AN ENTERPRISE VIEW OF MIGRATING TO WINDOWS 7: A CIO'S GUIDE TO STEPPING OFF THE ROLLERCOASTER - RYAN MCCUNE NOVEMBER 2009
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An enterprise view of migrating to
Windows 7: A CIO’s guide to
stepping off the rollercoaster
Ryan McCune
November 2009
1
An enterprise view of Windows 7: A CIO’s guide to stepping off the rollercoaster
Table of Contents
An enterprise view of migrating to Windows 7 ................................................................................................. 3
Situation: High cost, IT paralysis ...................................................................................................................... 3
The journey to Windows 7 ............................................................................................................................... 4
Rationalizing applications to reduce capital and operational expenditures ........................................ 4
Using virtualization to eliminate the roller coaster ride ....................................................................... 5
Virtual applications .............................................................................................................. 5
Virtual desktops ................................................................................................................... 5
Presentation virtualization ...................................................................................................5
Conclusion: The right time to step off the roller coaster ................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
© 2009 Avanade Inc. All Rights Reserved.An enterprise view of Windows 7: A CIO’s guide to stepping off the rollercoaster
An enterprise view of On the operational side, costs remain too this tightly coupled architecture has been
high as IT tries its best to manage an that enterprises simply haven't upgraded
migrating to Windows 7 aging Microsoft Windows XP platform, very frequently. When they do, it's
the software sprawl described above and historically been a manual and costly
Many organizations are currently looking
a disjointed set of point-solutions for endeavor that brings too much pain to
at Windows 7 and beginning their
management. From this perspective, it's users. This roller coaster approach
business justification and migration
simply taking too many people to creates a pattern of sharp spikes in user
planning. In doing so, some are faced
manage PCs due to a poorly managed disruption, high-impact change, and high
with the harsh reality that their desktop
and ill-architected desktop platform. And, risk every three to five years.
estates are messy and expensive,
many organizations have been ignoring
primarily due to aging management It's been too difficult and too expensive to
the problem—waiting instead for the next
infrastructure and years of neglect. While successfully manage so much change
desktop refresh to make things right.
Windows 7 will add tremendous benefits across so many users. Benefits have to
to these organizations in the form of In addition to increasing TCO, be very significant, and costs (both
better security, improved mobility and enterprises have been paralyzed by a financial and the business impact) very
enhanced user productivity, it is not a second major problem: a tightly coupled well-managed, in order to justify a large-
cure-all. However, there is reason for desktop architecture which has required, scale desktop migration program. Over
optimism. With Windows 7’s business in many cases, a “forklift” approach to the past few years, many organizations
improvement, the maturation of desktop migration. Because hardware, the have believed that the benefits simply
virtualization and management operating system, applications and data haven't outweighed the costs. From the
infrastructure all coming together in real aren't isolated from one another, desktop CIO’s perspective, it’s been less risky to
time, there's an emerging “perfect storm” upgrades have tended to follow a pattern do nothing than to modernize the desktop
that has the ability to benefit business where all of these elements must be estate.
users, IT and the bottom line. upgraded as a single unit. The result of
Situation: High cost, IT paralysis
Some enterprises have been stuck in a
paralyzing cycle when it comes to the
desktop. On one hand, desktop total cost
of ownership has been too high. While
Moore's Law has continued to bring down
the price of PC hardware, rising software
and operational costs have increased
enterprise desktop TCO in many
organizations. Additionally, a lack of
proactive management has led to
application sprawl yielding high software
(capital) spend and licensing compliance
challenges. That can change now.
© 2009 Avanade Inc. All Rights Reserved. 3An enterprise view of Windows 7: A CIO’s guide to stepping off the rollercoaster
within the organization provides the same measure of high operational cost and
The journey to Windows 7 function. Put simply, many businesses inefficiency.
Windows 7 provides significant benefits are paying for software they don't really
A Windows 7 refresh represents the
to both the business user and IT need.
opportune time to address this challenge.
departments, and there are far fewer
On the operational side, high volumes of This is the point where you can choose to
technical barriers to get to Windows 7
unmanaged software create an either ignore the problem, “move the
than there have been in the past.
environment that IT cannot adequately mess” to the new platform or you can
As a result, Windows 7 will become the manage. When every PC has an choose to address it. The choice is
destination for many organizations. The unknown, unique set of applications, a significant.
smart enterprise should step back, take a situation is created where IT cannot
Choosing to rationalize an application
breath and recognize that the destination leverage automation with a reasonable
portfolio based on a guiding set of
itself doesn't necessarily address the key degree of certainty that they won't do
business requirements will not only
financial pains they've been facing with more harm than good. Software sprawl is
reduce TCO after the transformation, but
their PC fleet. A Windows 7 refresh a leading contributor to a high IT
will significantly reduce the cost and
provides a rare point when they'll have administrator-to-machine ratio that many
effort of the transition itself. The total
license to make important
changes that many have been
putting off. Smart CIOs will take
this opportunity to use the
Windows 7 refresh as an
opportunity to reduce desktop
TCO and transform desktop
change from a high-cost and
disruptive event to a smooth,
business-as-usual activity.
Rationalizing applications to
reduce capital and
operational expenditures
Unmanaged, often user-
installed applications, represent
one of the largest contributing
factors to high desktop TCO.
On the capital side,
organizations spend a
tremendous amount of money
on software that isn't utilized,
doesn't have a business
justification, or where other software organizations face today, a primary
© 2009 Avanade Inc. All Rights Reserved. 4An enterprise view of Windows 7: A CIO’s guide to stepping off the rollercoaster
number of applications to be deployed on enterprise to begin taking advantage of From an IT perspective, VDI enables IT
Windows 7 will be a major factor in these technologies is now. to manage the desktop platform for all
determining how long the project will take users in a single way—decoupling
Virtual applications
and how much it will cost. Standardizing hardware, operating systems and
Application virtualization enables you to
the application portfolio before migration applications. IT can upgrade the OS and
almost entirely eliminate the software
means that fewer applications will need applications on a business-as-usual
interoperability testing that is typically a
to be tested for Windows 7 compatibility, basis very easily, in one place (using a
standard migration task. This is because
remediated and packaged for single image), without having to worry
isolated, virtual applications don't have
deployment on the new platform. Ignoring about client hardware and software
the ability to impact one another. Each
the rationalization or taking it on obstacles.
virtual application lives in its own
midstream creates excessive, unneeded
separate container and doesn't share file, However, it is important to note that VDI
transition cost and effort.
component or Windows registry is rarely the lowest cost option. It requires
If you are looking to address TCO, resources with other applications. This farms of servers to implement and the
application rationalization should be the technology alone can save thousands of licensing can be costly. It's not typically
organization's first step down the path man-hours for an enterprise-scale the right answer for all users in a
toward implementing Windows 7. migration. Post-migration, new company. But, for some types of power
applications can be dynamically deployed users and knowledge workers, the
Using virtualization to eliminate the
and managed without worrying about benefits can be tremendous.
roller coaster ride
conflicts.
Earlier, we talked about the roller coaster Whereas the desktop platform has
problem that companies face while Virtual desktops traditionally been an all-or-nothing
struggling to keep their desktops up-to- Virtual desktop infrastructure, or VDI, proposition, VDI introduces a middle-
date. The problem is largely because represents one of the most compelling ground option that should be strongly
enterprise desktops have more or less (and often misunderstood) emerging considered for specific worker segments
been a tightly coupled smattering—no benefits to the enterprise. With VDI, each that require both computing horsepower
isolation between the hardware, worker has his or her own hosted, virtual and flexibility.
operating system, applications and data. desktop that runs in the data center but
Presentation Virtualization
With isolation, an operating system or has the experience, look and feel of a
Presentation virtualization is a final
application could be upgraded traditional desktop machine. With VDI, a
desktop platform option that the
independently and automatically. user runs the machine in the same way
enterprise should consider. Presentation
Desktop virtualization technologies he or she has been accustomed to, and
virtualization enables certain network-
provide this isolation. when properly implemented, has a user
connected user segments to take
experience that is exactly the same as a
Over the past five years, significant advantage of a low-cost platform option
traditional user’s. Recent advancements
technology advances have been made based on a server-based computing
also bring the ability to leverage multiple
that help isolate desktop components model.
monitors, audio and video and other
from one another and enable desktops to
technologies. Presentation virtualization should be a
be managed and even upgraded from
point of focus for almost every
remote locations. The right time for the
organization looking to optimize its
© 2009 Avanade Inc. All Rights Reserved. 5An enterprise view of Windows 7: A CIO’s guide to stepping off the rollercoaster
desktop platform, reduce capital costs paralysis they've been facing for the past
and lower operational costs. Like VDI, 15 years.
presentation virtualization has closed the
However, by taking a strategic, business-
gap between its own capabilities and that
aligned approach, you can transition
of a traditional desktop. Organizations
faster, at a lower cost and be better
leveraging modern presentation
positioned for the future. After migration,
virtualization products can provide end-
you'll find yourself off the roller coaster—
users a Windows 7 desktop with multi-
able to begin managing subsequent
monitor support and multimedia. For a
desktop upgrades as a business-as-
significant number of network-based task
usual activity rather than as a costly and
workers, presentation virtualization can
painful event.
increase flexibility and dramatically
reduce IT operational costs.
Conclusion: The right time to step off
the rollercoaster
Organizations need to recognize a
Windows 7 transition as more than a
product, but as an important point in time.
Seizing the opportunity begins with the
development of a core strategy:
• Create clear guidelines around
business applications.
• Enable unused or unneeded
software to be weeded out
before beginning the transition.
Define worker segments that enable
alternative platforms such as
presentation virtualization and VDI to be
deployed to the right users based on their
job requirements. Some organizations
will take the wrong approach. They will
“move today’s mess” with them to their
About the Author
new desktop platform and remain on the
Ryan McCune is the director responsible for Avanade's Workplace
same overall trajectory with increasing Infrastructure services team. In this role he is responsible for strategy and
capital and operational costs. These architecture around Desktop Transformation, Avanade's solution focused on
companies probably will experience the increasing manageability and reducing total cost of ownership of the desktop
same cost spikes, cyclical pain and environment.
© 2009 Avanade Inc. All Rights Reserved. 6An enterprise view of Windows 7: A CIO’s guide to stepping off the rollercoaster
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