Citrix touts the desktop as the next big wave in virtualisation

Although server virtualisation has historically led the way in the virtualisation market, Citrix says desktop virtualisation is now emerging as the new hot thing.

“All the excitement has been with server virtualisation, and that’s where the money and the spending has been over the last several years,” said Dennis Rose, vice president of Citrix Pacific.

“But, desktop virtualisation is the one that has just ripped right off the launch pad in the last year, and that’s where we’ll see the new interest and the new concepts.”

Citrix’s desktop virtualisation product, Xen Desktop, breaks down the linkages between applications, operating systems, and user profiles to store and manage them separately.

After “deconstructing” the components, they can then be customised for respective users and patched back together to be delivered as a single image to thousands of users.

Citrix says this model can deliver about one desktop per second to a system, and allows users to experience like-new performance from their desktops every time.

“Every time you turn your machine on, you’re getting a brand new PC,” said AVP for Citrix ANZ Rob Willis during the keynote of the Citrix Application Conference.

Because server virtualisation has been in the spotlight for so long, Rose says there has been some difficulty with reminding customers that there are other types of virtualisation.

“A big challenge is educating users about the different types of virtualisation,” he said.

“The media and vendors and suppliers, we like to put things simply to customers, so we talk about it as if it’s one thing. It’s really different components and they’re all in different stages.”

At the end of the keynote, Willis discussed the future of Citrix's desktop virtualisation and hinted that the Xen Desktop would be compatible with the iPhone when it launches in Australia in the coming months.