Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) has not saved end users a vast amount of money to date, and saving costs is not the main reason that organisations opt for VDI, according to VMware's head of public services strategy, Andy Tait.
Speaking to Computing at VMworld Europe 2013 in Barcelona, Tait explained that up until now, public sector customers of VMware - and other VDI providers - have not been able to save a vast amount of money by switching to VDI, but that this wasn't the key motivation for organisations.
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"What we're seeing in the public sector with the life cycle of the existing estate of PCs, is a decision to make when organisations are faced with the enormous cost of replacing every PC or laptop," he said.
"I think there is not an enormous difference in terms of a business case - or cost difference - of doing VDI or [putting in] thin clients, to date," he added.
VMware entered the VDI area some years ago after making several acquisitions in the field. At the time, Citrix was the leader in the space, but VMware has slowly been taking market share away from its fierce rival. Other offerings, including Microsoft Server 2012 Remote Desktop Services (RDS), have since entered the fray.
Tait believes that organisations move to a VDI solution for reasons other than cost.
"To date, people haven't been doing VDI solutions to save a load of money, it has been about agility and mobility aspects, which could give you productivity improvements that could in-turn save you money, but if you're looking at actual savings, it hasn't really been [about that]," he said.
He gave an example of the health sector, with penalties being high for any loss or misuse of data, claiming that it may be the case that an NHS organisation opts for VDI so that it does not have any sensitive data stored locally.
At VMworld Europe 2013, VMware announced its acquisition of desktop-as-a-service provider Desktone. The virtualisation giant is hoping that the open source technology can eliminate Microsoft licensing fees and third party software management, which will result in lower cost alternatives to some of its rivals.
Sanjay Poonen, VP of end user computing at VMware, claimed that the firm has "boldly solved" any performance issues that Horizon View - its existing VDI solution - has had in the past, and that the biggest barrier for many end users is the cost of the solution, and so the firm claims that its latest updates allow for better management and a reduced total cost of ownership (TCO).
