WITH EFFICIENC Y PROGRAMS in full swing, virtualization is high on the list of priorities for federal, state and local governments throughout the U.S. In fact,
virtualization is third on a list of five major technologies that the federal government will support with big
spending increases in the years to come, according to
Input, a market research firm (see chart, next page).
Much of the action has been on the server virtualization side, where cost reductions are dramatic,
but interest is growing in desktop virtualization as
well. In a 2010 survey of 700 small, midsize and large
companies and government agencies by Information
Technology Intelligence Corp., 50% of the respondents said they had server virtualization initiatives
under way, and 17% said they had begun desktop
virtualization projects. That percentage will grow,
according to Gartner Inc., which expects the virtual
desktop market to rise from 500,000 units in 2009 to
49 million in 2013.
For governments, the main attractions of virtual
desktops are ease of manageability and lower
costs. “There’s been a recognition that
the cost of the IT infrastructure, added
up across all agencies, has been more
DESKTOP VIRTUALIZATION
N.C., would tell you that server
virtualization is key.
Three years ago, Gaston
County began a server and
storage virtualization project that
is now 70% complete. The initia-
tive eliminated server sprawl
and boosted staff productivity
by 40%. Now the 35-department
county is turning to desktop
virtualization. The first phase will include 250 of the
1,200 users; the ultimate goal is 100% virtualization.
According to Jackson, the two projects are as different
as night and day. “Because they both have the word
virtualization in them, people think they go hand in
hand,” he says. “But desktop virtualization is so different
from server virtualization.” Server virtualization entails
multiple instances running on individual physical
servers, he says, whereas desktop virtualization — at
least for Gaston County — will mean removing applica-
tions and ultimately the operating system from desktop
PCs and running application images on virtual-
ized servers for use by multiple people.
But as different as the two are, they
also are a good match, Jackson says. If you
Brandon
Jackson
Instead of having to replace 250 to 300 desktops
at $1,100 each, we’re making a $250,000 investment
in our server hardware and the Citrix software.
BRANDON JACKSON, CIO, GASTON COUNTY, N.C.
expensive than it needs to be,” says Raymond Bjork-
lund, senior vice president at FedSources, a consult-
ing firm in McLean, Va. “IT consolidation and virtu-
alization provides a set of tools to help with that.”
But because of the upfront investment required,
the move to virtualized desktops will happen incre-
mentally, Bjorklund says. “Dollars are appropriated
to agencies on an annual basis, and Congress holds
the purse strings,” he says. “It’s extremely hard for
agencies to do a grand-scale project that requires
investments for longer-term savings.”
Here’s a look at two local governments and one
state agency that are making the first moves into
desktop virtualization.
One Virtualization
Leads to Another
After embarking on a server virtualization project,
a North Carolina county moves to the desktop.
What’s behind a successful desktop virtualization
project? Brandon Jackson, CIO of Gaston County,
THE HEADS OF STATE
pursue virtualized desktops without the server component, he points out, you still need a certain number of
servers dedicated to a certain number of users. “If you
can virtualize those servers, you can save a lot in terms
of physical servers,” he adds.
The main reason Jackson embraced desktop
virtualization was to save money. The savings come
from the use of less expensive desktop hardware
($300 to $600 for a thin client versus $1,100 for a
PC) and a move to longer technology refresh cycles
(six to 10 years for thin clients versus four years for
PCs). So far, Jackson hasn’t invested in any thin
clients because he can repurpose existing PCs that
would have needed replacement but are able to run
a desktop operating system and Citrix XenDesktop.
(The county is using VMware for server virtualization and Citrix on the desktop.)
There is a trade-off with licensing costs, Jackson
says, since he is now paying for Citrix licenses, which
are about $70 to $150 per user. Still, he anticipates
12% to 18% savings per year, thanks to the hardware
changes. “Instead of having to replace 250 to 300
