Organisations view investing in, or implementing desktop and application virtualisation as a high priority

JOHANNESBURG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cost reduction, security, manageability and simplifying the migration to Windows 7 are driving organisations to adopt an aggressive deployment approach when it comes to desktop and application virtualisation.

This is one of the key findings in a commissioned study* conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Dimension Data, on the desktop virtualisation market. Over half of the 546 organisations surveyed ranked desktop and application virtualisation as a critical or major initiative over the next 12 to 18 months. Furthermore, deployment levels are predicted to grow from 27% to 46%, taking the number of virtual desktops in organisations from hundreds, to tens of thousands in the next two years.

Ettienne Reinecke, Dimension Data's chief technology officer said, "While only 13% of respondents said they had completed their enterprise roll-out of Windows 7, organisations across all industries and geographies are prioritising their investments in desktop virtualisation. In addition, early adopters are now also emerging from regions other than the heavily regulated industries in North America and Western Europe.

"Overall, 40% of organisations view investing in, or implementing desktop and application virtualisation as a high priority, while 12% believe this a critical priority over the next 12 to 18 months. However, organisations looking at desktop virtualisation as a silver bullet to address desktop challenges must first understand their business drivers, workforce demands and the state of their application ecosystems before defining their next-generation desktop roadmap.

"Typically, an organisation will start by piloting desktop or application virtualisation to a small group of users and then scale out deployments. The most successful deployments we've seen are those designed with workforce segmentation in mind, where the end result is a combination of traditional and virtual desktops that suits the end user's requirements."

Organisations are quickly realising the need to transform their desktop infrastructure. The focus on Windows 7 upgrades, the maturity of desktop and application virtualisation, coupled with business pressure to embrace the consumerisation of IT and bring-your-own-device policies, has created the perfect storm for organisations to modernise their desktop infrastructure.

However, Reinecke warns organisations against pursuing desktop virtualisation purely as a cost reduction tactic. "There's a general misconception that a desktop virtualisation initiative will translate into immediate cost savings. This is underscored by the fact that 60% of the research participants cited cost saving as one of the main drivers for desktop virtualisation projects.

"Desktop virtualisation requires significant investment in the supporting network infrastructure, servers, storage upgrade and software licensing fees to ensure that the solution can effectively meet business and end user demands."

To download the Forrester desktop virtualisation research results, visit www.dimensiondata.com/desktopvirtualisation

About Dimension Data

Founded in 1983, Dimension Data plc is an ICT services and solutions provider that uses its technology expertise, global service delivery capability, and entrepreneurial spirit to accelerate the business ambitions of its clients. Dimension Data is a member of the NTT Group. www.dimensiondata.com

* Dimension Data commissioned Forrester Consulting to carry out research on the desktop virtualisation market. Forrester surveyed 546 enterprises across all industries in the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Australia with 500 or more employees concerning their client virtualisation and end user computing plans.

Contacts

Dimension Data Holdings plc
Hilary King, +27 (0) 82 414 9623
Global PR Manager
hilary.king@dimensiondata.com