The launch of Microsoft’s Vista operating system and Office 2007 application is again focusing attention on the desktop. Research carried out by analyst Freeform Dynamics highlights some interesting trends regarding Vista adoption in the business community.
Our results confirm earlier studies that indicate Vista adoption is a matter of time – when not if. But the research also indicates that deployment is likely to be accelerated in organisations that take a service management approach to IT delivery, those that consider themselves well aligned with business requirements, and those who monitor performance across the entire scope of IT service delivery.
The arrival of Vista is causing many organisations to actively look at their desktop and laptop deployments, creating an opportunity for them to go beyond simply deciding if or when to deploy.
IT managers now have a chance to consider the entire process of delivering IT services through the desktop/laptop.
Throughout much of the past 15 years a lot of attention has been lavished on the less-than-humble personal computer.
There is absolutely no doubt the PC has enabled much productive and valuable work to be delivered, but not without cost, especially in the time spent configuring, repairing and maintaining devices.
For most people it is fair to say their PC, be it laptop or desktop, and the office productivity tools that run on it, is the centre of the daily work environment.
Despite claims by some suppliers, our research shows that neither the browser nor business applications can make the same claim. However, in recent years the high cost of looking after the device has, at last, caught up with the PC.
A question many firms are now asking, perhaps belatedly, concerns the best way to deliver desktop service to users.
There are now many ways of answering the question. As well as the standard unmanaged PC, usually Microsoft Windows-based, we have entered an age where alternative solutions may now be suitable for some users. Business needs should dictate that those solutions be investigated.
The options include using sophisticated management tools to assist daily PC administration and operations, as well as potentially deploying rapidly maturing thin client systems. Newer offerings such as software as a service could have some role to play supplying basic desktop office functionality, but not yet.
It is also apparent that there will soon be obvious opportunities to bring well-established virtualisation tools to the desktop. The simplicity of deploying a single file containing a user’s desktop to whatever PC device is needed, quickly and without fuss, is certain to attract attention, especially in those organisations that are already comfortable operating virtual machines on their servers.
The advent of Vista gives an opportunity to consider not just if or when the software should be adopted on PCs and laptops, but also the whole question of IT service delivery to users in the modern, highly-connected and rapidly altering business world.
The scope of IT business service delivery is expanding rapidly, and an increasing number of options are now available to support users in their complex, evolving and highly mobile use of IT services.
Tony Lock is programme director at analyst Freeform Dynamics
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