Challenge
This Baltimore-based non-profit organization was outgrowing their existing shared remote desktop environment which was limiting user productivity and causing administrators to spend a lot of valuable time on support issues. The lack of suitable resources was leading to employee dissatisfaction, as technical difficulties kept the staff from performing their duties effectively. Essentially, the organization’s existing environment was no longer working for them.
Solution
As their IT services provider, DP Solutions (DPS) uncovered these issues during quarterly Virtual CIO planning sessions and brought the idea of Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) to the table. DPS provided the company with very detailed information and guidance on how a VDI solution would work within their infrastructure and walked them through cost-benefit discussions.
VDI is the practice of running user desktop computers in virtual machines on centralized server hardware. In other words, instead of deploying and configuring individual PCs for each user, employees connect to a virtual PC from any device in any location. This type of infrastructure is ideal for companies who want thin or zero clients, as well as to provide staff with easy mobile access to the desktop environment. DPS realized the client was a good candidate for VDI because that was exactly what they were looking to achieve.
For the organization, VDI promised to be an IT support time-saver, reduce administrative overload, and increase end-user efficiency and satisfaction. However, as the concept of VDI was new to them, they weren’t sure if it would perform as well as advertised. So to show proof of concept, DPS built out a demo environment that let the client try the solution before committing to it.
Technically speaking
The centralized management inherent in a VDI solution simplifies desktop support by allowing centralized administration of the desktops and minimizing the need for downtime. Rich Carey, Senior Project Architect at DPS explains, “You may not need to hire additional internal technical support if you have VDI. You can manage a lot of people with fewer support resources.”
There are several solutions that allow for centrally managed desktops, such as Remote Desktop Services. VDI offers not only the benefit of data being stored in a centralized location, but allows the user to run on a familiar and dedicated Windows desktop.
“Managing desktops through a VDI solution is far superior to physical management because it’s on a virtual platform, making administration simple,” said the organization’s IT Manager. “With VDI, my team spends far less time addressing support issues across our seven locations.”
VDI is scalable and customizable. Although there is a perception that VDI is a fit only for large enterprise environments, it was a perfect match for the organization for what they were hoping to achieve. Small to medium size business that desire to simplify desktop support and increase mobility for their user base can realize cost savings and increased productivity by implementing VDI.
Results
Since implementing VDI, the organization has seen a huge leap in end-user productivity and satisfaction. Employee complaints are way down as staff now consistently receives the end-user experience they expect when logging into their computers and can perform their tasks efficiently. Additionally, the organization’s
IT Support staff is able to streamline IT support and make updates in a much timelier manner than before using VDI.
With these great outcomes, the client wants to switch their entire environment to VDI. They are confident that it will have a tremendous impact on the organization as a whole, allowing them to focus more steadfastly on achieving their mission.
“With VDI, there is a learning curve like anything else, but it works and has exceeded my expectations. VDI is the way to go!” exclaimed the organization’s IT Manager.
Via: www.dpsolutions.com
