Desktop Virtualization & Transformation Workshop

Instructor:
Barb Goldworm
President and Chief Analyst,
FOCUS

The New “Desktop” - Delivering Virtual Desktops and Applications Anywhere

Sunday, May 6th, 2012, 8:30am - 4:30pm

The definition of the ‘desktop’ is changing in many ways. The term 'desktop' is becoming a metaphor for the collective devices, applications, services and content to which users subscribe, both within the enterprise and in the cloud. Virtualization technologies have expanded and improved, offering better ways to deliver both desktops and applications, ranging from VDI to session virtualization to streamed desktops to client hypervisors to Desktop as a Service. New devices continue to emerge and proliferate (including tablets, smartphones, thin clients, and zero clients) and Bring Your Own Computer/Device (BYOC/BYOD) initiatives are gaining ground. As organizations consider the best strategy for delivering and supporting desktops and applications for the next decade, while addressing near-term issues like Windows 7, IT has the opportunity to change the paradigm for delivering access to different users from any device anywhere.

Many organizations are currently facing the challenge of a Windows 7 upgrade for virtually every desktop and application in the company. Desktop and application virtualization can help this process significantly, and can also help address the many desktop management problems that have been plaguing IT for decades. Virtualization also offers better ways to incorporate the new types of users and devices that continue to emerge. But until recently, multiple barriers prevented widespread adoption of desktop virtualization technologies, and in fact, many early desktop virtualization projects failed as a result. This workshop will discuss these previous barriers, which ones have been eliminated, and how to determine when is the right time to implement "the new desktop".

This workshop will cover desktop virtualization and transformation from the ground up, giving you everything you need to know to understand and assess your user requirements, develop a strategy, and select the right products and technologies for your needs. Desktop transformation is much broader than VDI and it is critical to understand all of the available desktop, application, and user virtualization technologies, and where/how they should apply in your environment. Learn about all the various options available today - from major virtualization vendors to emerging startups - and why one size does not fit all. Hear the latest about the available desktop, application and user virtualization technologies, how to assess user desktop requirements across your entire organization, and determine how to successfully select and implement the right technologies for your organization.

Attendees of this workshop will gain:

• An understanding of the current state of desktop, application and user virtualization, including barriers eliminated, available technologies and solutions and how they map to various use cases
• A methodology for evaluating your user requirements and determining which technologies and combined approaches are best suited for your users' needs
• Insights into the interrelationships between desktop, session, application and user virtualization including the role of Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) versus session virtualization technologies such as Citrix XenApp and MS Remote Desktop Services (RDS)/Terminal Services; client hypervisors and offline VDI; application virtualization technologies such as MS App-V; and the critical role of user virtualization and personalization
• A deeper understanding of the various approaches and architectures of the different desktop virtualization, application virtualization and user virtualization/personalization technologies
• An independent look at all the vendor alternatives for desktop, application and user virtualization solutions
• Considerations for developing strategies for the selection and implementations of these technologies
• Knowledge about desktop access device choices (from iPads and rich clients to thin clients to zero clients), how they fit into the new BYOC (bring your own computer) initiatives, and how to integrate them into various approaches and technologies
• The latest improvements in handling 3D graphics and video for session and desktop virtualization
• An update on all the recent changes and future directions of desktop and application virtualization

Who Should Attend:
This workshop targets IT managers and staff who are involved in the planning, implementation and support of desktop and application delivery through virtualization, and how to evaluate and integrate various access devices and BYOC/BYOD strategies into those plans. It is geared for those interested in developing a deeper knowledge of virtual desktops, session/presentation virtualization, application virtualization, and user virtualization/personalization technologies to better design and implement a forward thinking strategy for desktop and application delivery within their companies.

You Will Learn:
During this workshop, we will detail methodologies, approaches, technologies and solutions available for desktop, application and user virtualization.