Why is Citrix Giving Awards for Best Profile Management?
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Isn't Citrix giving out awards for "Best Profile Manager" kind of like PETA giving out an award for “Best Protection Plan for Dinosaurs?" Interesting but somewhat behind the times, right? But that's what they did last week, saying the awards "showcase one of the key aspects of desktop virtualization, user profile management."
Sure, profile management was a necessary evil in the days of Windows Terminal Services, or even physical PCs. But what Citrix doesn't seem to realize is that this prehistoric approach to user personalization is no longer needed or wanted in the new era of virtual desktops.
I just got back from presenting at a VMware Users Group in Portland, OR. I asked the 150 admins in the audience to raise their hands if they were using profile management or roaming profiles. Almost everyone raised their hands. Then I asked how many hated profiles and would get rid of them if they could. All the same people laughed and raised their hands.
Why do most IT people have this reaction?
- Profiles add extra cost, complexity, and I/O load to a market (VDI) that's already being held back by cost, complexity, and I/O issues.
- Nobody really wants to bring a technology that has clear problems in the old world of physical desktops and T/S into the nice, new, pristine world of virtual desktops.
But like we see everywhere (not just in IT), momentum is hard to stop. "That's what we've done before, so let's keep doing it." Citrix giving out awards for this challenge-plagued category doesn't help.
Yes, profiles can be made to work for some use cases. But if you're starting fresh with VDI and you really want to give your XenDesktop (or VMware View or Pano or Leostream) users a great user experience without needing roaming profiles and profile management tools, there are now better alternatives that leverage the standard Windows local profile. My new VDI Learning Series video "Maximize the VDI User Experience: A Practical Guide to Managing Profiles/Persona" goes into the options in more detail if you're ok with letting profiles become extinct.
-Ron Oglesby
Ron’s Politically Incorrect VDI Blog
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Comments
Yup, heards/saw that. LWL did focus on that.
Is profile mgmt going to be around. Sure kinda like the combustion engine. but that doesnt mean it is ground breaking technology.
Good point (#1) as noted previously. But again the context of the award was to highlight a key VDI tool - Profile mgmt. They did not focus on moving profiles between platforms. Something that has been around for years.
This is not to knock moving a profile when you have to (between platforms) But it is something that has been around forever and is now getting play again because of VDI and the existing deployment model limitations with both CItrix and VMware.
On number 2: Sure. If someone WANTS to do move profiles, sure! we have customers that do it now.
But my point was profiles and profile mgmt is not like some gigantic technology breakthrough. Instead profiles and their mgmt are becoming talked about again BECAUSE of VDI. And the reason is simple. Prov Server from CTX and Linked clones from VMW NEED a romaing profile or profile tool due to the way they update. And MOST customers looking at VDI are looking at a profile tool for their VDI environment NOT for their entire environment. Sure there are those that will, but it is a small %.
This is why you see the VMW SE's and folks running around including LWL or AppSense or whatever right in their quotes and matching the number of seats to the VDI count.
Anyway. Thats my rant. If profiles were the solution we wouldnt be having the discussion.
1. The market for user virtualization is the desktop market, not just VDI. If you need proof or detail, let me know.
2. I would think that Unidesk would embrace user virtualization. The fact that working across platforms would increase the adoption of the layered desktop solutions should not be lost. Users can run a Unidesk layered desktop, a laptop, and XenApp delivered apps while always receiving a consistent experience.
I could go on, but this is a good start.
Yup, moving a profile (today) between various different platforms would require a profile tool. And whenever I talk about profile tools that is the exact use case I give out.
But Profile tools... in this case... Citrix was trying to: showcase one of the key aspects of desktop virtualization, user profile management. not point out mobility. MOST are buying new profile tools in VDI environments ONLY for the VDI environment.
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