VDI, VDI+, VDI.next... Really, it's all about all desktops. (And so are we!)

Server virtualisation is getting to the point where is just something you can do, moving main stream. Desktop virtualisation is still not done yet and I think the harder task as it involves more components.  However I think it is an important focus as it is the point at which most users interact with systems and has the potential to have the most influence of management costs.

Seeing more articles area about this would be good.

I think your post sums up an important point that the Desktop experience/mgt/support is more important than any one vendor's description of virtualization method (remoteapp,vdi,etc).  However, all of the solutions that are currently maturing which you listed at the top all have one thing in common and that is that they are more progressive and better than the old SMS,CA, way of doing things.  These vendors are know that the old way is dying and are licensing appvirt solutions (landesk w thinapp, ms buys softricity, sym w appstream).  So my question for you is why would you want to waste time expanding the scope to cover those products dying on the vine, and vine is a good word to describe how they've managed to stay in place at some companies.  I can see why you could look at managing these new technologies through an SMS framework or something like that but please save your fastest clock cycles for newer and better technology.

Totally agree.

How about the name "dynamic desktop" which is the super set of all those choices you listed above. Also, dynamic since we're exiting the world of the static, fixed configurations of today's application and desktop environments?

Yes and no....

When you're talking about SMS/SC, Altiris, LANDesk, what are you really talking about?  Repackaging MSI, Transforms files, MSP's and customization wizards?  Why not throw in Citrix Installation Manager which essentially is just the same thing.

So are you going to focus on different management consoles and agents, or the various sub-components that each vendor offers like PC Backup, Change and config management, patch remediation, and asset management? - then please NO!  There are a hundred other sites that focus on just that (just like virtualization sites)

I think that falls more into the category of desktop installation and automation.

I dunno,  brianmadden.com was always a great resource for application delivery and in "delivery" I mean on-demand, instant, and scalable.

Is it going to be about managing "desktops" in the enterprise in 2013 geared more towards managing a user's identity..

Opps.. Typo.. Is it going to be about managing "desktops" in the enterprise in 2013...OR... Geared more towards managing a user's identity..

Hello,

I am pleased to see you moving in this direction.  I have been of the view for some time now that the real killer app in the network is the user.  What is most important to the user are the applications and services they need to work productively and profitably for the business.  What most often stands in the way of the user is the complexity of the network infrastructure.  

In this vein your recognition of Desktop, which I refer to as Infrastructure, recognizes the need for change we face in the network service offering today.  

There was a moment a decade or so ago when the first Fortune 1000 organization in the world created a "Terminal Services" team within the network management schema.  That moment crystalized the value proposition of application delivery as a "need" within the network.

As a pre-sales consultant for RES Software I speak to large globally based corporations on a recurring basis, organizations that are struggling with the very dilemna you reference in this article.  What is this new world?  How will we manage the complexities of the "Some of us" configurations you mention?  How are we to go about the work of justifying the soft costs associated with the duplicitous service management for the "some of us" who need the service here and in this way, while "some of us" need it here in that way.

In your article it is my feeling that you have found the first half of the answer we will see in the network of the future.  While today we have a Desktop team, a Terminal Service team. Application virtualization team, Platform Virtualization team, all of this complexity must be winnowed down to something far simpler.  

I believe your "Desktop" team is the first half of this simpler world.  It works from a business point of view.  We are able to quantify hard costs on a per device basis in this "Desktop" world, and this is good for business modeling, resulting in a more dynamic work environment for technology.

The second half of the equation is User Workspace Management, a term I notice you (and Gartner) are using a bit more often these days.  Not to turn ourselves into Marchitects (far from it!), but User Workspace offers an opportunity to manage the user experience in such a way that is decoupled from underlying "Desktop" complexities.

User Workspace at its best allows for the management and delivery of application service configuration, resource access, policy and security delivery from a single management console.  UWM decouples the complexities associated with the "Desktop" environment you mention in your article.  UWM focuses on the context of the user (in the building, out of the building, and so on) for the dynamic rendering of user session space (no scripting, significantly reduced reliance on profile retention).  

UWM achieves the essential work of configuring services once, over the entirety of the "Desktop" environment, for the purpose of productive and profitable consumption of network resources by the only killer app that counts, the user.  

The future is a team of "Desktop" and User Workspace.

We are seeing convergence with EDS taking on the intergration of say app virtualisation, and other elements... but I would suggest that you stay away from covering EDS in detail, if you can help it.

There are other forums for that.

I think that we can't help but give at least some consideration to ALL forms of delivery. With so many methods of delivery available (SMS, streaming, SBC, VDI, Cloud), we must remember that the end goal is providing the user with a consistent and expected set of tools.

In order to meet the demands of anytime / anywhere computing, I can see many of these methods converging (along with availability and resource auto-provisioning). However, the reason I come to this site is to gain insight on that original core topic: "How do I get my applications to my people". The delivery is the means to that end.