Firms deploying Virtual Desktop Infrastructure for cost savings likely to be disappointed

Research finds 41 per cent of firms deploy VDI for cost savings on devices, which is unwise, according to a panel of experts

Some firms are deploying Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) with the aim of saving money on hardware, however they are likely to be disappointed by the results.

According to research recently conducted by Computing, 41 per cent of firms deploy VDI for the cost savings on devices. With VDI, end user devices can be cheap and function-light, with storage and compute power provided by a central server, which connects to multiple devices.

But these firms searching for up-front cost savings are likely to be disappointed, according to a panel of experts speaking on a Computing web seminar recently.

"Some firms purely want to go for VDI to save money, and then we usually shake their hands and walk away. The Capex for a VDI deployment is often significantly higher," said Andy Trevor, managing director of virtualisation specialists Cutter Group.

Martin Finch, enterprise solutions manager, at Fujitsu Technology Products Group, said that cost savings do appear further down the line.

"The operating expense over time is significantly reduced. With VDI you have one point of support and one point of management, so all the cost savings are after purchase," said Finch.

The research also found that 48 per cent of firms look to adopt a VDI strategy in order to enable a mobile and flexible working policy. Those firms are more likely to find success, according to the experts.

"There are a significant number of points that need to be looked at to build the business case for VDI," said Trevor. "Mobility and flexibility, management and maintenance are big benefits. IT teams are being reduced across all sectors, so they want to deploy something that's easier to manage," he explained.

Ease of maintenance and upgrades also appeared high on the list of expected benefits, with 46 per cent of respondents selecting the option as their principle reason for deploying VDI.

When asked how their expected needs were met, 85 per cent of firms said that VDI had met their mobility and flexibility needs, and 75 per cent declared themselves satisfied by the ease of maintenance and upgrading.