Desktop vs. Server - Where is the Best Bang for the Buck?

A friend of mine at State Street in Boston sent me a link to an article talking about Merrill Lynch starting to virtualize the desktop en masse.

It got me thinking about where the best bang for the buck is - at the desktop or the server. Purely by numbers it's the desktop. There are more desktops than servers out there in most companies. I think the biggest issue is that you have to deal with users and their inherent free will to put P2P stuff, different chat software, games, etc. on their desktops, and with servers it tends to be a little easier since most people who know how to run a server don't call support and say 'My Internet is Broken'.

I also paid attention because it validates a solution I have been incubating for 7-8 months that has the capability to turn the desktop world on its head and cut the costs of a desktop to $100 or less per year. You pick how much you want to save based on how many desktops you want to manage.

What the solutions that are out there offer (Desktone is one I checked out) is essentially snapshot to storage of the image. Hardly new and hardly virtual. The partners include Citrix, Microsoft, and VMware. Huh?

If there is to be real, measurable, and true cost savings you need some other goodies (features) built in - and yes I have them - as well as the knowledge of what it takes from the support engineer point of view, the network engineer point of view, the IT staff in house, right up to the CFO who makes sure the company gets the best bang for its buck and manages revenue and expenses well.

In other words it's not all about the desktop. It's about all the other stuff that run (or shouldn't run) on it, and the infrastructure behind it that matter as much if not more. If you want a little juice, press an apple. If you want a lot of juice, press the orchard.

Have a great long weekend out there, and remember our soldiers - present and past - who are responsible for keeping me and my generations of family safe.

A personal Thank You to the men and women in uniform and their families who are able to call themselves soldiers this Memorial Day. Your family keeps mine free and we know it. You should too. Thank You.