With VMware having exited the market, it’s time for IT leaders to double-down on end-user computing
Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) or virtual client computing (VCC) is regarded as a ‘done deal’ for most enterprises but there are many opportunities to advance what organisations can do to enhance the experience for remote users. And with VMware having recently made a decision to exit the market, it’s a timely juncture for CIOs and other IT leaders to examine their options.
It’s a mature market but one that is still growing with Acute Market Reports predicting a CAGR increase of over 25 per cent from 2024 through 2032. And today its next evolution is here and, even better, it’s a quick and affordable switch to combine the flexibility of virtual desktops with the elegance of hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) and cloud platforms.
Let’s look at the broader context to understand what’s going on here. Almost every enterprise has implemented VDI/VCC in some shape or form in an attempt to gain centralised control, extend administrative reach across physical estates, gain greater value for money and enhance security. But many will have done so in environments where three-tier architecture separating out compute, storage and networking, dominated. Today, three-tier models are rightly regarded as legacy systems so this begs the question: are many enterprise IT departments making full use of the platform and the burgeoning functionality and features in HCI and cloud just waiting to add value? The answer I see, as a veteran of end-user computing (EUC), is a clear ‘no’.
Benefits on tap
What’s the solution to that? The opportunity is here, I contend, to create what I call EUC 2.0: a major upgrade on what has become standard over the last decades. And, as with so much in IT today, its future lies in benefiting from the hyperscale public cloud, so much of which has already been paid for but has virtues that are lying untapped.
Organisations need to extend their VDI ability to burst into cloud platforms for DR-as-a-Service and improved security based on microsegmentation and forensic data governance. Add in an overdrive gear for high seasonal compute demands or special events and then think about the possibilities of folding in HCI, unified storage and cloud management and you have a true no-brainer.
Why is EUC 2.0 a no-brainer? Because most mature enterprises will already have selected at least one VDI partner and major cloud platform, so it makes sense to evolve their VDI deployments with affordable, low-risk, low-maintenance approaches that combine the power of virtualised EUC with the non-stop enhancements delivered by cloud platform providers.
The seamlessness extends to users, too. Most users will not even know what has changed under the hood beyond seeing an uptick in performance and superior integration with tools such as Microsoft Teams to enhance the user experience. More reasons to adopt? Well, there’s far superior administrative observability to be had via an eagle’s nest view of data usage, where it resides and so on.
There are broader benefits too because the combination of EUC and cloud means that CIOs can easily switch their VDI setups to another cloud so there is no possibility of lock-in to a single cloud provider. This is timely as many CIOs are seeking to demonstrate to regulators their ability to exit a hyperscale platform if needed. Others are using licence credits to tap multiple clouds tactically, for example to gain access to GPUs for AI and other purposes.
Finally, developments in unified storage on HCI offer the chance to bring data closer to virtual desktops and mean user profiles and file shares can be more easily and safely stored with increased performance and lower admin overheads. Also, unified storage means that robust defensive tools against cyberattacks, ransomware and other menaces can be integrated.
It’s time to act
With budgets tight for many CIOs, low-cost, low-friction ways to sweat assets are bound to be popular and that’s why EUC 2.0’s time has come from a FinOps perspective: it simply makes sense to join up infrastructure pieces and extract optimal value.
With VMware having sold its Horizon EUC business to private equity, many IT leaders will have reached a crossroads where it makes sense to re-examine EUC options. And with figuring out Working From Home policies still challenging for many, this is as good a time as any for upping your EUC game and getting more from your estate by enabling functionality that is currently latent.
The people at your endpoints are the ones that really drive productivity. Giving them the tools to be optimally effective from any location and any device remains the rationale for thinking about EUC and its next waves of opportunity. It’s time to investigate how the confluence of cloud, HCI and virtual desktops can act as the catalyst for new, more efficient ways of working.
About the Author
Seb Hakiel is Director EMEA Solutions Specialists at Nutanix. Nutanix is a global leader in cloud software, offering organizations a single platform for running apps and data across clouds. With Nutanix, companies can reduce complexity and simplify operations, freeing them to focus on their business outcomes. Building on its legacy as the pioneer of hyperconverged infrastructure, Nutanix is trusted by companies worldwide to power hybrid multicloud environments consistently, simply, and cost-effectively.
