E-Handbook: What's new with desktop virtualization management? Article 1 of 3

No VDI without quality user experience

In the 1760s and 1770s, the British colonists in America were not happy. Official decrees such as the Townshend Acts enforced new taxes, and the rallying cry became, "No taxation without representation!"

The Tea Act of 1773 created a monopoly on tea, and the situation worsened. A group of colonists in Boston responded by tossing a shipment of tea into the harbor, and eventually tensions escalated into the Revolutionary War. You could say the user experience for these colonists was not great.

Virtual desktop problems probably won't lead to an actual war, but if you can't deliver the type of user experience employees demand, you might see some of them tossing their computers overboard.

The best way to prevent an uprising is to use the right desktop virtualization management tools to ensure that everything is working properly, and when it's not, quickly identify and resolve problems. This starts with VDI monitoring tools that can track statistics in areas such as application load times and desktop login times.

You can also invest in user experience monitoring tools that are either agent-based or virtual user-based. The agent-based approach lets you track user activity with an agent inside the desktop or application server. The virtual user-based approach actually runs different workflows to see how long they take to complete. 

User experience is not the only important aspect of desktop virtualization management, however. Security is also critical because a breach could be catastrophic. You must know how to balance UX and security so that users stay happy and data stays safe.

Use this three-part handbook on VDI management to avoid King George III's fate in the Americas and keep all your subjects content.