Citrix Consulting Tips for Success

Citrix Consulting Tips for Success

1. Lead with hosted shared/VDI – As you can see in the FlexCast capability table above, the hosted VDI and hosted shared FlexCast models can be used in the majority of situations. The streamed VHD and local VM FlexCast models should only be used on an exception basis. By reducing the number of FlexCast models required, you will help to reduce deployment time and simplify management.

2. Perfect match – It may not be possible to select a FlexCast model which is a perfect match for your user group, for example you can’t provide users with a desktop that is highly secure and offers complete personalization at the same time. In these situations, select the FlexCast model which is the closest match.

3. Desktop loss criticality – There are only three FlexCast models that meet the needs of a high criticality user group (backup desktops available) – none of which allow for complete personalization. If a high-criticality user group also requires the ability to personalize their desktop they could be provided with a pool of backup desktops (hosted shared, pooled, streamed) in addition to their primary desktop. Although these desktops would not include customizations made to their primary desktop, they would allow users to access core applications such as mail, Internet and Microsoft Office.

Define the Applications

Once the users have been divided up in to groups the next step is to determine which applications they require. This is a two-step process:

1. Application rationalization – Help to simplify the application assessment by removing redundant applications from the inventory that were captured during the data capture.

2. Link apps to users – Use the results from the data capture process to map applications to user groups.

Application Rationalization

The number of applications identified during the inventory is often surprising, even for organizations that believe they have a high-level of control over applications. To help reduce complexity as well as

overall time required, it’s important to take the time to consolidate the list of applications. Start by arranging an application assessment meeting with all relevant application owners.

Note: Consolidated applications should be identified within the application assessment worksheet by selecting consolidated in the status column. Consolidated applications should not be removed

from the spreadsheet so that the rationalization process can be reviewed within the organization.

The following guidelines will help to ensure that your application list is consolidated appropriately:

• Multiple versions – Different versions of the same application may have been identified during the inventory. There are various reasons for this, including an inconsistent patching or upgrade process, decentralized application management, limited licenses and situations where users require specific application versions for compatibility with other applications, macros and document formats. Where possible, work with the application owners to reduce the number of versions required. The best practice is to standardize on a single version of each application, typically the latest.

• Business applications – Applications, which are not required by the business, should be removed from the application inventory to reduce resource requirements and to help simplify the overall

project. Non-business related applications are typically found in an application inventory when users have been provided with the ability to install their own applications and typically include games, communication clients, screen savers, peripheral software and media players.

• Legacy applications – The inventory may identify legacy applications that have since been retired or that are no longer required within the business. These applications may not have been removed from the desktops because there is no established process to do so or because there are always more

high-priority activities to complete. These applications should be consolidated during the rationalization stage of the application assessment.

• Management applications – The antivirus, application delivery, monitoring, inventory, maintenance and backup applications will be completely re-designed across the organization during the desktop virtualization project. These applications should also be consolidated during this stage.

Experience from the Field

Government: A government organization identified that there were 2,660 applications installed across their desktop estate. Most of which were installed by users with local administrative rights. By

following the application rationalization recommendations above, it was possible to reduce the number of applications required to 160.