What new desktop virtualization technologies are in the works?

The biggest development is the emergence of bare-metal hypervisors, a type of local desktop virtualization that installs the hypervisor on top of the PC's operating system. They not yet widely available, but vendors say they will provide better security than Type 2 hypervisors, because the bare-metal type runs independently of the client operating system, and deliver better performance than hosted desktops, because applications run on the local client instead of a remote server.

The technology is in various stages of development, but you can expect to see generally available products from the likes of VMware, Citrix, and Virtual Computer later this year.

How much will it cost to virtualize my desktops?

It varies. Neocleus plans to charge between US$50 and $100 per desktop, while the premium version of VMware View costs about $250 per virtualized desktop. But the cost of the software is just the beginning. A hosted desktop model requires servers or PC blades to deliver virtual machines, as well as networked storage for applications and data. A desktop virtualization project may also require purchasing of thin clients or other client devices. Anecdotally, Forrester Research analysts have found that enterprises spend about $860 per user, plus network upgrades, to get a desktop virtualization project up and running in the first year. If all goes well, desktop virtualization should eventually pay for itself and provide long-term cost savings, but the time to ROI can be anywhere from six months to a few years.