Desktop virtualisation using a tablet

Richard Fieldhouse (09/02/11)

At the office, many of us have a lumbering old pc - a desktop - perhaps it should be called a desk-under. Maybe you have an office full of them. So when should they be replaced? Of course, that rather begs the question, what should you be replacing them with?

It's my prediction that in a couple of years' time, most people will be opting for some kind of solution based around a tablet - or even a mobile phone. Your eager workers arrive at the office fresh-faced, with their tablet - or phone - in a pocket or bag and slot it into a little dock on the desk next to their monitor, keyboard and mouse.

Strengths

As if by magic, the monitor lights up and presents the user with their work-a-day Windows login screen. The tablet itself shows something friendly like a clock, while in the background, the tablet is processing the remote desktop function, presenting the Windows picture on the screen, and transmitting keyboard and mouse actions back to a virtual machine inside the office server.

This saves users from carrying a heavy laptop between the office and home. The tablet can be used easily on the road and supports a wide range of personal gaming, video-watching and the like. Of course, they can always log in to the office virtual PC from Starbucks, or from home - if they wish.

And in the office, the tablet saves money. It stands to reason. You're only buying the one processor inside the tablet. The user's work "desktop" can sit inside a server at the office where it's more secure and more easily backed up. At the same time you save space on - or rather under - the desk.

And the whole setup uses less power. The lumbering desktop that we started with runs at around 200 watts, and the new one will use about twenty. Remember too, that if the user always carries their tablet with them, it won't be using any power at all outside working hours.

Some offices will also be struggling with air-conditioning. They'll be paying not just for the 200 watts of power, but in the summer, paying again to churn that heat back out of the office and into the street. At - say -10p a unit, we're looking at a potential saving of around £160 a year. So it's possible to be a green God (or Godess) and save money at the same time.

Weaknesses

Perhaps the most obvious flaw in the argument is the IT department's unwillingness to support the new, distinct tablet operating system, be it for the iPad or for an Android tablet. But there's a chance this won't be too much of a problem as people might well be more enthusiastic about having their office pay for a tablet as opposed to a laptop, and consequently more tolerant of its foibles and more willing to look after it for themselves.