VMware has predicted 2010 will be a “defining year” for desktop virtualisation infrastructure (VDI) solutions.

The virtualisation giant said it is expecting a “huge amount of interest” in its VDI offerings this year as end users begin to appreciate the solution’s potential benefits.
Mark Newton, regional director for UK and Ireland at VMware, said: “We foresee a huge amount of interest in our offerings this year, particularly in the desktop space, as organisations recognise the potential benefits.”

Newton added that widespread take up of VDI solutions will be driven by organisations that have already dipped their toes in virtualisation.

“Many organisations that have already benefited from server virtualisation are now looking closely at the desktop as the next natural step for achieving further efficiencies and increased agility,” said Newton.

Andy Larkham, chief executive of virtualisation specialist reseller ITopia Consulting, said his firm has already witnessed an incr­ease in VDI solutions uptake over the past year.

“We have seen solutions such as VMware View 4 become more commonplace in many companies over the past few months and, in the year that we have been promoting VDI solutions, we have seen a sharp uptake in interest,” he said.

Kumar Goswami, chief executive of VDI specialist vendor Kaviza, added the channel will need to “address the cost issue head on”, if uptake of VDI is to take off this year.

“Desktop IT should be able to procure and deploy virtual desktops within current PC budgets and still reap their operational benefits,” Gos­wami expl­ained.

“This is especially the case with SMEs where we see tremendous interest, but they are budget and skillset constrained.”