Is Desktop Virtualization for Everyone?

TechRepublic posted an article last week about Desktop Virtualization and it’s adoption.  TechRepublic asked their CIO Jury and also their panel of IT leaders “Is your IT department strongly considering a deployment of virtual desktops?”

Of the CIO Jury, only three of the 12 CIOs said yes.  As the article writes:

But, most CIOs aren’t buying the hype or jumping on board with desktop virtualization. TechRepublic’s CIO Jury has indicated that the vast majority of IT leaders have no plans to adopt desktop virtualization, although there is a minority group of IT chiefs that are enthusiastic about it.

The article goes on to cite some quotes from the IT leaders panel why or why not they are doing Desktop Virtualization.

The point that I’m trying to make is not that Desktop Virtualization is good or bad, right or wrong.  My concern is that the Desktop Virtualization discussion is too often framed as an all or nothing discussion, you either you have to do it or you won’t.  Either you are for it or against.

In the real world, we should all evaluate whether Desktop Virtualization is something that benefits our organizations.  If it does, then Desktop Virtualization is something to do, at whatever scale works best.  It doesn’t have to be EVERY desktop or ZERO desktops. 

As with any technology, it’s just part of an overall IT strategy to benefit administrators and users.  After all, isn’t that the whole point of using technology?

What are your thoughts on this post?  Have a question?  Let me know via comments or reach me on Twitter @edwinyuen.  If you are going to VMworld 2009, I'll be at the show, in sessions and in booth #2422, ready available to answer questions.