Desktop virtualisation, cloud, iPad to rule 2011: Citrix

BANGALORE, INDIA: Virtualisation continues to be in steady demand as organisations move from defining to deploying cloud computing. Thus virtualisation and cloud are going to be the major trends in 2011, says.

Cloud comes down to earth: As organisations better understand the advantages of infrastructure-as-a-service and platform-as-a-service as a solution to meet their specific business needs, cloud computing is becoming more commonly accepted as part of the enterprise toolkit.

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As more in-depth discussions take place, dialogue is gradually moving from ‘what is the cloud’ to grounded discussions about avoiding lock in, ensuring IT productivity, regulatory compliance issues, SLAs and privacy concerns.

Desktop virtualisation goes mainstream: One of the practical implications of cloud computing is to free the desktop. Old thinking is that the only way to provide a full user experience is to have the desktop environment installed on the end user device.

This slows down enterprise agility, and is no longer necessary. The traditional desktop environment remains an important part of enterprise IT, but there is no reason for it to remain just on the laptop. Citrix sees the desktop becoming rapidly more cloud enabled, centrally maintained, and accessible from any device.

The iPad factor: With the multitude the number of smartphones and tablet PCs entering the market and increasingly being introduced in the workplace, this presents various challenges for IT departments.

The proliferation of consumer devices and the increasing enterprise adoption of tablets such as the iPad are causing seismic shifts in the way IT manages endpoints. Frost & Sullivan forecasts that by 2015, 54 percent of all mobile broadband devices sold in APAC will be smartphones, while a Citrix survey this month found that almost half of all 4,951 respondents are already using the iPad daily at work (remarkable since the iPad has only been in the market for seven months).

As access to applications and data from all devices becomes a business imperative, desktop virtualisation deployments will move to fill the void. Since IT can manage data centrally from the data centre, with complete control over tailored access, delivery and security of business applications, organisations will be able to introduce ‘pick-and-mix’ IT policies — allowing users secure access to corporate apps and desktops, whatever device they bring into the office.

The author is area vice president for India Subcontinent at Citrix Systems India Pvt. Ltd.