So Many Client Devices - Is Virtualization The Answer?

As we take a step back and look at the big picture, client virtualization enters the picture as a way that these might come together. Businesses will of course still proceed with their traditional PC-based infrastructures as the economy improves, but they also need to account for other ways for employees to access their data on a wide range of devices (including their personally-owned computers at home), and a virtualized client could be one way to address that....in theory, at least.

I say that it's in theory because some of the recent demos that I've seen out here in Asia have failed, citing problems like "unavailable connections," which only reinforced my initial hypothesis that while client virtualization is great in theory, some implementations depend critically on a network connection, which may not always be there. Don't get me wrong - client virtualization has huge benefits and I truly believe that it can be the way of the future, especially with so many consumer devices being brought to the workplace. Technology will improve (and infrastructures will get further built out), so I'm sure that usability will improve significantly in the long run, especially with many organizations in the US already adopting such technology today. In the meantime, I'd be curious to hear if you have any success stories to share - and perhaps more importantly, any best practices or policies that you've used to ensure a good experience for the user and/or IT department.