CIOs count selection of the correct technology provider for their desktop virtualisation strategy as a "significant risk", claims technology analyst company Ovum.
In a new report, the company says that CIOs have concerns about the immaturity of the market and some are wary that they may purchase the wrong product for their enterprise.
Ovum’s research has found that desktop virtualisation currently represents around 15% of the business PC market. However, this figure is dominated by the traditional terminal services model (12%), typically used in call centre-type environments, and has been for the last 10 years.
If terminal services are excluded, the next generation of products aimed at CIOs, from the likes of VMware, Citrix, and Microsoft, hold less then 3% of the market, showing that many CIOs are holding back from taking the plunge.
In addition, Ovum has found that most CIO deployments are small scale, and the number of large deployments is few.
Author of the report and Ovum principal analyst Roy Illsley said, "CIOs are coming under increasing pressure due to the escalating cost of maintaining corporate-owned remote PCs and laptops, demands for more end-user flexibility and mobility, and the proliferation of personal mobile devices in the workplace.
"Desktop virtualisation can go a long way towards alleviating these issues. However, the move away from business PCs towards desktop virtualisation has been hampered by the fragmented market.
"The general view is that as the market is relatively immature, selecting the correct technology represents a significant risk because nobody wants to invest in the Betamax of the desktop virtualisation world."
VMware and Citrix dominate the desktop virtualisation market with 83% of market share between them.
However, while Microsoft only holds 11% market share, its range of technologies is beginning to make gains. Meanwhile, niche offerings will continue to be developed, leading to more choice for CIOs, but more confusion about which vendor to back, said Ovum.
The technology analyst company also said that CIOs are aware of the potential benefits of desktop virtualisation. It added that CIOs should think from an user-centric perspective while devising their desktop strategy.
Illsley said, "A recent CIO survey Ovum conducted found that simplifying the management of desktops to reduce costs and increasing business agility were the top two reasons for implementing desktop virtualisation, so awareness of the potential benefits is high.
"But an often overlooked aspect is the need to shift thinking from a device-centric perspective to a user-centric one. This is where adjacent solutions from the likes of AppSense, RES Software, and Centrix Software in the user-virtualisation space become important considerations to any desktop strategy.
"Defining a strategy centred on the user is the first step many should take, then CIOs could select the best approach for users’ needs."
