See how RKON enabled a large university to offer its students a high-powered virtualized desktop with a dedicated graphics processor that runs in the cloud on the RKON Virtual Infrastructure. The virtual desktops integrated with their existing infrastructure, provided ease-of-use for students, and enabled mobility and device ubiquity.
The recent NATO summit in Chicago brought to mind two key technology questions;
Recovery in the event of a disaster
The NATO summit went off with only a few minor disturbances. Congratulations to the City of Chicago, the Chicago police department and the police from various other departments who came in to support the CPD. Congrats should also be given to the protestors who for the most part, behaved in a civilized fashion.
Chicago businesses avoided the damage that a riot might have caused. If your place of business were to find itself in such a scenario, do you have a plan to mitigate the damage? Is your data stored off site? If the power or Internet access you rely on were suddenly interrupted, are you prepared?
More productive working remotely
The Loop yesterday was a ghost town as regular business commuters stayed home. Today on the train, I overheard two lawyers and two insurance agents talking about their 5 day vacation.
If the law firms and insurance agencies had a virtual environment prepared, these employees could have worked from home saving their businesses from the unexpected time off. Meanwhile, competitors who have a working virtual environment (we have helped several law firms and insurance agencies launch virtual networks) enjoyed a real competitive advantage because their employees continued working remotely.
Sure, NATO summits don’t happen very often. Chicago won’t have another any time soon. However, there are other circumstances that can prevent employees from accessing your physical location such as severe weather (snow, tornado, hurricanes depending upon where you are) or unexpected news events that might result in protesting, rioting or even celebration (local sports team victories come to mind). Such events can interfere with your standard operation limiting access and therefore productivity.
The benefits of having a DR plan and a virtualized environment go beyond such extreme examples as I have suggested. But when something like the NATO summit happens in your neighborhood as it just did in mine, it brings such scenarios front and center.
Are you prepared? If your employees could continue working through an interruption of normal workday flow, what would that mean? Would it give you a leg up on the competition?
Microsoft has created a completely arbitrary new subscription license that is absolutely impossible to track or enforce and makes licensing VDI even more of a mystery than it was before. Click here to learn more.
On Wednesday, October 19, 2011, RKON will speak on the topic “Desktop Virtualization Security: Understanding the Benefits and the Risks ” at CampIT’s Desktop Virtualization conference. The conference will cover strategies to help the business and IT benefit from virtualization strategies through effective management, security, and recovery techniques. RKON is co-sponsoring the event with partner WhipTail Tech. If you are interested in attending with one of RKON’s complimentary passes , contact your sales rep or email solutions@rkon.com today. To learn more about the conference, click here.
Special Online Event on Wednesday, March 16, 2011 at 1:00 p.m. EST: “Virtual Desktops: From Wow to How” shows you the amazing capabilities and real-world applications of desktop virtualization for any user, on any device. This 1-hour session features a Q&A to help you get started. Register today and you could win a MacBook Air or a signed Dilbert® cartoon.
If you’re still managing desktops using an outdated distributed desktop model, you’re missing out. Join us to learn how VDI can help you achieve dramatically simplified desktop management with a high-definition experience for every user. It also offers the lowest TCO and makes migration to Windows® 7 a snap.
Lab Schedule
Thursday, February 10
9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. (breakfast and lunch included)
Register Here
Thursday, March 10
9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. (breakfast and lunch included)
Register Here
From this lab, you will learn
• How VDI works and what technical impact it may have on your organization
• Best practices for implementing desktop virtualization– next steps, process, methodology
• Combine storage virtualization with desktop virtualization to achieve even greater ROI
• Deploy desktops on-demand as user needs increase (P2V)
• Stream desktop applications for mobile off-line workers
• Combine a layered approach including storage provisioning, application virtualization, and VDI
• Manage the user environment with policy and personalization, as well as entitlement to applications and system resources
Lab Location
RKON Technologies
820 W. Jackson | Suite 550
Chicago, IL 60607