Keen observers of the virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) segment of the technology sector will know it’s a world of false dawns, promises unfilled, and unreached potential. Latency issues, load times, resource inefficiencies, pricing, compatibility issues, and vendor perceptions have all pushed VDI forward and, equally, pulled it back. A reluctance to change is also a factor, especially in enterprises where risks are large in both scale and complexity, so decisions are taken slowly.
But there has been a lot of movement over the past year or so. Is this the heralding of a new VDI era?
Can users be offered a seamless virtual desktop experience?
Are there VDI solutions that are stable enough, cost-effective enough, and robust enough for enterprises in a digitally transforming world?
Is 2025 really the year of VDI?
Positive VDI Noises
This could be the year of VDI, especially when you consider the moves Microsoft has made in recent times – expanding the feature set of Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD), introducing Windows 365 as an attractive pay-as-you-go desktop-as-a-service (DaaS) VDI option, welcoming VDI competitors like Citrix and Omnissa into the Microsoft fold as partners, etc.
Advances in technology are also consigning to history many of the traditional challenges of VDI. Load times and latency are two examples where the problems of the past are now either non-existent or considerably improved. These advances are also making VDI a more attractive proposition.
Then there are the decisions that have to be made on what to do about the Windows 10 end-of-life date coming up in October 2025. VDI in some form or another will be part of the solution for many enterprises. With all this considered, there appear to be strong indications that 2025 could be the year of VDI.
A Year of Reckoning Too?
It could also be a year of reckoning. There has been a lot of coverage and comment, including on this blog, about what has been happening with some of the world’s big VDI vendors – Citrix, VMware by Broadcom, and Omnissa in particular. We don’t have to go over those issues and points again except to repeat a word mentioned at the start of this article – movement.
There has undoubtedly been movement in the market with established VDI customers reacting to change, exploring their options, and looking to the future. Will that future involve VDI or does the phrase “sour taste in the mouth” come into play? Do you stay with what you know, working through the issues and finding resolutions? Or does the future mean a switch to a different VDI solution and, if so, what are the primary drivers in the decision-making process for selecting a vendor?
And when all the dust has settled and contracts have been renewed or ended, relationships extended or started anew, what will be the status of the VDI giants Microsoft, Citrix, VMware by Broadcom, Omnissa, AWS, and others? Will there have been a reckoning?
Seeing the Forest, Not Just the Trees
Even if there is a reckoning, this could still be the year of VDI in terms of strong market growth, increasing take up of VDI solutions, and thousands upon thousands of users migrating to virtual desktops.
This is because there is a huge proportion of the potential VDI market who are not affected by changes going on at vendors like Citrix or VMware as they haven’t yet taken the VDI plunge, at least not substantially.
The extended offerings of those well-established brands could be the catalyst that VDI virgins need. VDI decision-makers might also be seduced by the magnetism and undeniable attractiveness of Microsoft’s DaaS and straight VDI product offerings, or they could feel the pull of the outsiders in the VDI space, the up-and-comers, or the hot new thing.
That all leaves one big question to finish – what flavour of virtual machine host and guests are you choosing in 2025 and why?
