Demand Visibility for Your Desktop Transformation Journey: The Only Tip Necessary for Success

SoapboxI’m going to begin this blog with a warning… It’s important that I highlight the fact I may be preaching here—I’m quite passionate about the subject matter, and I believe much of what I’m about to say is aimed at those who are also preaching at you.

Who among you has not seen an article or email with a subject along the lines of, “Top Five VDI Critical Success Factors” or “10 Tips to a VDI Nirvana.” Maybe it’s the circles I run in, but I tend to get a few of these in my inbox each week. Some of them have pretty good nuggets of information. But most are aimed at getting you to look at some exotic, unitasking technology that will cure what ails you. Continue reading

Don’t Let Layer 8 or 9 Issues Stall Your Desktop Transformation Efforts

Layer 8-9I’ll go out on a limb and assume you all are familiar with ISO’s Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model. If not, go take a minute and check out this wonderful overview (OSI Model). Go ahead, I’ll wait…

You’ll note there are seven official layers to the model. From bottom to top, they are grouped into similar communication functions, which map to each of the seven logical layers. Not surprisingly, these layers also map to the technological challenges that must be overcome to deem a project successful.

I would like to put forth two additional layers. Layers that are also communications-related; but of a more human nature. I present the “People” and “Organizational” layers.* Continue reading

Avoid the Child Seat and Make your Planning Look Effortless with Stratusphere UX

ChildSeatI’m a planner. Just ask my wife. In fact, this character trait has served us well—we have triplets. By way of example, have you ever waited—over an hour—for a table at a kid-friendly restaurant, only to be told there aren’t three child seats available? The calmer side of me chalks this up to a lack of planning. The other side of me … well, that’s not appropriate to convey in writing. Continue reading

Stratusphere FIT: Magic, Science and Starting the VDI Journey

“Magic’s just science that we don’t understand yet.”

― Arthur C. Clarke

Over years of conversations with IT professionals, I have found widely varying experiences and perceptions as it relates to virtualizing desktop workloads, specifically in the realm of virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI). There is a broad sophistication or intelligence explosion (see Technological Singularity) that has not yet reached critical mass. This is not a criticism of our intelligence – it is merely my assertion that we have not yet matured from the realm of magic to science. Continue reading