March 20, 2013

Five Advantages of Centralized Management in Desktop Virtualization

One of the most expensive and dreaded IT tasks is updating and controlling multiple desktops one-by-one, fortunately there is a solution that allows for simple, simultaneous management of computing devices called, centralized management. A deployment of Virtual Machines (VM’s) will allow for centralized management on all of the VM’s, or another option would be to re-purpose current PC’s with services such as 10ZiG NoTouch Desktop.

The conveniences that centralized management brings are substantial and prove to provide cost savings for any company. Companies see a high ROI by managing their computing devices in a central location as both IT departments can scale down their staff and the rest of the company’s employees do not experience any downtime due to system or software updates on their desktops which helps to increase their productivity. Though there are many advantages of centralized management in Desktop Virtualization, we are only going to discuss the advantages that bring the most simplicity and convenience to you.

Top 5 Advantages of Centralized Management Utility:

1. Group configurations for Windows Embedded Thin Client and Zero Client Devices

    • XPe and WES devices can be directly configured as whole groups. This allows a single system administrator to push out security updates and application updates as individual packages to Windows Embedded units.
    • IT administrators can group users (ie. Departments) so that the entire group can be updated at once, without having to update each individual PC or VM.
    • Whether manually or automatically populated, groups provide a simple, more logical way to configure, monitor and manage devices.
    • The group configuration and update feature is very important in large corporations as it can group large departments of users together and free up the IT administrators’ time, allowing them to be productive in other tasks.

2. Image Cloning and Configuration for Zero, Linux, and Windows Units

  • Centralized management enables a virtual machines’ image to be cloned and Image Cloning and Configurationconfigured onto a new/different desktop in the matter of seconds.
  • Not only does this feature eliminate work for the system administrator but makes setting up a new VM fast and simple therefore saving time and money.
  • Image cloning and configuring is supported on most operating systems including Linux, CE, XPe, WES 2009 and WES 7 Thin/Zero Clients with WES8 coming soon.

3. Scheduleable Firmware and Package Updates

  • Centralized management in desktop virtualization deployments facilitates automated device servicing. This means that the system administrator can schedule any or all updates during after-hours so that they do not interrupt any user’s productivity during working hours. Most of the time updates are scheduled and the user returns to work without even knowing that an update was made to their machine.

4. Minimal- Touch Deployment

Minimal Touch Deployment

  • With automatic configuration groups, configurations can be applied to devices as they are deployed and discovered by the manager, this results in fast roll-outs.

  • Employee productivity is never down from long PC setups, as with use of virtual machines, the system administrator can set up their machine and get them working in no time at all.



5. Disaster Recovery

  • There is never a chance of losing the information stored on your Thin Client or Zero Client because the centralized management utility can restore multiple devices in a single session.

PC Re-Purposing Software as an Option:

As mentioned above, there is another way to allow for centralized management in a desktop virtualization environment without the deployment of Thin Clients or Zero Clients. 10ZiG NoTouch Desktop is an example of PC re-purposing software that allows for centralized management. This solution allows your company to stretch their IT budget and allow the experience of VDI Thin Clients without the replacement of old PC hardware. This solution is compatible with any x86 base PC. With the use of PC re-purposing software you can see how Thin Clients and Zero Clients are easier to manage before you start your VDI deployment. For more information or to demo this software, CLICK HERE or visit http://10zig.com/no-touch/.
Want to experience what centralized management is all about?
Click here for a FREE demo of ANY Thin or Zero Client from 10ZiG!