I just came across this blog article, The Right Tool for the Job, written by Troy Trenchard, Group VP and General Manager at Citrix Systems, outlining why they had purchased the private company called Kaviza. Troy did an exceptional job writing an analogy with respect to having the right tools for the job and how this also applies to business solutions as well.
Within this article, I love the fact that Troy validates Citrix position in the market place with respect to Xendesktop and how this solution was designed for the enterprise market space, not SMB market space. “XenDesktop is a great product… But, it wasn’t designed for Small and Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs), who typically lack the expertise (network admin, storage admin, etc.) and budget to deploy and maintain enterprise infrastructure. They need something simple to install, configure, manage, and scale-without requiring additional infrastructure, and at a price that’s comparable to buying or replacing PCs.”
I would definitely have to agree with Troy’s statement regarding SMBs – what they want and what they need. Though, interestingly enough, the next paragraph outlines statistics stating that “over 60% of respondents said they expected to implement VDI solutions in the next 24 months.” For SMBs? Really? I, myself, would have to question who these so called ‘respondents’ are within this statistic – especially for the small to mid-size market space.
If you refer to Simon Crosby’s most recent blog of October 10th, 2011, A Collection of Bromides on Infrastructure, Simon is very clear to state “I have not found a single desktop virtualization expert (that does not work for one of the DV vendors) who will put their err… cred, on the table to recommend VDI over other desktop virtualization technologies (other than for a narrow set of use cases). In fact, the opposite is true: The leading voices in desktop virtualization think customers are being misled , and that it’s high time for the truth to out.” Simon continues in his article stating that “the overwhelming majority of virtual desktops today are delivered using TS/RDS. Very few enterprises have successfully rolled out VDI at a scale beyond a few thousand users, and those that have are beginning to wonder why.”
The problem now is that Citrix offers Kaviza VDI-in-the-box to SMBs. How about the 95 - 98% of users that require RemoteApp /TS/RDS desktops as a delivery mechanism? Now what? Will they have to use a combination of Kaviza + Citrix ZenApp to complete the solution for their SMB clients? Welcome Cost & Complexity +++. If Citrix is trying to present a truly viable solution to SMBs, they need to be presented with an offering that provides the core features of what SMBs really need (application / desktop delivery via ICA) and not trying to push technologies (VDI) down the pipe that SMBs don't really require - aside from special user case scenarios which typically will account for less than 2 - 3% of their overall user base.
As a software development company whose primary business focus is catering to small to mid-size businesses, the ratio of RemoteApp, TS/RDS desktop delivery using TS/RDS in combination with Konect Elite remains on the forefront for at least 99% of our IT consultant and reseller channel base. VDI is not even a consideration for the vast majority of these businesses. This is not due to the technology, but rather, business case scenario needs. However, there are those unique user case scenarios that do require a combination of RemoteApp, TS/RDS desktop delivery in combination with some VDI deliveries. Thus, SMBs need a solution that provides the ability to offer a combination of these solutions (VDI, RemoteApp, TS/RDS desktop, App-V) versus the narrow “one-size fits all” solutions being pushed by the larger vendors today.
Here is where desktopsites has taken in the comments and feedback articulated from key analysts in the market place, paying particular attention to the feedback from IT Consultants and Resellers who cater and provide integration services to these SMB customers. Result: desktopsites newly released Konect Elite advanced desktop virtualization solution.
As a Microsoft centric solution, Konect Elite provides Microsoft resellers with a simplified, easy to install, cost effective desktop virtualization solution that leverages commodity servers for the delivery and management of RemoteApp, RDS/TS desktops, VDI and App-V, in any combination thereof, to users. The formula to make this happen is quite simple: Microsoft Server 2008R2 + Hyper-V + Konect Elite
Don’t be confused by what is needed for a desktop virtualization solution for your small and mid-size business. Remember the acronym KISS saying, ‘Keep It Simple, Stupid’. The large vendors are pushing technologies, such as VDI & App-V, that aren’t necessarily what may be needed in your business. For the 95 – 98% of your users that only require RemoteApp delivery via TS/RDS ; for the remaining 1- 2% of users that require VDI for special user case scenarios; - Microsoft Server 2008R2 + Hyper-V + Konect Elite is all you need.
For more information regarding desktopsites’ Konect Elite desktop virtualization solution, visit our website for a free 30 day trial download.
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