IBM unveils virtual desktop for Linux
5 December, 2008
By Paul Weinberg |
The introduction of IBM's Linux based virtual desktop in collaboration with other vendors is timely but it may also face an uncertain future. IBM is making a pitch in hard economic times to enterprise customers for the more economical and less proprietary Linux operating system based desktop in the virtualized enterprise IT environment as an alternative to the pricier Microsoft Windows based desktop option.
Included in the vendor's announcement is a virtual desktop that combines Virtual Bridge's Virtual Enterprise Remote Desktop Environment (VERDE), Canonical's Ubuntu Linux operating system and IBM's own Lotus based Open Collaboration Client Solution (OCCS) which was introduced last year. OCCS effectively marries Linux and Microsoft Windows desktops within in a single virtualized IT environment.
"[IBM's] timing is great," stated Amy Wohl, President of Wohl Associates. "In an economic slowdown -- isn't that a polite word for what's going on -- a less expensive solution is always interesting."
Inna Kuznetsova, director, IBM Linux Strategy told eChannelLine, that "we'll see this time as an inflection point when the economic climate pushed the virtual Linux desktop from theory to practice.
In addition to a free open source operating system, IBM has projected that the licensing costs for the Linux desktop are $500 to $800 per user, hardware is $258 per user on an upgrade, power consumption to run the configuration ranges from $40 to $145 per user and air conditioning is $20 to $73 per user.
The financial pressures on organizations are staggering; the management of PCs is unwieldy and traditional office software innovation is paltry," added Kuznetsova.
The new Linux based virtual desktop represents "a political statement" from IBM, stated Warren Shiau, lead analyst in IT research at The Strategic Counsel. "A pure Linux/open source server-based desktop solution like this plays to very specific market segments."
Nevertheless, Wohl displayed qualms about the Lotus Symphony based OpenOffice Plus in the IBM virtual desktop solution. "It's nice but it isn't exactly MS Office. So, heavy duty Office users may balk. But this probably isn't intended for them. It's a perfectly nice full-function environment."
She questioned whether the new Lotus based IBM Linux desktop can handle large applications over the wire.
"What happens when the connection goes down or you need to work somewhere where there's no connection. These are outlier cases, but they do deserve answers in case they are significant for a particular customer."
Wohl also asserted that IBM and its partners have not addressed what happens to the rest of the applications aside from browsing the web and office.
"But they hint at them when they say your desktop or laptop could be Windows or Mac not Linux -- so you could just keep on running them. Or your company could run them on a server and make them available through the browser."
Most skeptical about the Linux desktop in general is Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group.
"Linux after nearly a decade of trying to make headway against Windows has only garnered a fraction of a percentage of desktop market shares and even that is in question given the margin of error of the studies that showcase this is around three percentage points."
He observed that both Linux and Microsoft Windows Vista are facing similar obstacles in terms of expanded use due to shifting buying patterns inside enterprises.
"Desktop purchasing responsibility in corporations has steadily shifted from IT to the operating units who have shown no interest in Linux or in giving back control to IT."
The other issue for potential customers is that IBM is no longer really in the desktop assembling business and Ubuntu's funding is "at high risk" given the current environment, asserted Enderle.
"IBM doesn't own enough of the solution and with Ubuntu and Open Office - the core of Lotus Symphony -- at financial risk it is doubtful that many IT organizations will be willing to take this solution unless IBM assures the survival of both offerings which they have not yet done." |
