Hosted Virtual Desktops – DaaS reviewed by Network World

Consider desktops in the cloud for BYOD - Five DaaS vendors deliver Windows desktops to any end user device

Network World released their review of DaaS providers today titled “Consider desktops in the cloud for BYOD, Five DaaS vendors deliver Windows desktops to any end user device,” written by Tom Henderson of ExtremeLabs.  To begin with, it was a compliment to ICC Global Hosting to be selected as one of the providers to be tested and we enjoyed working with Tom in his review.  I was first approached by XtremeLabs on behalf of Network World in November and agreed to build a test environment for their review.  After some interaction with Tom Henderson and my team the test environment was turned over in January and the testing began.  By the way, thanks to the ICC Support team for a great job setting up the test environment and for their efforts working with XtremeLabs.  I can never say enough good things about our support team.

DaaS or Hosted Virtual Desktop (HVD)

The review correctly states that, “If you have an iPad3 and a Bluetooth keyboard, you’re in. Mac? You’re in. An old and wheezing Windows XP patched-to-death machine? You’re in. The machine used to access a DaaS session is largely irrelevant to the session’s use.”  This accessibility to a hosted virtual desktop from any machine is one the key benefits our customers enjoy everyday and applies to a variety of use cases including the mentioned BYOD scenarios but is more commonly the answer for desktop replacements, management of remote offices/employees, and Cloud Mobility

The ICC Pros

In the review, Network World lists the Pros to ICC Global Hosting as “very fast, easy local resource control.”  We are very proud of these comments since we go to great lengths to provide a very fast network and great end user experience.  In fact, this is a top priority.  We offer our clients and prospects a speed test from our hosting center to specifically show them the kind of response time to expect from their office or home network eliminating any latency guess work or uncertainty.  We were also glad to hear that we had easy local resource control since we believe a key part great end user experience is the ability to print without complications and to have access to things such as dual monitors, USB drives, and other peripherals that end users commonly need.

The ICC Cons

“Plain vanilla experience,” may have actually been a “Pro” and not a “Con” since we were asked to provide a basic uncustomized desktop experience for this test, so the standard on-boarding experience could be observed.  All of our customers start out with plain vanilla and we add the hot fudge, bananas, whipped cream, nuts, and the cherry to give them the exact solution they need.  Starting out with the core Windows 7 desktop experience and layering hosted and installed apps is our normal proven process.

The Competition

We knew other service providers were also being tested but none of us knew who the other tested providers were until today.  That seems fair for an unbiased test and I have to say that we were in very good company.  As with any service, competition makes us all better, and I am confident ICC Global Hosting can compete toe to toe with any of these providers.

The Results

Again, we were in very good company in this test and below are XtremeLab’s test findings.  I do not know the detailed test criteria (I did ask) nor is the test criteria printed as part of the review but let’s agree the scores are pretty close and everyone has their own “secret sauce” that makes them special.So, did I want a 5 out of 5 score?  Of course I did.  But, what I can promise is that ICC provides an excellent service, at a very competitive price, and we are committed to providing great end user experience for our customers.  ICC’s Citrix XenApp based service delivers hosted virtual desktops and hosted virtual applications to our satisfied customers everyday.

SMBs are Winning the Cloud with Cloud Mobility while Enterprise Cloud Adoption Laggers

Reversal in Technology Leadership from the Enterprise Market

Traditionally large Enterprise organizations lead the way with new technologies and drove innovation.  But due to the current technological renaissance, SMBs (small & medium businesses) are adapting to the changes quicker, embracing the benefits, and now driving technical innovation which was once the Enterprise’s domain.

Patrick Gray writes in his recent article, “The SMB technology renaissance” for the TechRepublic, “Not since the advent of the (relatively) low-cost personal computer that first allowed smaller businesses access to computing capability have we seen technologies that were once the domain of Fortune 500 behemoths become available to smaller companies. Not only are the technologies available, frankly smaller companies are better poised to leverage many of them than their larger brethren.”  Gray attributes this change in leadership to the Cloud and Mobility.  I believe SMBs are leading in Cloud, Mobility, and the combination of the two – “Cloud Mobility”.

Technology Agility in the Cloud is Lead by SMBs

By definition “Business Agility” is the ability of a business to adapt rapidly and cost efficiently in response to changes in the business environment.  Defining the Cloud is not as easy but let’s assume that the Cloud is on-demand, flexible, computing resources.  These Cloud resources come in lots of variations from Software as a Service (SaaS) with applications such as Salesforce.com; Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) with servers and infrastructure to rent from providers like SoftLayer or Amazon AWS; or fully managed desktops as Desktops as a Service (DaaS) or hosted applications from service providers such as ICC Global Hosting.  Regardless of the type of Cloud service an organization wants to consider, SMBs have choices from multiple vendors that can rapidly provision Cloud applications and services.  This becomes a business decision driven by a business need and not a technology purchase since in most cases these Cloud services don’t require any hardware purchases.  It’s pretty simple for a SMB to buy Cloud services but for an Enterprises it gets much more difficult as they consider integration with their legacy systems and fighting the internal politics of using an outsourced Cloud technology.

Mobility isn’t Just E-mail, it’s About BYOD

Mobility is the second driver to this technological renaissance and let’s face it, mobile Apps are everywhere.  Users expect access to their Apps and data from any device and anywhere and they aren’t just looking for e-mail.  The BYOD craze isn’t so much about companies giving employees a choice of a company owned device, but more about giving access to corporate assets to an employee owned device whether it’s their home computer or more likely their iPad, tablet, or smart phone.  Gaining access to these Apps isn’t trivial, particularly for large Enterprises with hundred of legacy applications.  Again, another win for the SMBs since they typically don’t have the huge investment in company wide systems that need to be integrated and the political need to support the internal data center assets and personnel that a Cloud based solution might replace.

Why SMBs are Leading the Cloud

SMBs are leading in Cloud adaptation since they do not have the huge data center assets and staff to support and it’s a simple and quick decision to buy the latest Cloud application or service without regard to committed capital expenditures.  Enterprises had an advantage in the past from having these assets, staff, and expertise in-house but now the latest applications are typically available as a Cloud service and available in a “by the drink” cost model.  The Cloud adds tremendous business agility for SMBs with SMBs easily making the transition while Enterprises struggle with “turning the battleship”.

Why Enterprises are Failing with Cloud Adoption

Enterprises are failing with Cloud adoption due to the internal politics of moving IT to the Cloud, integration problems with Cloud based technologies, legacy systems that make any changes difficult or expensive, and the perceived concern about the loss of control or security in the Cloud.  Again, these big systems, big corporate data centers, and big IT staffs were all Enterprise IT advantages of the past but in this time of rapid change the Enterprise can’t keep up.  Some of these Enterprises are creating Cloud Strategies with their old world mentality of buying more technology, like virtualization, and building out their own private Clouds that they own and manage on their own networks.  But let’s face it, many of these faux private Clouds are just business as usual in a new rack.

SMBs Winning in the Cloud with Cloud Mobility

Cloud Mobility, the combination of Cloud computing technologies and access from Mobile devices, is the biggest computing win today and the SMBs are “killing it”.  SMB’s have widely embraced these technologies.  Just look at the high adoption rate of core applications like e-mail, CRM, and accounting.  It’s pretty rare for us to run into a SMB that hosts their e-mail.  Why would they?  This is also rapidly becoming the case of more and more of their other business Apps for things like order entry/tracking, medical practice management, document management, financial portfolio management, and many more.

At ICC Global Hosting we are helping SMBs host their Apps in the Cloud and even the independent software vendors (ISVs) who want to provide their Software as a Service (SaaS) as a hosted application.  It’s really all about the App and SMBs have found the solution is delivered by Cloud Mobility.  Hosted virtual desktops, hosted applications, or even just hosted Microsoft Office applications are simple ways SMBs are winning the Cloud with Cloud Mobility.

Dell buys Wyse, why that’s a good thing for desktop virutalization

Monday’s Announcement - Dell Buys Wyse

In case you haven’t heard, Dell announced on Monday that they are acquiring Wyse.  Wyse has long been the market leader in thin clients and from my personal experience, Wyse is an excellent company with great products, and Dell is lucky to make this deal.  More details of the announcement:

• Dell Buys Wyse to Continue Evolution to ‘Not Really a PC Company’ - PCWorld
• Dell Buys Wyse Technology To Expand Cloud Offerings - InformationWeek
• Dell Is Buying Its Way Into The ‘Post PC’ Era - Business Insider

Virtually all the articles are very positive about this move by Dell and position this as a great move to the Cloud and an acknowledgement of the death of the PC.

Thin Clients are the Ideal Device for a Virtual Desktop

Virtual Desktops still require an endpoint device whether it’s a thin client, re-purposed desktop, Mac, or mobile device.  Thus, the core benefit of access to your desktop from anywhere from any device.  However, the thin client has some unique benefits over all of these other devices since the thin client gives the end user their full keyboard, monitor(s), and access to all of their peripherals but in a very compact, energy saving device with little or no endpoint configuration or settings.  At ICC Global Hosting we like to refer to using a thin client as a way to reduce or eliminate the “desk side” support since there’s really no configuration the end user should or needs to deal with.  Every time we’ve shown prospects the thin client with one of our virtual desktops they love them and go nuts when they see the full desktop go from powered off to live in 10 seconds or less.  Can’t do that with their current PCs.

What Wyse Brings to Dell

Wyse’s contribution to this deal are pretty obvious; a great product line, top market share, valuable patents, and a generally well run organization with great people.

How Dell Enhances Wyse

Dell’s contribution to this deal, other than cash for the Wyse stakeholders, are a bit more subtle.  First, Dell has a huge distribution, specialists in almost every vertical market, and clients everywhere which will give any company large or small a comfort of knowing Dell is behind the product.  Second, Dell has mastered production and squeezes every penny of cost out of the process thus offering very low cost hardware.  One of the most common problems we have in positioning Wyse into new accounts is the buyer’s perception that they are getting less than a PC at about the same cost.  We of course argue they are getting more through a better ROI, longer life cycle, and power savings but people in the end still think these things should be less expensive.  Third, Dell has very deep pockets to invest in the advancement in Wyse’s technology.  Wyse has been very successful in development of their products but more R&D money at a time when virtual desktops are taking off could be very timely.

The Devil’s in the Details

Yep, all this sounds good but Dell will need to effectively merge the companies together while taking steps forward in the market place.  That’s not an easy task for a large company.  Don’t forget, HP acquired Neoware in 2007 and today there’s almost no sign of Neoware’s technology.  I suspect this will be very different with Dell and Wyse since Dell has only been OEMing a competing thin client compared to HP having a directly competitive product with Neoware.

Great News for Virtual Desktops

This is great news for desktop virtualization, hosted virtual desktops, DaaS, and Cloud computing in general.  Dell has now acknowledged that thin clients are the next wave of end user computing and there’s no better combination than the thin client with a virtual desktop.  Not everyone can effectively use an iPad, tablet or ultrabook and for those Enterprise task users or SMB organizations which make up a huge percentage end users, this is going to be great.  Dell has also made other recent announcements concerning DaaS and SMB security with the acquisition of SonicWall.  This is also great news for hosted virtual desktops because as more of these virtual desktop technologies are deployed it increases the whole market raising opportunities for everyone in the industry.

“It’s all about the application,” stupid.

The application is King

What people really want is their applications and in today’s “there’s an App for that” culture the lines have blurred between what PC or device they use to get to their applications.  The application is King, and it’s no longer acceptable to think that I can’t get to my app just because it’s on my work PC, or it doesn’t run on a Mac, or because there’s not a tablet version that I can use.  Users demand their apps everywhere and as the iTunes App Store and Android Marketplace continue to grow the demand for apps everywhere continues to grow.

The platform doesn’t matter, at least as long as you support my platform

As recently as 18 months ago an end user’s platform determined what apps they used and essentially what they could do on their computer.  People happily bought their PCs and laptops and even bought them pre-configured with their Windows based applications.  However, the evolution of the iPad, tablets, Macs in business, and mobile computing has created an end user expectation to access their apps across all of their devices and platforms.  It’s just no longer acceptable to say an application is only supported on a Windows PC.  Software vendors all over have an immediate need to support their applications across all platforms and it’s becoming almost impossible for software companies to sell software that doesn’t support multiple platforms and mobility.  So the end user platform doesn’t matter any more.  Well, at least as long as you can support all platforms.

The BYOD, bring your own device, movement has received lots of press and opinions and whether or not a company actually lets an employee select their own corporate device, IT departments still face the daily pressure of supporting employee owned devices accessing their networks to get to their apps.  Yep, it’s all about the App.  This is not a trend or fad.  This is the future and it all get’s back to the end user demand to get to their apps.

Cloud hosted applications really do matter

Sure, there are lots of Cloud based applications like the often sited Salesforce.com, DropBox, EverNote, etc., but what about an organization’s key business applications that may be custom applications or older applications that were never developed or architected to work as a mobile or multi-platform application?  Cloud hosted applications really do matter since getting to these applications from multiple platforms and mobile devices requires resources and bandwidth that can be easily supported in the Cloud and isolates them from other internal corporate assets.

For more information, I recently wrote “Breathing New Life Into Client Server Applications with SaaS” discussing the benefits of moving client server Apps to the Cloud which has been a very successful model for software vendors / ISVs at ICC Global Hosting.

Don’t forget, it’s all about the application, stupid.  The application is King and the platform or end user’s device doesn’t really matter any more.

Mounting pressure for “Cloud Friendly” pricing from Microsoft

The OnLive Controversy

For those of us in the hosting business there’s been quite a dust storm kicked-up by the gaming site OnLive regarding their hosted desktop offering which appears to be a blatant Microsoft licensing violation.  At the center of the controversy are the way Microsoft licenses desktop OS’s and how hosting providers can host Microsoft Office.  There have been lots of articles written about this so I won’t rehash the facts.  If you want to read about the details, I’d recommend reading an article by Gabe Knuth titled “Gasp! Turns out OnLive really isn’t in compliance with Microsoft licensing!”  Gabe explains it quite well.

“Occupy” Microsoft?

I don’t think anyone will be camping out in Redmond or anything quite so severe but there is a growing movement of service providers considering offering similar hosted desktop services in violation of Microsoft’s licensing on the premise that if Microsoft isn’t going to force OnLive to comply with the licensing agreement, and more importantly pay the subscription fees, then no one should have to comply and pay the fees.  Of course the 800 pound gorilla in the room is the endless staff of Microsoft lawyers that are likely already silently engaged in this battle and just waiting for the order the order, ATTACK.  So who really wants to take on this legal burden?  Well, there are a few.

“Cloud Friendly” licensing

So the bigger issue isn’t really complying with Microsoft’s licensing agreement since after all they do have the right to enforce their licensing and we should all expect to pay something for using their software.  The real issue is a Cloud Friendly pricing model for service providers that is fair for the provider and fair for the end users.  The current Windows 7 licensing model requiring end user Software Assurance, separation of systems preventing multi-tenant environments, and VDA is just too complicated and too expensive for a service provider or end user to cost justify.  There are tremendous benefits of desktops as a service (DaaS) but the current Microsoft licencing requirements are Cloud Un-Friendly and prohibiting the growth of DaaS.

Why this matters to all organizations and end users

Many people haven’t heard or DaaS or hosted virtual desktops.  So what’s the big deal here?  The big deal is the movement of end users using their  applications and data anywhere from any device, and the consumerization of IT.  That sounds like a lot of Marketing double speak but the reality is that we live in a “there’s an App for that” world where end users expect to just download an App somewhere and magically connect to all their stuff.  The huge demand for access to all of these Apps across all platforms and on mobile devices is today and it will take years for IT to rewrite their legacy applications to meet this demand.  The hosted virtual desktop or DaaS, is often the perfect solution for IT to meet this demand quickly and cost effectively.  These Cloud based desktops work very well and need an OS, and need a Cloud Friendly licensing model from Microsoft.

Mounting pressure for a new licensing model

The pressure is building for a changed Microsoft licensing model and there are a few indicators that there may be change in the wind.  First, there are a few of those radical hosting providers that are willing to “Occupy Microsoft” and disregard their Microsoft license agreements.  This may not be the best way for them to ingratiate themselves with Microsoft but it does opportunistically create some publicity around the controversy.  Buyer beware though since when the dust settles it’s not going to be good for the end user when the service they thought they were buying no longer exists.  Software Assurance and VDA are currently end user license responsibilities and may end up as an unexpected bill from Microsoft to the end user.  Second, Microsoft lowered its licensing costs for Office 365 this week so if they found their Cloud based licensing costs too high, it’s hard for Microsoft to charge service providers more for Office than the Office 365 prices. (More about the lower Office 365 prices at “Microsoft chops Office 365 enterprise prices by 20 percent“.  Third, some of the Office applications are coming soon to the iTunes App Store.  OneNote has already been released for “Free” and we’ll have to see how the other apps are priced.  I previously wrote about this at “MS Office Coming Soon to the iTunes App Store?“

It’s undeniable that Cloud computing is here and growing at an incredible rate.  The Cloud is changing how software vendors price and license their software.  I believe we will soon see Microsoft address the licensing violations of OnLive and others but hopefully this will be more than a legal action and cause Microsoft and the hosting industry to come together with a Cloud Friendly licensing approach that’s fair for all parties.

Breathing New Life Into Client Server Applications with SaaS

Embracing virtual application hosting and hosted virtual desktops to deliver SaaS.

For years Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) have created complex client server applications which combine the compute power of the end user’s computer using a “client” software module to communicate with the application and database on a server.  These client server applications have tremendous advantages and are seen across all verticals and sizes of businesses.  Many of these client server applications even have hooks back into the client “end user’s” desktop to generate reports in Excel or Access and documents such as invoices or pick lists in Word taking advantage of the Microsoft Office software running on the end user’s desktop.  This integration makes saving, sharing, and printing the reports or documents as simple as using any other Office application.  A great concept and great value.  However, as end users want to use different devices and more and more application delivery has become web or browser based, the restrictions of the “client” software don’t match end user’s expectations of Cloud or web delivery.  Rewriting a client server application to support web and mobile based users can also be time consuming and expensive for ISVs.

So, over the past couple of years, we’ve been working with ISVs to offer their client server applications using our hosted virtual desktops as the “client” and hosting the “server” as a virtualized application to take advantage of the benefits of their client server architecture.  This provides an immediate answer to their SaaS delivery problem with the benefit of delivering their application to any desktop or mobile device.

Create a new software subscription model to replace perpetual licensing models.

Many ISVs are also faced with price competition from SaaS based competitors who offer their solutions on a monthly subscription model.  These ISVs find resistance from customers in accepting their traditional perpetual software license and maintenance, along with customers who are opposed to owning and maintaining their own SQL server.  ICC’s hosted virtual applications and hosted virtual desktops eliminate the need for on-site or customer owned servers and gives the ISV a choice to offer their software licensing in a subscription model built into a monthly subscription.  In most cases the ISV offers the hosting, licensing, and maintenance all bundled together in their per user subscription fee and sells the SaaS service as their own branded solution.

Leverage Cloud technologies to modernize your application.

Client server applications offer many industries and organizations a powerful computing architecture but without the advantages of Cloud technologies.  Technology buyers are inundated with “Cloud” solutions and forced to consider Cloud offerings to appear to be embracing the latest technologies.  ISVs offering their client server applications in the Cloud as a SaaS model using hosted virtual applications and desktops allow them to modernize their existing client server applications.  Leveraging Cloud technologies helps breathe life into client server applications and makes these applications salable as Cloud applications for years to come.

MS Office Coming Soon to the iTunes App Store?

Does Office running on your iPad really have any benefit?

I have seen a few articles this week leaking the news that Microsoft Office is going to be released as an App in the iTunes App Store.  I suppose that’s interesting for those of us that use Office but I wonder if this really has any benefit.  Or at least any benefit other than as a consumer product.

Sure it would be great to be able to edit documents on my iPad but how do I get to my documents or where do I save them since there’s no accessible file structure on the iPad.  If you’ve tried the OneNote app that’s been available in the App Store you’ll see that it works but doesn’t really connect to anything.  I can’t connect to my OneNote notebooks on my PC or network so it really just delivers a disconnected notepad.  Evernote’s syncing runs circles around that.  So, the most logical guess is that the Office apps for the iPad will need to connect to Cloud storage, and to make things all Microsoft, a good bet will be these apps will point to SkyDrive.

I do not have anything against SkyDrive and certainly support the use of Cloud technologies but what if I want to edit a document from my PC or something stored on the network at work?  Unless I store all my documents in SkyDrive, assuming the IT department even allows that, I can’t get to my documents.  This disconnected file storage really makes the all of these Office apps a bit useless for a corporate or non-consumer user.

Back to the real issue.  People want to use Office apps on their iPads and be able to create, edit, and save these documents.  I’ve been running Office apps on my iPad from the day I bought it in a hosted virtual desktop.  Yes, not only can I run my full office suite but I have access to all my saved files and even my full Outlook client to then e-mail a file when I’m finished working on it.  We have also provided hosting of specific Office apps for clients that just need one or a few of these apps and still want to be able to access all of their files.  The hosted virtual desktop is a great answer for people who want to use Office applications on their iPads with access to all of their document files, and helps IT and management secure their data in network or Cloud based storage they own and control.

Yes, there is huge benefit to running Office apps on your iPad, no doubt about it.  But, the key is access to your documents and having a secure and controlled place to store your documents.

Other articles to read more about Office on your iPad.

Office for iPad soon? Not so fast – FierceMobileIT

Microsoft Office for iPad: Separating fact from fiction – ZDNet

Microsoft releases iPad version of OneNote – FierceMobileIT

Microsoft Office for iPad: How you might use it – CNN, WIRED

Running Internet Explorer on your iPad or Android Tablet for Apps that require specific browser settings

Many core business applications require Internet Explorer but IE doesn’t run on tablets

We’ve been running into this scenario more and more lately where a client’s core application requires only IE and needs specific browser settings to run and their users need the applications to work on their iPads or tablets.  Of course, IE doesn’t run on these devices.

Our solution to this problem has quite effectively been a Hosted Virtual Browser which can be configured to any version if IE and with the specific settings required for the application.  Some key advantages to this are:

• The hosted virtual browser is locked down so the end user cannot accidentally change the settings or manually apply a Windows update which might change the settings.
• The hosted virtual browser can run on any iPad, Android tablet, PC, Mac, or thin client and runs independently of any other installed browser.  So, if the app requires IE 8 in the hosted virtual browser it can run separately even on a PC running IE 9 without any conflicts.
• The hosted virtual browser may run as a standalone application or as part of a complete ICC Hosted Virtual Destkop.
• The hosted virtual browser can be set-up in a matter of days and is much less expensive than rewriting applications for new browsers or converting them to a custom mobile app.
• The hosted virtual browser is a simple way to provide a BYOD program for access to browser based applications.

We find that our hosted virtual browser is a great solution coupled with ICC’s Cloud delivery service since many organizations may need a quick and easy solution for their growing number of mobile users.  Through ICC there’s no capital expenditure for hardware or software just a monthly, by the user cost, which scales one user at a time as new users with mobile devices are added.

Microsoft removes ‘Start’ button from latest Windows 8 build

I just read an article on ZDNet by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes titled “Microsoft removes ‘Start’ button from latest Windows 8 build,” and had to laugh.  Microsoft has trained hundreds of millions of people over the last 16 years that you have to go to “Start” to Stop your PC and now what happens if they take it away? 

• Who will know how to turn off their computer? 
• Will we go back to just turning the power off?
• How many help desk calls could this possibly generate from irrate users who just want to shut down and go home?

OK, I’m still laughing, but can you image the end user confusion this will cause?  I’m going to continue using my hosted virtual desktop with the handy “Shut Down” icon for now and hopefully that won’t change.

BYOD a simpler approach than MDM to accessing your applications with iPads and tablets.

There has been lots of discussion about BYOD, bring your own device, which has primarily been driven by end users wanting to connect to the network with their iPad or tablet but the real need isn’t about the device, it’s all about access to their core applications.  Numerous vendors are in the hunt to provide the answer with various solutions ranging from adapting current applications to be “tablet friendly,” to connecting tablets to the network similar to management of laptops, to presenting a full desktop running on the tablet.

Most organizations don’t have the time, budget, or staff with the expertise to rewrite their applications to be “tablet friendly” so while they may add multi-platform and mobile support to the selection or development process of new apps, this is not a viable short-term strategy for most.

The next thought for some IT managers is to treat these new tablets popping up in their networks as remote devices.  They’ve been granting secure remote access to laptops for years and at first blush figure creating a VPN to a tablet makes it secure like a laptop.  Except, what about what’s running on the tablet itself?  So along come the various Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions to lock down the access and what’s running on the tablet device.  A logical direction since that’s what essentially worked for laptops and MDMs specifically address their tablet computing needs.  Right?  Well not so fast.  Those iPads and Android tablets don’t run Internet Explorer needed for CRM or ERP so now that the MDM solutions have been deployed the end user still can’t run his critical apps.  Oh, and don’t forget the “killer app” Outlook since these tablets have their own version of IMAP e-mail and calendaring, but it’s not quite the same.  Sure there are also additional tablet apps that work like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint but not exactly and then how are the files opened and saved?

So a simpler approach is to give the tablet user, their own full Windows desktop, a virtual desktop, that gives them access to all the apps they need and access to their network stored files with secure remote access.  This happily gives users access to their apps, (happy users = happy IT management = happy management) while providing a simple method for IT departments to satisfy the need to support iPads and tablets for their users.

We talk to customers every day about the benefits of virtual desktops for BYOD and our hosted virtual desktop service is one way of further simplifying their deployment.  Rewriting the current apps to be mobile apps for tablet users just can’t work in the short-term.  MDMs do what they say they will do but in the end aren’t giving the end users a simple way to get to their applications and resources.  Virtual Desktops for BYOD makes a lot of sense and is a much simpler and quicker way to grant access to networks and apps to your iPad and tablet users.