I've recently been on the road for a week conducting seminars together with Microsoft, as well as other partners. The theme of our road show was the transition to Windows 7 and Virtual Desktops. During the week, I had the pleasure of meeting nearly 150 skilled IT professionals from various companies and organizations.
In light of all of the pending projects for transitioning to Windows 7 and introducing VDI solutions, I’ve realized that it has become critical for IT to determine how to make these changes part of a new strategic direction for their organization, instead of viewing them as just another tactical, short-term technology refresh.
One of the challenges of Windows Desktops is that they are relatively static and require a lot of time consuming maintenance. Administration of static solutions will lead to a lot of customization and scripting along with many manual tools. This is complex, expensive to maintain, inflexible, and not very user friendly.
The solution: "Dynamic Desktops”
A Dynamic Desktop is a Windows-based workspace (physical or virtual) that is aware of the situation or context of the user at any given time and dynamically adjusts the content and appearance of the workspace accordingly.
Situational and context awareness aren’t entirely new concepts. Take the modern-day car, for instance. A car may be aware that it is raining and start the wipers at the correct speed. Some cars are aware of nearby objects when reversing and alert the driver immediately. Radio and console displays can change their level of contrast and appearance when the surroundings are dark versus light, and some cars can even dim high beams automatically when approaching other cars at night.
These features make life easier for the user, or in this case, the driver. Like today’s cars, a technology rich "Windows Desktop" or workspace can also be intelligent and dynamic.
In the office, a user needs to access a unique combination of applications, data, printers, and user settings— this is a personal workspace. When the user moves to another location and logs on, the content and appearance is delivered according to who the user is, their current role or situation, the location, what device is being used and the time of day. For this specific location, access to a local printer is automatically provided.
If a user logs on to a laptop from home, the workspace is aware of where he/she is and dynamically adapts for the home location and current time. For security reasons, access to sensitive data and applications can be blocked, but in the evening, the user may have access to services like iTunes and their music.
Dynamic Desktops ensure that wherever a user is, the right workspace is always available. The result is more simplicity and increased job satisfaction for users, as well as fewer help desk calls, higher productivity and better security for businesses.
If your organization is planning to implement Windows 7 or VDI solutions, the gains can be far greater by making the move to Dynamic Desktops beforehand (or simultaneously).
Earlier this year RES Software conducted a survey related to Windows 7 and VDI adoption and related challenges. Close to 1,000 CIOs and IT specialists participated. Among these, 8 out of 10 responded that they will implement Windows 7, and nearly half will also introduce Virtual Desktops. The biggest concerns they expressed were the migration of user profiles, loss of productivity and dissatisfied users.
The survey also shows that the vast majority expects their project to take 7-18 months to complete. Analysis, design and testing are the phases expected to consume the most time. This is also a good reason to clearly identify what an organization is looking to achieve.
A traditional project will bring the infrastructure from static Windows XP or Vista desktops to a new but still static Windows 7 desktop.
When planning to use 7-18 months to introduce a new Desktop Solution anyway, why not reap the rewards of making the new platform Dynamic?
This will also ease migration headaches, provide better quality and reduce risk for the project. It even ensures that users retain their personal settings and preferences, so they can be fully productive during and after the migration.
What I hear from many IT professionals about projects like this is that they tend to have a lack of resources, challenging milestones and deadlines – and there is always an urgency. In a busy workday, these challenges leave little time for reflection and the overall long-term goals.
Remember that speed is rarely a good tradeoff for the lack of direction. My advice is to stop and decide on a strategic direction before you jump into tactical technology moves.
An operating system itself is not a strategy, and transition to Windows 7 is only a tactical choice of a technology refresh. If the vision is to deliver more effective tools for company employees, and to improve overall productivity, the introduction of Dynamic Desktops is a clear and sound strategy.
Watch the VideoBlog: Transition to Windows 7 and Adoption of VDI
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