Desktop Virtualization in the Telcos

The Telco industry is beginning to implement desktop virtualization internally for departmental deployments and call centers, but their eyes are set on a much larger opportunity. First, they plan to use internal desktop virtualization to understand the technology and discover how it can work in a corporate environment and then will look for ways to offer desktops and applications as a service to their customer base. In a recent ESG survey, 51% of the Telco and Media companies said that they were currently evaluating desktop virtualization solution.

My in-laws will never buy a computer and probably never send an e-mail.  This is primarily due to the complexity of the PC and the fact that I don’t want to become their personal IT support technician. While it would be nice to share pictures of the grandchildren with them, it’s not worth the hassle and learning curve they would have to go through.

However if the local cable provider offered a service (such as desktop virtualization, although they would never call it that, nor should they) that masked the desktop operating system and delivered applications on demand to the home, giving users a menu of services that met their requirements, my in-laws could “purchase” an e-mail application and maybe even a web browsing application so they could keep in touch with the old country (they are from Italy). The complexity of the PC user experience would be masked by the benefits of desktop virtualization and they would be able to always see the new pictures of the grandchildren.

This is a simple example, but you can see where the opportunity lies. Think about the opportunity in the education industry and the play it can have in small companies that make up the majority of businesses in the world. Desktop virtualization is absolutely introducing new ways of computing.

In order for all this to make sense, it has to be economically viable. It seems that everyone I know complains about their telephone and cable bills. When these new services are offered, the benefits have to be clear and the cost affordable for the masses.