The Growing Appetite for Virtualization - Virtualizing the Endpoint
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Virtualizing the Endpoint
Consider this scenario: A manufacturing executive is caught up in a huge inventory/accounting project that must be finished by the next morning. But 5 p.m. is approaching, and the executive needs to get home to take over parental duties while the exec’s spouse heads out for a PTA meeting.
Fortunately, thanks to continued developments in endpoint virtualization technologies, it’s easier than ever for the executive to access the needed Excel file and other work-based applications from a laptop at home in order to complete the job on time.
Seeing the value in this and other benefits to endpoint virtualization—which essentially allows applications to be added and integrated within an enterprise with considerably fewer system glitches than ever—more IT decision makers are buying solutions that encompass this technology.
In fact, more than three out of four of the approximately 300 IT administrators who responded to a recent survey said their organizations had already launched some form of endpoint virtualization, according to Symantec, which commissioned the study.
“That response surprises us,” says Brad Rowland, director of enterprise marketing for Symantec’s endpoint virtualization line. “This technology is just starting to be included in larger solutions. Before, this was made available as a point-by-point solution that had to be managed separately. Now, it’s part of a larger platform, and that’s leading to broader acceptance.”
Here are some additional findings:
• 24 percent of participants said the simplification of operating system and application delivery is the most appealing aspect of endpoint virtualization, while 20 percent said lower IT costs offered the greatest appeal.
• 31 percent reported that their organizations spend at least 21 percent of IT resources on managing incompatibilities between applications on endpoint devices.
• 36 percent said that at least a quarter of their entire 2009 IT budget is earmarked for endpoint virtualization initiatives.
Virtualization 
