Improved security driving desktop virtualization: study

BANGALORE, INDIA: Ninety one percent of organizations surveyed have implemented desktop virtualization or plan to do so before the end of 2013, according to new global research commissioned by Citrix.

Of those organizations, 92 percent are adopting desktop virtualization to improve information security. Senior IT decision makers at these organizations attribute three principal security benefits to desktop virtualization:

-      More secure access to data from user devices

-      Improved security of data and applications

-      Simplified risk management

“Desktop virtualization delivers centralized control and management of desktops, applications and data delivered to any endpoint device. It also offers granular, policy-based access control and supports compliance requirements. It embeds an important infrastructure-level of information governance that enhances risk management, across information security and compliance,” said Kurt Roemer, chief security strategist, for Citrix.

Eighty six percent of senior IT decision makers believe that desktop virtualization offers a strategic approach to improved information security, regardless of whether or not they intend to use desktop virtualization within their own organization.

Of the senior IT decision makers that will have desktop virtualization in place at the end of 2013, 95 percent believe it is very effective at protecting information while providing workers with fast and effective access to the information they require. Ninety seven percent said that they expect desktop virtualization to help their organization respond to new and emerging security threats.

Benefits at the device level

At a device level, seventy four percent envisage using desktop virtualization to instantly update an entire estate of PC and computing devices. Also cited as key benefits were immediate provisioning and de-provisioning of desktop access at 60 percent, instant isolation of a compromised application at 54 percent and the ability to remotely wipe data from a computing device at 32 percent.

Sixty six percent of senior IT decision makers cite the secure delivery of applications and data as a critical security capability that led to them deciding to implement desktop virtualization. Compliance requirements are also a key driver, with sixty one percent citing access management and fifty three percent citing activity monitoring, logging and reporting as important capabilities delivered by desktop virtualization.

“As desktop virtualization has matured, and been implemented by organizations around the world, there is increasing recognition of the inherent information security benefits that it delivers,” stated Roemer. “Desktop virtualization is now regarded as a strategic investment that forms a fundamental part of an organization’s IT infrastructure.”

Benefits at the infrastructure level

Ninety one percent of senior IT decision makers implementing desktop virtualization say it is very effective at supporting compliance requirements. Eighty nine percent also say such solutions protect against the exposure of private data and data loss.

Centralized, granular policy control enabled by desktop virtualization allows IT to handle compliance proactively by allowing an organization to develop an appropriate information security strategy for its own industry, business needs and risk profile.