Crucial Steps to Successful VDI Implementation for Startups

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is a software technology that makes it possible for organizations to separate the physical device accessing applications from the desktop environment hosting the applications.

This means that IT departments in the organizations can offer a dynamic service from the desktop applications of the organization.

With VDI, they are able to offer all the components in their environments as a service, on-demand, and control everyone who has access to the applications. They are even able to add and revoke access, depending on the organization’s requirements.

In addition, organizations can minimize the costs of operation using VDI. This is because instead of having different applications running on different servers, they can implement VDI and have all the applications running on a single virtualized server.

However, as much as organizations are racing against time to implement VDI, most of them are missing crucial steps that are required for a successful VDI implementation. What should they do to make sure that they have successfully implemented a virtual desktop infrastructure?

Steps to Follow When Implementing VDI

Deciding the Project Scope

When starting the implementation of VDI, you might realize that you have a large scope. However, it is very important to narrow the scope down when starting, especially for startup companies that are looking to cut down the startup cost. You can do this by deciding whether you want to use VDI for a number of applications in your company or to replace the entire desktop resources.

If you are implementing VDI to replace your entire desktop, you will need to do a lot of work since you will be replacing the entire computers in your company. It will be challenging to estimate the storage and performance that you need, meaning that you will need to be careful about what you are doing.

Organizations that want to move a number of their applications to VDI find the process a bit easier. This is because they are not moving every application in the company, hence estimating the storage and speed gets a little bit easier.

Cost of Implementation

The cost of VDI implementation depends on a number of things, among them the vendor and the specification one is looking for. Looking at the vendors, you need to understand what a vendor offers, why they are better than the other vendors, and what makes them better. In addition, you need to look at their cost of implementation and see if you are getting value for your money.

In addition, you need to look at the specification of the VDI that you need. This includes things such as storage and performance. If you have more applications and data, you will need a significantly powerful VDI compared to organizations with fewer applications. The cost of implementation will also be affected by the specification.

Setting Up Hypervisor Server

This depends on whether an organization has chosen a cloud provider or an on-premise solution when implementing their VDI. Those that go with a cloud provider do not need to worry about setting up a hypervisor server since the providers do this for them.

However, those that choose the on-premise or even hybrid solution need to do this on their own. This is because they have data on their own servers. There are multiple hypervisors available, the most popular among them include the XenServer, vSphere, and KVM. Organizations should pick the one that meets their requirements.

Security Implementation

Since most startups deploy their VDI facing the internet, they need to make sure that they have set up the right security measures to safeguard their applications and the company’s data.

It is important to note that when someone accesses an application in your VDI, it means that they have gained access to your network. Even though organizations can control access to these applications, there are times when that access might go to the wrong person.

To ensure that security is implemented properly, organizations should come up with security measures at the beginning when they are setting up their VDI. This is easier than adding security when everything else is already running.

Conclusion

Once you have implemented your VDI and made sure that everything is running as expected, you will need to train your users. These users see it like any other application and do not understand anything that goes on in the background. Companies need to come up with training sessions to get their employees up to speed and make sure that everything meets their expectations.