Key Takeaways

• Improper initial assessment, choosing the wrong VDI solution provider, and performance issues are some of the common challenges companies face when implementing VDI.
• User experience is one of the most important considerations to focus on when deploying VDI.
• Companies must have a thorough cost management strategy, as well as outlined plans to execute when something goes wrong (like security lapses) during VDI implementation.

In the remote work culture of today, while as important as VDI is, implementing it is far from easy. To successfully deploy the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, organizations require advanced planning and a well-defined strategy to ensure optimum returns. Some of the common challenges companies face when implementing VDI are improper initial assessment, overlooking user experience, choosing the wrong VDI infrastructure solutions provider, and various other performance issues. Poor deployment of VDI also exposes the business to security and compliance risks.

So, if you’re planning to switch from a traditional desktop to VDI (which you should, owing to the latter’s benefits like remote access and centralized management), you need to think things through and outline an effective migration and deployment plan. To help you with that, here the three fundamental requirements of successful VDI implementation:

Focus on User Experience

Your employees who will use VDI are comfortable with their local desktops. They are acclimatized to how certain things work. To maintain their productivity, the VDI must deliver them the same kind of performance that they are used to. Your employees shouldn’t have to settle for lagging performance and delayed response time. User experience is one of the most important parts of VDI deployment. Sadly, it’s also something that gets overlooked.

Engage the end-users. Understand their needs and requirements; after all, different employees will interact differently with VDI. Understanding their distinct needs is critical. Thereon, accordingly, optimize the rollout plan so the system stands true to your employees’ expectations and ensures a seamless transition for them from the local system to VDI.

Proper cost management

The bigger the company, the higher the cost of VDI implementation could be. (Of course, in the long run, with VDI integration, the IT administrative costs are reduced, which is one of the biggest benefits.) In the early stages though, during the roll-out, it’s essential for IT and finance teams to tightly manage the operational costs. One of the key parts of this is focusing on the hidden charges. 

WAN and backend storage costs are commonly underestimated. At times, more bandwidth might be required, which could further add to these costs. So, the organizations should ideally have a complete understanding of their fixed and variable cost; they must have cost mitigating strategies in place, as well as a defined plan to keep unnecessary expenses at bay.

Preparing for the worst-case scenarios

The impact of system outages is compounded on virtual desktops. It can hamper the entire operations, possibly affecting the revenue of the business. Common reasons for VDI system outages are hardware problems and software bugs. It’s essential that organizations are prepared for such worst-case scenarios with contingency plans. 

There are several other VDI challenges that IT teams should be prepared for, like performance issues, security lapses, complex environments, and more. Having a playbook that outlines how to tackle these worst-class scenarios is essential. Further, at the time of implementation, rigorous pilot tests should be performed as well.

Final Words

These are three essential requirements of successful VDI implementation. 

So, during the whole process, consider all the various aspects of local desktop-to-VDI migration, as well as the scalability of the VDI environment. Prepare your network properly, do an effective assessment, avoid under provisioning, ensure higher availability, and achieve successful virtual desktop implementation.

In case if all these sound “too much” or you’re confused and need help from experts, consider contacting a VDI service provider. Tap on their experience and expertise for seamless system deployment.