Companies as varied as Nortel, Nationwide, and Bechtel are experimenting with constructive desktops that are likely to improve security—but will they reduce costs?

By Rachael King

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Nortel Networks Chief Information Officer Steve Bandrowczak has already taken a whack through of the high cost of managing and operating his company’s thousands of desktop computers. He estimates that it costs Nortel about $100 per month to operate a PC, including everything from the purchase price to software, maintenance, and support expenses. That’s compared through upwards of $150 per puppet at other companies.

Bandrowczak isn’t conferred thus far. "It’s still not good enough," he says of the cost-saving efforts to date. The executive’s ultimate goal is to cut monthly costs to $50 for PC. Spread across the 27,000 computer users at the phone equipment manufacturer, the 50% cost reduction could translate to $1 a thousand thousand in monthly savings.

To scheme Bandrowczak’s exalted goal, Nortel is experimenting by tools that could make it easier and cheaper for IT rod to horsemanship the company’s fleet of computers. In a lab setting, Nortel (NT) is testing a new Lenovo ThinkCentre desktop PC called a Secure Managed Client, which comes without a hard drive. Instead, the computer stores data and software applications centrally in a incorporated data center where Bandrowczak’sitting staff can more efficiently touch backups, update software, and fix problems. Lenovo says that in some cases the computer can help customers reduce desktop costs to about $70 per PC for month from an estimated corporate average of $120 through month.

Bandrowczak, beforehand chief information officer at Lenovo, sees virtual desktops as a religious fit for about 70% of Nortel’s users. Nortel is now tiresome to make the resolution whether and how abundant virtual desktops can help the gang save money. Depending adhering the findings, Nortel may equip a marry thousand employees through virtual desktops in 2009.

At a time when slowing demand is forcing corporations to slash costs by any means, nearly one in four companies is experimenting with virtual desktops in some capacity, according to consulting established Nemertes Research. Among them are Nortel, Nationwide Insurance, and Bechtel. "It is probably one of the real game changers from an infrastructure standpoint in the next year or two," says Bechtel CIO Geir Ramleth. This month, Bechtel will increase testing to about 100 employees from about two dozen.

While many CIOs are intrigued by the technology, most aren’t yet deploying it on a large scale. The biggest challenge, says Ramleth, is deciding that which odor of constructive desktop to use. "We’re looking athwart the board at many types of virtualization," says Robert Burkhart, head of new technology innovation at Nationwide. Burkhart is testing virtual desktop software from VMware (VMW) and Citrix Systems (CTXS) like well as the Lenovo Secure Managed Client. There may exist range for all three at Nationwide, he says. Right now, the insurer has a scarcely any hundred employees using virtual desktops. "We conceive we’re going to aggressively grow that," says Burkhart, adding that in 2009 the goal might be for 10,000 or to a greater degree employees to use implied desktops.

Besides helping companies reduce expenses, practical desktops can also help IT departments better handle PC security. With virtual desktops, the storage and processing of data typically occurs in another place, such as a remote server or storage device.