A physical workspace will soon become the thing of the past. Following the recent economic crisis, organisations are seeing value in investing in new technologies like cloud computing that build agility into businesses and save costs. With the implementation of these technologies, flexibility and mobility will define modern day offices and workspaces.

After mainframes, Windows and Google, the next major positive technical disruption is believed to be cloud computing. Virtualisation is a technology that helps IT departments in organisations achieve ?more with less?, and is the rock-solid foundation to the cloud. A recent study conducted by Springboard Research points out that the majority of the survey respondents believe that virtualisation is the natural extension to the cloud. There are different types of virtualisation like desktop, server, storage, and network virtualisation. While these types come with their own benefits, desktop virtualisation is most likely to revolutionise the way we work, by offering the perfect ?work from home? (WFH) solution through a fully virtualised interactive set-up.

Virtualisation and cloud computing are top on the lists of technology trends to watch out for in 2011, according to firms like Gartner and McKinsey. The best approach to cloud computing is to combine the best aspects of both types like security from the private cloud, availability from the public cloud and form a hybrid cloud. This model will not just help in overcoming concerns of public and private cloud but also help reap significant benefits like effective return on investment and ease of use.

Analysts predict that even the large enterprises will be forced to look at public cloud providers for cost-efficiencies and that probably they will have agreements with the public cloud providers to use a secure set up of servers for disaster recovery or for overdraft protection, when the load on their own cloud environment goes beyond the expected workload. This is where the hybrid cloud model will emerge.

Organisations have come to understand that cloud computing is a deployment model, an architecture, an application-delivery model, but it is not a tangible thing that can only exist in specific locations. There are many foggy definitions about hybrid cloud and some organications recognise it merely as an integration strategy.

It is the means by which they can control their applications and infrastructure while taking advantage of public cloud computing resources. Hybrid is an integrated architectural approach that provides the means by which all components?regardless of location or style?can be exploited to provide value to the business and, to IT as well.

The general approach to adopting the cloud is the three layer strategy, which starts with In-a-as(Infrastructure as a service), P-a-as (Platform as a service) and S-a-as (Software as a service).

In-a-as offers the hardware necessary to build the basic cloud infrastructure. The P-a-as layer houses all the application development and management platform for developing cloud-ready applications. The third vector S-a-as houses all the end user software, for example, the desktop virtualisation software. The ?desktop? has evolved to laptops, smartphones, tablets, etc.

End users expect to use the device they choose to access data on-demand. By moving applications, data, personas, and access controls into the cloud, we can provide both a secure and more manageable environment, while also facilitating the choice of access devices.

Every vendor has a different way of approaching the three-layer vector strategy and develops their unique cloud stack. A recent report by Frost & Sullivan predicts that the desktop virtualisation market, including hardware, software, licensing, and management tools, is estimated to have been $79.24 million in 2008 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 33.31% from 2008 to 2015.

Although desktop virtualisation is in its nascent stages, the Indian market is seen as a potential market for this segment of virtualisation. India, as we all know is viewed as the outsourcing hub, which means that the number of desktops are huge compared to servers. It is a clear indication that desktop virtualisation will see exponential growth, especially in the BPO and healthcare sectors. With the concept of VDI, it is possible to have almost 18,000 people work on a mere 1,000 physical desktops.

Markets like Australia are progressively deploying desktop virtualisation and reducing the number of leave and employee absence from work days. Virtualisation gives employees flexibility. Studies conducted on this have revealed that virtualisation has helped employees manage the sometimes-conflicting demands of work and family, creating happier and more productive employees. Adoption of virtualisation reflects the changing trends, where though timelines and quality are not allowed to be compromised, it doesn?t matter where the employee sits.

Ultimately, desktop virtualisation is about enabling businesses to accomplish more tasks using fewer resources. It also builds agility into businesses and helps them competently deliver products and services using content, motivated, and empowered workforce.

The writer is managing director, VMware India and Saarc