From the student of Professor Virtualization

Professor Desktop has decided to give a new approach and let the students speak about what they are learning. Today I came across an article about Bring Your Own Desktop aka BYOD (article link). The writer comments on how companies can protect themselves from this theory if it is installed within the business. Below are the writer’s 5 ways to protect a company from employee devices:

1. Remote wipe & lock
2. Geo-location tracking
3. Network authentication, authorization, accounting
4. Secure remote support
5. Acceptable use policy

What I think has been failed to be brought up is the bright side of BYOD. Companies are looking to cut costs. Instead of buying new computers or refreshing them most companies are giving employees a rebate. They give something like $500 towards any device the employee would like to purchase and then slap on a virtual desktop (which the company has full control over). The device then holds the employees dual life (personal or business) and can work more efficiently whether it’s at the workplace or on the beach in Maui. Two positives for the price of one. What do you think are some pros and cons on BYOD?

Student of Professor Cloud “Where ever you are be there” – Anonymous

The lesson here is this: If you believe in yourself, your team and coworkers, your management and your goal – you can achieve anything! Just ask the World Series bound St Louis Cardinals about believing and winning when the media has written you off. It is no different in business and technology, sometimes the world seems to be against you and no one believes in you. Yet somehow you still find a way to prove the doubters wrong and come out on top in the end.

The Silver Linings shout, “Keep believing and the result may surprise even you!”

These answers come down to psychology and are they the correct person for the job. A lot goes into the determining whether someone is qualified and much more appropriate would be – do they possess the skill set, both physically and mentally, to be a contribution to our company. This is a very in depth process and someone in HR or a talent evaluator must be skilled in what to look for and how determine the psychological “winners” from the “great background and I hope they fit ins.”

The Silver Linings cheerleaders yell, “Do they have the right temperament for the trade?”

Hosted Virtual Desktops will be commonplace someday although no one knows exactly when that will be. The world is heading in that direction currently and will continue to do so. Do a lot of research on this technology to see if it benefits your current environment or if waiting would be best. There is never a right time to move into the future and take risks – only know that with preparation and research you can reduce the variable in order to come as close to ensuring perfection as possible.

Pro DTop says, “If you wait to leave your house until every light is green – you will never leave!”

We all want lasting relationships and friendships – do that we must be willing to put in the time and effort. Networking takes time so do not judge success on instant gratification. Like in the virtualization world, which has a 10 month ROI, networking may take time. Be sure to focus on the long term and if you believe in what you do or who you work for the time spent will be well worth it.

PC says, “Relationships take time – there are no microwavable networking events!”

Make sure you do plenty of analysis or access some of the excellent companies out there currently to assist you in this endeavor in order to properly assess your current environment and the best way to get where you want to go. Virtualization is all about agility and efficiency, make sure the path you take to get there is filled with efficient, good decision making.

Pro V says, “With proper analysis comes proper execution!”

vPresence is our main partnership tool which mainly focuses on Hosted Virtual Desktops. We have added other markets like Hosted Servers and Hosted Storage. These are major buzz concepts these days so be sure you find the right company to partner with or become clients of. There are many hidden scenarios and questions when it comes to hosted services so be sure to find a company that you completely trust. Considering all relationship are built on trust!

vPrez would like to quote the great Zig Zigler again, “You will have everything you want in life as soon as you help everyone else get what they want!”

Once we decide on hosted then we have to decide on private cloud or public cloud. The main difference between them is that in the private cloud all your information is behind your own firewall. In essence, a little more protected and safe, however this will come at a higher cost as your information now requires dedicated infrastructure. With the public cloud you are sharing a pool of resources while remaining secure and efficient. These are major decisions that need to be made in the very near future if you aren’t discussing them already. Virtualization and Hosted Services are the way of the future, be sure you aren’t left behind with physical costs too high to compete in today’s down economy.

Techno declares, “Do not try to kill a mosquito with a bazooka!”

If you are still running a completely physical environment, now would be the time to look into some virtualization options. There are many strong companies out there and what has become very reasonably priced virtualization methods. You can start small and just do your servers. You can always add more virtualization as you go. It doesn’t have to be a huge upfront investment but even you do spend the money to virtualize, it will pay you back in spades moving into the future. It makes sense and it is the wave of the future so the sooner you jump on board the less steep the climb will be in the future to get virtualized.

ProV says, “Virtualization is the way to future-proof your business!”