Checklist: Key factors in planning a virtual desktop infrastructure

You have heard many people, including me, promote virtual desktop and application virtualization implementations for good reasons: Virtual desktop and application virtualization can increase desktop security, reduce desktop and application management responsibilities and reduce calls to your service desk. However, like all smart shoppers, buyers must be aware of what they are getting into. This checklist explains some of the possible environments where desktop and application virtualization may pose some challenges.

However, businesses -- and specifically IT -- will continue to wrestle with network, power, cooling and space challenges associated with placing more servers into the data center, whether they are running server applications or virtual desktops.

About the Author: Anne Skamarock, director of research at Focus Consulting (www.focusonsystems.com), has been involved w

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RELATED GLOSSARY TERMS Terms from Whatis.com − the technology online dictionary desktop virtualization  (SearchVirtualDesktop.com) virtual desktop  (SearchVirtualDesktop.com)

RELATED RESOURCES 2020software.com, trial software downloads for accounting software, ERP software, CRM software and business software systems Search Bitpipe.com for the latest white papers and business webcasts Whatis.com, the online computer dictionary

ith computers and associated technology for nearly 30 years. She started her career as a software engineer developing custom scientific codes and as a Unix systems administrator. She moved to the systems vendor side and worked as a software engineer and in technical sales, marketing and management for both large and start-up systems and storage companies, including SRI International, Sun Microsystems and StorageTek. For the past seven years, Anne has worked as a market analyst focusing on the convergence points around systems, storage and software. Skamarock writes extensively for TechTarget's SearchEnterpriseDesktop.com, SearchStorageChannel.com, SearchServerVirtualization.com and others. She co-authored Blades and Virtualization: Transforming Enterprise Computing While Cutting Costs (Wiley). FOCUS recently finished a FOCUS Landscape Series on Desktop and Applications Delivery Alternatives.