Virtual PCs free workers from hardware issues

Boston: Personal computers are going "virtual" as software makers tap the internet to enable workers to sign on to work wherever they are.

Forget about storing secure data in a smart PC at a specific location. With "virtual PC" software, an employee can use a dumbed-down computer anywhere to log on to the brainpower of a central server, where all essential files are stored.

That way, information is not lost even if the equipment is stolen. In the event of a disaster, virtual PCs can be quickly restored from a backup data centre.

Cheaper machines can replace the latest, souped-up desktop PCs or laptops to do the same work. And if a machine fails, help-desk workers can fix it by remotely deleting the virtual PC and installing a new one.

"Right mouse click. Provision. Done," said Tom Gibaud, manager of information technology at the Rochester General Hospital in New York State. No need to wait for a techie.

The hospital has virtualised 150 of its 3,000 PCs since January, using software from VMware, the leader of the server virtualisation market. It is getting ready to roll out another 100 so-called thin or lean clients - machines that depend primarily on the central server for processing activities - to doctors' offices in the surrounding area.

The concept of remote computing is not new. For years computer companies have tried to replace desktop PCs and laptops with less powerful machines that rely on remote servers to do all the computing.

In 1999 Sun Microsystems launched the booksized Sun Ray device in hopes of revolutionising the industry. But such slimmed down machines failed to win over office workers and companies.

Tight race

Now, with improved technology and faster internet speeds, software makers such as VMware, Microsoft and Citrix Systems are jostling to build a market that analysts say could one day generate billions of dollars in annual sales.

"It is where all the excitement is today. It is technology that companies are hearing about and thinking that it is going to change the way they manage all of their desktop PCs," said Natalie Lambert, an analyst with Forrester Research.

Already, software that creates virtual servers has become the rage because corporations can run multiple virtual servers on a single machine, saving time and money. But analysts say it can take up to three years to recoup costs to install the new technology, including the terminals, servers and software.

Now, the challenge is to get businesses to virtualise their PCs by running dozens of machines off of a single server and streaming them to workers over corporate networks or the internet.

Health-care companies, financial institutions and government agencies fearful of information leaks find the security safeguards reassuring.

Frozen foods maker Schwan Food is virtualising more than half of its 2,500 PCs, primarily so it can keep them running if a disaster shuts down its Marshall, Minnesota, headquarters - home to its main data centre.

Employees could work from home in an emergency, using the versions of their virtual PCs stored at the company's backup data center, said Schwan IT manager Cory Miller.

Schwan Food dropped plans to buy new PCs to support an upgrade to Windows Vista, and instead saved money by installing the operating system on servers and streaming it to the company's old PCs.

But that's an exception. Market research firms say only about one in 10 corporations have tried software to virtualise PCs, while almost all have virtualised their servers.

The market is still nascent, with projected sales of less than $500 million this year, according to research firm IDC. But Yankee Group forecast sales of up to $1 billion next year - roughly 8 per cent of the total market for virtualisation software - and $4 billion by 2011.

"PC virtualisation is the next wave. But it is not going to be a tsunami or a tidal wave. It is going to take time," said Yankee analyst Laura DiDio.