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VDI and Windows 7

Posted in Information Security on 07 May 2009 by

Windows 7 came firmly onto the radar last week as Microsoft made Release Candidate 1 available for general download. In doing so, they're following a new path - firstly by making a Release Candidate so publicly available and secondly allowing people to use it unfettered until 1^st March 2010. That's a long time for a free (albeit non release) operating system. Many IT departments will view the release with mixed feelings.  On the one hand, it gives even less reason to consider a move to Windows Vista, but on the other reinforces the fact that Windows XP is mortal and entering its twilight. To be fair, there's not a lot wrong with Vista - many people will be running it on their home machines, but it was a change that most commercial organisations didn't need. Windows 7 improves on Vista, and companies are already talking about it as their target desktop O/S.  But changing from the well known Windows XP will always involve an element of pain.

That's where virtualising the desktop might help. VDI is getting a lot of attention at the moment, and it's likely that many organisations will look at a move to Windows 7 as a time to consider changing their desktop delivery model. However, here's the conundrum. You could potentially alleviate the pain of a Windows 7 migration by having already virtualised your desktop.  With a virtual desktop environment, users can be switched quickly to Windows 7 and switched back with little pain if there are problems. You could even give people the ability to run the systems side by side for a while during the transition. It's certainly worth thinking about.  Windows XP mainstream support finished last month, which means the clock is already ticking. If you're not currently thinking about what you do with your desktops going forward, you probably should in the near future.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/download.aspx

Adrian Polley, CEO, Plan-Net plc

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