A case in point is VMware customer Colt Technology Services, which
embraced desktop transformation and moved to a virtualized desktop and application
environment. Consequently, Colt saved an estimated 61 percent in hardware costs and
68 percent on maintenance over a four-year period. Additional savings have accrued
from empowering contractors with secure virtual desktops, rather than supplying
them with physical devices. Colt is also benefiting from a faster time to value by
provisioning contractors and new starts with a Colt workspace service.

Secure Just-in-Time Desktops

VMware is breaking new ground by empowering organizations to provide their users
with just-in-time virtual desktops. Using VMware InstantClone, IT can now clone a
running virtual machine to create a new image instantly. This provides a 30 percent
speed advantage over anything similar on the market today. Further, the cloned
machine is extraordinarily lightweight as it shares all memory and data with the
original image. Couple InstantClone with VMware App Volumes and you now have
the ability to add applications to that image in seconds. As a result, users can leverage
new, powered on, completely personalized virtual machines on their devices as soon

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We allow our providers to bring a

device in and use it however theyd
like to. If its not something we
purchased, were not going to
support the entire device. But if
they bring something in, we
wanted a uniform way to allow
them to get into our meta-tech
system and use it reliably... And we
support our doctors who are
pretty much expected to be able to
get into the system wherever they
are.
Chad Roskam,
Technology Services Manager,
Avera Health

Desktops are in many ways the

lifeblood of the companys daily
work, so it makes sense to keep
them on a central server where we
can make sure nothing goes
wrong. Being able to give that, we
as IT professionals find very
motivating.
Jun Nishii,
The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi
UFJ, Ltd

as they log on. And the CapEx advantages are equally extraordinary. With this just-intime desktop, organizations can leverage truly stateless desktops and pool
infrastructure resources across end users to dramatically drive down costs.
This also introduces a new security paradigm for desktop users. Essentially, end users
receive a brand new desktop each time they log on a desktop with no viruses,
spyware, bugs or compromised software carried over from the last desktop you used.
The old desktop is destroyed automatically upon logging out, and a new desktop is
served up every single time.

Flexible, Cost-Effective and Secure Delivery

Acting on the principle that it is your business, your end users, and thus your
choice, only VMware supports desktop delivery across the full spectrum of IT
environments: local, on-premises, public cloud and hybrid cloud. Organizations are
able to create and scale up desktops on demand to best meet their end-user and
business requirements.
And for organizations looking to serve the needs of end users that are not always
connected to the network, or who are looking to bring in their own devices, VMware
also has a solution that ensures that users can leverage the power and performance
of their local devices (including BYO devices) while enabling IT to centrally manage,
set policy, and secure corporate assets from the data center.
Whether you want to secure and manage desktop and application services on your
premises or have a third-party vendor manage these services for you, VMware
provides the flexibility to chooseand to ensure that users receive the same great
experience across devices, locations and network connections (or in some instances
lack of network connections).

Customer Successes Transforming Business by

Transforming Desktops
Avera Health
Avera Hospitals primary care clinics, specialty care clinics, and long term care
facilities - seek to heal the whole person body, mind and spirit in their community.
From a business standpoint, they recognized the need to replace aging computers
and standardize nurses stations, where real estate is at a premium.
By reimagining the hospitals technical infrastructure via zero client endpoints, Avera
was able to create an environment that supported a diverse set of devices, operating
systems, and methods of connection. The new system supported multiple login
methods, solving latency issues, as well as enabling enhanced efficiencies for doctors
and remote users. It also greatly simplified troubleshooting and replacement
procedures, thereby allowing medical staff to focus on patient care and comfort.
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi
The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ strives to cater to its customers every financial
need including considerable investments in its business infrastructure. Due to the
sensitive nature of customer information, IT security is a top priority for the bank and
so the institution decided to reimagine its desktop environment in a way that would
allow them to enhance compliance with industry regulations for security and
confidentiality, increase PC workstation utilization rates while reducing costs, and
foster new work styles for productivity gains.
After the upgrade IT staff experienced more efficient management, thanks to
visualization of the full environment including applications, and documented a 15
percent reduction in operating costs due to higher workstation utilization rates
ultimately transforming their facilities into a more efficient, paperless style of operation.

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Conclusion
While the desktop will endure, the days of device-centric desktop computing,
outdated architectures, slow application delivery, complex management and high
desktop costs are numbered. Liberated by the cloud in their business and personal
lives, and conditioned by the convenience and freedom of mobile devices, business
users want these attributes on their daily business desktop. Organizations attuned to
the power of mobility are increasingly moving to make this happen across their
respective user bases. Inspired by mobility, the next-generation desktop will have as
powerful an impact on business productivity and innovation as mobility itself. As
companies make their desktop transformation move, they need to consider how
only VMware can:
Deliver a desktop transformation solution for any IT environment, all use cases and
every user from office, remote and mobile users to developers to graphic users
to non-employees.
Leverage VMwares game-changing SDDC approach to bring proven scalability
and simplified management to transformed desktop environments.
Provide the experience and professional guidance necessary to accelerate desktop
transformation initiatives and ensure their success.
To learn more about desktop transformation and how to make it work for your
organization, visit www.vmware.com/go/desktop.

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