Gartner Predicts PC Virtualisation Will Be the Most Disruptive Technology to Face the PC in a Decade
Egham, UK, 9 August 2004 — Virtualisation will become the most disruptive technology to face the PC in a decade, according to new research by Gartner. PC virtualisation technology is set to revolutionise the enterprise desktop by decoupling PC hardware and software, allowing multiple operating systems to run simultaneously on a single desktop. Gartner said virtualisation will enable IS departments to implement more efficient IT support policies, achieve more cost-effective outsourcing contracts for PC support and drive total cost of ownership savings in PC deployment. It also said virtualisation will dramatically redefine the PC industry, removing product differentiation and forcing vendors to compete purely on service and price.
Gartner said PC virtualisation software needs further development to overcome usability and security issues and will require changes in PC software licensing, but is not a far-fetched scenario. According to Brian Gammage, Vice President at Gartner, "PC virtualisation will achieve broad appeal over the next five years. The technology has been used in niche applications for a number of years, but increased industry support from major players such as Intel and Microsoft will rapidly move it to the mainstream. This will have significant ramifications for the PC hardware, software and wider IT services industries."
User Benefits
Gartner sees PC virtualisation as providing a short cut to deployment best practices. Users would be provided with two different environments. One would be unlocked for users to effectively do what they want, adding devices and installing any software they choose. Alongside this open environment would be a fully locked-down, highly managed, and well-understood environment to which the IS organisation can securely deploy critical business applications. This means the IS department retains full control over network security, while users are permitted to install and run new applications that may enhance their effectiveness and efficiency without increasing the burden on already beleaguered support staff.
Many organisations have been grappling with PC standardisation for years, but few have succeeded in deploying and maintaining a homogenous desktop configuration. "For the majority of organisations, deployment has been less than half of the challenge," said Mr Gammage. "Political, cultural and genuine business requirements mean that users need different mixes of applications, software and hardware devices and a 'one-size fits all' solution is just not viable. PC virtualisation offers enterprises the opportunity to surmount the twin challenges of deployment and culture in one single effort."
IS departments who are successful in the deployment of virtualisation technology are also likely to swiftly review both IT services and outsourcing procedures, according to Gartner. Most IS departments currently struggle to implement policies on where their responsibilities end. PC virtualisation technology will help to draw clear lines between what is and isn't managed by the IS organisation. Furthermore, it will also help accommodate the trend towards outsourcing and associated service-level-agreements, as the effective boundary around the PC's locked-down business environment would better clarify support agreements and service expectations.
Mr Gammage also pointed out that with PC deployment accounting for one of the biggest budget areas, this is an extremely attractive scenario for IS departments looking to make PC TCO savings.
Industry Impact
The potentially huge benefits for users will create equally significant implications for the industry, according to Gartner. "Software vendors will need to become much more flexible in order to compete in this new landscape," said Mr Gammage. "Changes in the way software is licensed are inevitable as PC virtualisation software will challenge current one-license-per-user ratio. In the short term, some will see this as an opportunity to sell more licenses, however, this will be harmful in the long run. Few software vendors have woken up to this deployment scenario and there is currently little consensus on how they might respond. This is a wake up call."
Software manufacturers, however, are not the only part of the industry that will need to rise to the challenge. Hardware vendors and component manufacturers will also be affected, and in the longer term, Gartner expects virtualisation to drive significant changes in the way companies and individuals regard personal computing. Said Gammage, "In this environment, any PC can be made to look the same, creating significant challenges for the vendors. In addition, as virtualisation technology evolves, the requirement for hardware to look like a PC is likely to recede, with a greater variety of devices to be used as 'host' platforms." Gartner predicts that the ultimate new standard for client computing will be a virtual platform based on software not hardware.
For more information or to speak to analyst Brian Gammage, please contact Laurence Goasduff +44 1784 26 7195, e-mail: laurence.goasduff@gartner.com.
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