Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2022. Read them in this 14th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
2022 Will be the Year of the (Distributed) Desktop and SuperAdmin
By J Tyler "T.Rex" Rohrer, Founder and CEO, Remotely, Inc.
For nearly a decade, perhaps longer, I have been chasing the
mythical YEAR OF VDI. We all hoped beyond hope that the combination of virtual
hardware virtual operating systems virtual applications virtual profiles and
virtual data delivered from a primary centralized and secure data center would
be the answer. It was not. It was one of many server based computing options
that are amazing when applied to the correct use case, and disastrous when
forced upon the wrong ones.
Coincidentally aside from being great for densified use
cases and lan attached task workers - virtual desktop infrastructure is also fairly
good at delivering productive workspaces to users who were are to far
away. While the cost and complexity and time to orchestrate the moving parts
needed to deliver an elegant virtual desktop have given way to cloud hosted
simplicity with Microsoft AVD and other DaaS offerings, most of use cases remain the same.
What we have seen satisfy nearly all near term use cases in
the Stampede to remote and hybrid work environments is the good old fashioned
laptop. This device while typically assembled from commodity parts manufactured
by the lowest cost bidder and a faraway land, rarely backed up, poorly
configured still offers more productivity out of the box than most other
solutions. This device gives us freedom and flexibility is poised to join a
conference call from a coffee shop a rest area or a Home Office. for the most
part the technical limits are its battery life and Wi-Fi strength. In most well
run organizations application access, ease of collaboration and content
delivery is paramount. Producing the "product" is productivity. The well
managed laptop is an amazing desktop to consider as the winner for 2022.
However, before we truly begin celebrating we must
acknowledge the incredibly complex security and support scenario we have now
created. While we may have unleashed user productivity and work life balance in
our new remote and hybrid deployment methods, we have decreased admin
productivity. Most popular press speaks
to the challenges of remote users and very very few speak to the challenges of
remote administrators and therefore remote administrator budgets.
My prediction is 2022 will be the year of the distributed
desktop and super admin. Simply stated a super admin is anyone who has been
tasked with delivering reliable computer systems out of incredibly unreliable
parts... including end users, remotely. The task is tough stuff. Well managed laptops with assurances in
security posture will be the rage in 2022. We cannot manage what we cannot
measure and a whole new wave of remote user instrumentality and admin solutions
will enter the market.
The past 15 years was practice and now it is time to apply
all that we have learned, our best practices, our brightest minds, and our best
ideas to finally make it the year of the distributed desktop. If what we seek
is secure, supported, and productive workspaces working with our new remote
reality is the key.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
J. Tyler "T.Rex" Rohrer, Founder + CEO Remotely, Inc.
Tyler founded Remotely after co-founding and growing Liquidware into a highly profitable venture. Prior to that he was a foundational member of VMware's Enterprise Desktop Team. He was a partner at FOEDUS, which was acquired by VMware in 2008. Tyler heads up the company’s efforts to deliver security and support to the worlds largest organizations, agencies, and enterprises. He has been an official member of the Forbes Technology Council since 2017. The FTC is an invitation-only organization for technology executives. He speaks around the world on topics ranging from End User Computing, Virtualization, Security, and Futurism.