You desktop is ready, Sir

Your desktop is ready, Sir

Some time ago, in my Desktops R Us post,  I argued for a new vision of delivering applications via desktops in the enterprise.  But how do you get to that vision?

Note, when I last talked about Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) people immediately thought I was talking about Cloud, but I wasn’t talking about just cloud: cloud is just one of the many delivery mechanisms.

By DaaS, what I mean is separating and hiding the technology provision from the customer and end-user, and putting a really useful service entity called DaaS in the middle.  Customers buy desktops from the DaaS, end-users raise incidents via the DaaS, and Laptop Facilities deliver laptops on behalf of the DaaS.

Behind the DaaS, in the workshop at the back, there multiple desktop solutions provided by different technology providers, so DaaS is offering a blended desktop model to the business.  But this complexity of multiple teams and technologies is hidden from the customer by DaaS and instead all the customer sees is an abstract interface with cost, performance, availability, features.  At the front office of DaaS you can offer different solution for different customers depending on either their requirements (you get a laptop to match your role) or their specification (you choose a laptop like shopping on Dell.com).

There are so many benefits to using a DaaS model that it should be ubiquitous – but the big joke is that it isn’t.  Is it the simple idea everyone will look back on and go “Oh yeah, it was obvious all along”?

Here’s my simple model of DaaS.  This picture is trying to say three things:

  1. There are many Desktop Models which make up the blend of technologies provided by a Desktop Service.
  2. The central Desktop Service entity handles the agreements between providers, customers and users and manages the service.
  3. Customers, who have different payment models, and End Users, who have different requirements.
Simplified Desktop Services Model

Simplified Desktop Services Model (click to enlarge)

One of the killer benefits is that DaaS is the secret sauce to adopting new desktop technologies.  If you’re at all familiar with the desktop market, you’ll recognize it as a busy bustling marketplace with new stalls being setup every day.  DaaS handles this by being a blended technology model, built from the ground up to offer multiple types of desktops to multiple types of customers.  Adding new technologies in is easy.  End-of-life those old technologies with ease.  Manage multiple technologies with ease.  You just can’t do this without DaaS.

The impact of not using DaaS is struggling to adopt and exploit new technologies: how many organizations have struggled with VDI?  How many continue to struggle?  How many daren’t even start because it’s too daunting?  What is the opportunity cost here, in TCO, in ROI, in productivity?

So if DaaS is the answer, how do you get there?  If you were to leverage ITIL to deliver a new Desktop Service, would the road you travel look like this?

Desktop Strategy

  1. Define the Desktop Market and Offerings.
  2. Write and communicate the Desktop Manifesto.
  3. Define the six Desktop Management Dimensions.
  4. Develop strategic Desktop Assets.
  5. Develop the structure and culture for the Desktop Organization.
  6. Establish a strategy for Desktop Sourcing.
  7. Prepare for execution to design, transition and operate a Desktop Service.
  8. Establish management and define models like TCO and ROI for the Desktop Financials.
  9. Establish management for the Desktop Portfolio.
  10. Establish management procedures for Desktop Demand.

Desktop Design

  1. Establish the principles of Desktop Design.
  2. Gathering Desktop Requirements.
  3. Establishing a Desktop Catalogue.
  4. Establishing Desktop Service Levels.
  5. Establishing Desktop Capacity Management.
  6. Establishing Desktop Availability Management.
  7. Establishing Desktop Continuity Management.
  8. Establishing Desktop Security.
  9. Establishing Desktop Supplier Management.
  10. Delivering a Desktop Design.

Desktop Transition

  1. Deliver a Desktop Plan.
  2. Deliver a Desktop Transition process.
  3. Manage Desktop Change.
  4. Manage Desktop Assets and Configurations.
  5. Manage Desktop Deployment.
  6. Manage Desktop Validation.
  7. Establish a Desktop Knowledge Management System.

Desktop Operations

  1. Establish the principles of Desktop Operations.
  2. Establish Desktop Event Management.
  3. Establish Desktop Incident Management.
  4. Establish Desktop Request Fulfilment.
  5. Establish Desktop Problem Management.
  6. Establish Desktop Access Management.
  7. Desktop Operations Go Live.

Summary

So that’s 34 tasks producing the same number of high-level deliverables, which of course is not including the many sub-tasks and sub-deliverables for each step.

How long would it take?  While there is a serial time line there are many parallel tasks.  It is also clear that there are many different skills required for the different task types.

Who’s done this before, and by that I meant followed this kind of roadmap?  Lots of people have deployed Desktop Services, but did they follow this path?

Over the next few weeks I’m going be finding out.

Related posts:

  1. Desktops R Us
  2. Does your Desktop Service Strategy look a bit like this?
  3. Four economic variables and approaches to make your VDI solution successful
  4. The 20-layer VDI model