Unidesk is Desktop Management for VDI
Organizations are implementing virtual desktops on VMware vSphere using a variety of technology stacks. But the one constant among those looking to simplify VDI, realize faster ROI, and ensure project success is Unidesk®, the only desktop management solution designed for VDI.
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"Unidesk is an elegantly simple to use solution that allows us to tackle a whole host of complex tasks, from simplifying the delivery of our operating system and high end applications to permitting end user changes or instant desktop rollbacks - all while giving our users a desktop experience through VMware View that‟s better than their traditional PCs." - Kipp Bertke, IT Manager |
The Challenges with "Unmanaged VDI"
You wouldn't try to manage your physical desktops with the utilities that come with your PCs. You'd implement one of the popular desktop management solutions that have been around for decades. It's now the same with virtual desktops. Organizations that try to use the patchwork of application virtualization, image management, and persona management point tools included with their connection brokers learn the hard way that:
- many applications cannot be virtualized
- departmental applications needed by small numbers of users take too long to virtualize
- multiple gold images, each with different applications built-in, must be created to deal with the above "app gap"
- block-based image sharing technologies only work for non-persistent desktops
- OS and application security settings, user-installed applications, and IT-installed "one-off" applications are not sustained by non-persistent desktops, and are not captured by profile management tools
- desktop support call remediation still requires escalation to costlier Level 2 and 3 resources
- desktop administrators who managed PCs struggle to manage virtual desktops without a simple, holistic management solution
It's no wonder many VDI projects stall or fail as a result of higher than expected operational costs, unanticipated complexity, dissatisfied end users, and use case limitations. These challenges offset the clear security, compliance, mobility, and energy-saving benefits of VDI.
Unidesk is the Missing Management Component in the VDI Stack
Organizations are now realizing they need a desktop management solution designed for VDI to overcome these challenges. They're realizing they need Unidesk. With a single, comprehensive solution, Unidesk simplifies:
Application delivery. Unidesk can deliver all types of applications independent of the operating system, including the many types that traditional application virtualization cannot. Layering applications with Unidesk is also up to 10 times faster than virtualizing applications, which helps you be more agile and more efficient, even for those low user count departmental applications.
Image management. Unidesk provides the same single image operating system management and storage savings as block-based image cloning and provisioning tools, without the nasty side effect of losing user customizations when the OS image is updated or patched. And with all apps layered separately, you can truly have one gold image for all desktops. Patch Tuesday will never be as dreaded, or as expensive, again.
Persona management. Unidesk persistent desktops capture and sustain the entire user persona, including documents, profile settings, application and OS security settings, user-installed applications, and IT-installed one-off applications. Separate profile management and user virtualization tools, policies, and consoles can finally be a thing of the past.
Storage reduction. Unidesk layering technology shares single images of Microsoft Windows and common applications across many virtual desktops, reducing the VDI storage footprint up to 70%. The IO pattern created by Unidesk layer sharing is a perfect fit for new hybrid SSD/SAS storage arrays, enabling you to solve the VDI IOPS and capacity challenges without the added complexity of dedicated caching appliances.
Desktop support. Unidesk delivers additional OpEx savings with layer versioning and rollback. Should a patch or user customization break a desktop, Level 1 support staff can simply rollback the user's persona or change the priority of an application layer to instantly fix the problem. Escalation costs to Level 2 or 3 resources and user productivity losses caused by desktop reimaging can both be avoided.
