IT professionals have been hearing about the potential benefits of desktop virtualization for a number of years. Despite a large number of successful deployments, there have also been projects that never left the pilot stage. The momentum is starting to shift, however, and the groundswell of demand for desktop virtualization is becoming more and more apparent.

Two factors have come together to cause this shift: (1) less-expensive and simpler-to-deploy desktop virtualization solutions, and (2) the demand on IT to manage the proliferation of new devices as part of BYOD initiatives. There are now more reasons than ever to try desktop virtualization. Read on to see the full list of 10 reasons.

Desktop virtualization is now part of a converged infrastructure. It supports high-end 3-D graphics and enables simplified unified communications, which represent a series of important breakthroughs that have the potential to not only accelerate desktop virtualization adoption, but also significantly expand the use cases and user groups that can leverage its benefits. If you've been considering adopting desktop virtualization, or if you have a single pilot project and are considering expansion, now is the time to take a closer look at the offerings available from Dell and Citrix.

When you think about many of the key challenges facing IT departments these days, you can see why there is continued excitement and pent-up demand for the benefits promised by desktop virtualization. Trends such as BYOD, the consumerization of IT, the rise of social media and increased mobility are making it more incumbent upon the IT department to exert control over what devices are attached to the corporate network and what applications users are deploying. Now, with state-of-the-art appliances such as the Dell DVS Simplified Appliance, IT professionals have a new opportunity to cost-efficiently and simply deploy desktop virtualization solutions. See how the Dell DVS Simplified Appliance can help you bring desktop virtualization into your organization.

Smartphones and tablets are everywhere today - embraced by soccer moms, college students and employees of large organizations. But for all their user-friendly features, mobile devices can represent a significant threat to corporate data. So what do IT departments need to know before deciding on the smartphone and tablet platform that is safe, easy to configure and flexible enough to meet the needs of employees and senior executives alike? That's one of the biggest challenges ahead for IT managers.

As much as IT might like to lock down your network, BYOD is becoming the norm. Employee devices have the potential to bring more than convenience - they also enhance agility and efficiency, as well as create more productive collaboration and customer support.

The downside to a BYOD environment is more risk, since it opens new avenues for access to enterprise resources. To get ahead of threats, your IT needs to come up with a pragmatic strategy to secure data and assets from malware and theft - without impeding the flexibility BYOD can deliver for your enterprise.

Tech-savvy companies know that allowing employees to use personal devices improves productivity and job satisfaction. In addition, enterprises can significantly reduce costs as well as benefit from geographically dispersed talent, allowing for flexible work hours by letting workers use their device of choice - be it a smartphone, tablet or laptop - anytime, anywhere. However, BYOD presents major security and compliance challenges to IT departments. Protecting your network from unauthorized access, malware and data theft becomes much more complex when personal devices are allowed onto the network. Is there a solution for balancing BYOD and security?

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