Virtualizing Desktops and Storage

David Marshall from Infoworld/VMblog has posted interviews on 2010 predictions.
This is a post from DataCore solution provider Helixstorm;
Check out the full article:

Desktop and Storage Virtualization are the Next "Big Wave"
http://vmblog.com/archive/2009/12/31/desktop-and-storage-virtualization-are-the-next-big-wave.aspx

Virtualizing Desktops and Storage

Aaron Schneider - Director of Sales Engineering for Helixstorm, Inc.

Virtual servers and consolidation drove the first wave.

Aggregating compute resources through virtualization is now a black and white cost-savings value proposition. Server virtualization has proven itself by consolidating workloads and reducing hardware, power, cabling, and cooling costs. Many companies have already made the jump into virtualization and have successfully increased their service level agreements (SLAs) and implemented rapid application delivery to deal with ever changing business processes and to better protect their data through business continuity.

So what else can we do with virtualization and clouds?

While server virtualization for consolidation may be somewhat saturated, there are still very large untapped areas where virtualization or cloud computing will make a huge impact. Desktop and storage virtualization will be the next "big wave." There has been plenty of activity/discussions/buzz around adopting desktop computing into the cloud. However, virtualizing the desktop has nowhere near the adoption rate as server virtualization - even though the underlying technologies and concepts are identical. Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) has historically fallen short in two (2) keys areas - user experience delivery and short term ROI. At the end of the day, there is not a CEO on the planet that will sacrifice a poor user experience on the desktop to make life easier for IT. On the ROI front, there is a significant investment made to adopt desktop virtualization (server, storage, software, thin clients), which is why some organizations turn to vendors that offer desktops through SaaS (Software as a Service). However, over time, there is a strong ROI over the traditional desktop. In our opinion, the only true way to implement desktop virtualization is to de-couple the operating system from the applications and then in "real-time" mesh the two together and deliver to the end-user the usability they need. Citrix and VMware have the leading and most stable approaches for these types of implementations right now.

Organizations that have adopted or are looking to adopt server and desktop virtualization need to look strongly at the storage aspect. Virtualizing the storage layer to have a virtual infrastructure is critical. This gives companies the ability to implement Enterprise features to deliver business continuity such as synchronous and asynchronous replication to safeguard corporate information, without the "Enterprise" price tag. This is a key topic, since we find that many companies in the SMB market need the ability to provide Enterprise level features of a traditional storage solution, at a price point that fits their budget. A software approach to storage virtualization, such as that provided by DataCore software, does just that. It protects your software investment while the value of the hardware continues to depreciate on a daily basis.

The virtualization marketplace is still filled with solutions to help you improve and implement business processes. The impact of virtualization is spreading and this year it will lead to greater success for desktop and storage virtualization. In terms of desktops, new technologies like PCoIP (PC over IP) along with advancements in several connection broker technologies look to finally solve the end- user experience and deliver a seamless, near-native desktop computing platform. Storage virtualization as a software solution is breaking down the remaining hardware constraints and continues to evolve so that today it has become amore cost-effective alternative over traditional-based arrays and is doing so without sacrificing performance or features. The key point is that the technology now exists to build virtual infrastructures and clouds, but it has to fit the budgets. Cost-effective storage virtualization solutions are a critical factor to the further growth of both server and desktop adoption in the marketplace.