Cost reduction and need to improve end-user experience are biggest drivers for desktop virtualisatio

Survey by Centrix Software reflects changing face of IT service delivery

[UKPRwire, Wed Jan 13 2010] According to a survey conducted by Centrix Software, over a third of respondents are looking at deploying desktop virtualisation. The survey of 200 IT decision-makers examined current approaches to application delivery as well as the drivers shaping application strategies and desktop directions.

Cost reduction was cited by 79% of respondents as the biggest challenge for application delivery, followed by improving the end-user experience and supporting remote offices.

Further findings from the survey include:
• Almost three-quarters of respondents use more than one application delivery model in their organisation
o Forty-four per cent of environments incorporate models that deploy applications centrally, such as hosted applications, web services, or virtualisation
• Of those companies using a single application platform, over thirty per cent are evaluating virtualisation, while only six percent are looking at cloud computing
• The most important reasons for looking at desktop virtualisation are to reduce cost, improve delivery of IT services and simplify application deployment

“The survey findings highlight the momentum behind the move to virtual infrastructures and the central deployment of applications. However, while virtual models can enable companies to reduce the costs associated with IT deployment and enhance IT service delivery, it is important that IT organisations approach their virtual strategies with care,” said Lewis Gee, vice president sales and marketing at Centrix Software. “There is a risk that virtualisation models could create new IT silos adding to the management complexities, performance challenges and spiralling costs that have long afflicted traditional desktop computing approaches.”

“The number of ways that organisations can deliver applications to their users is continuing to expand. However, while we are seeing increased interest in models such as virtualisation and cloud computing, existing approaches will not be going away overnight. Managing a changing infrastructure is therefore one of the biggest challenges that companies will face as they move forward,” commented Roy Illsley, Senior Analyst at Ovum. “Organisations deploying more than one application model should look at how they can bring together multiple application streams and manage them in a technology agnostic framework. By aggregating their applications together into one environment, companies can pick and choose the application delivery methods that best suit their needs at any one time, ensure cost reduction promises are met and that the user experience is the same whatever back-end infrastructure is used.”

The survey, carried out by emedia on behalf of Centrix Software received 200 responses from IT decision-makers across a range of vertical markets and company sizes. It was commissioned to ascertain application-sourcing approaches within organisations.

Centrix Software provides solutions that help organisations using multiple application delivery models, whether physical, virtual, hosted or web, to have greater governance, control and visibility over IT assets. Centrix WorkSpace 4.0 is an IT intelligence platform enabling organisations to manage change, reduce the cost of delivering applications and content and enhance the end-user experience of IT consumption.

About Centrix Software
Centrix Software provides solutions that optimise the way IT infrastructures deliver applications and content; whether physical, virtual, hosted or web. Headquartered in Newbury, UK, Centrix Software’s customers include leading organisations in banking and securities, insurance, telecommunications, retail, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, energy and utilities, and within public sector. Centrix Software’s solutions are available through a network of value-add partners. For more information please visit www.centrixsoftware.com.


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