There is a growing expectation that people will be able to work from anywhere and have access to their data at any time. While this increases productivity, it also introduces additional management and security burdens for an organization's IT department. Although it is important to deliver flexible configurations, provide offline access to data and applications, and enable people to customize their PC environment, IT departments are also required to manage which applications users should have access to, ensure data is being backed up, and provide an option to centrally execute applications which use sensitive data or require high data transfer bandwidth. Traditionally, the desktop computing model has been one where the operating system, applications, and user data and settings are bonded to a single computer, making it difficult for users to move from one PC to another in case of upgrades or a lost or stolen laptop. Depending on the usage scenario and business needs, the right level of balance between user flexibility and centralized control would be different across various organizations and even across various user groups within each organization. Flexible Windows Desktop scenarios give organizations the ability to choose the client computing scenarios that best meet the unique needs of their businesses. Windows Vista, the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP), and Windows Server 2008 offer technologies which enable the decoupling of the traditional desktop stack making desktop management more efficient and easing change and user migration. 
There is no "one size fits all" solution. With technologies such as Folder Redirection and Offline Files, Microsoft Application Virtualization, Terminal Services, and Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V, organizations can create a flexible desktop environment—one where users can log on to any managed PC connected to the corporate network and have the same familiar environment and access to applications and data, while enabling IT departments to reduce costs and become more agile in delivering applications and data services that are compliant with their data security and regulatory requirements. By using some or all of these technologies together, organizations can provide flexible solutions to support many user scenarios, including: User benefits - Windows Vista experience and applications
IT benefits - Centralized management and security
- Low-cost
- Extends the life of the existing PC hardware
 Call center employees, warehouse workers, and retail employees are examples of users who tend to use one or few applications, such as bank branch teller software, terminal applications, or even CRM or line-of-business applications. They usually do not have a dedicated work station and must be able to access their applications and data from any desk within their workplace. From the organization's standpoint, the most important capabilities for task worker scenarios are ensuring a highly secure, low-cost solution and enabling free-seating in an always-connected environment so that users can work productively from shared client devices, while data is stored more securely and centrally. The Microsoft recommended solution includes using Terminal Services to provide the user with access to the application they need to perform their task as well as Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs, which gives organizations the opportunity to extend the life of older PCs and provide task workers with a cost–efficient client device. This solution makes it easy for the organization to enable user roaming across the organization. In addition, the confidential data never leaves the data center, improving compliance and limiting risk of data theft. Task workers who need access to a full Windows Vista desktop experience or applications that require local computing power (CPU or GPU intensive applications, for example) can also be provided access to a complete Windows Vista Enterprise Centralized Desktop (VECD) running virtually on Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V. See a demo of this task worker scenario. User benefits - Offline use for most applications, online-only use for centralized applications
- Flexible configurations
- Rich user experience
IT benefits - Compliance and protection of sensitive data
- Easy to move users across the organization
 When in the office, many knowledge workers—such as analysts, architects, designers, and lawyers—typically run multiple applications which require a rich user experience to ensure high productivity. These applications run on the local PC using a dedicated CPU/GPU for the best performance. In addition, for example, these users may need to access Line of Business applications that are run centrally on a server for compliance reasons when the application uses highly sensitive data. To provide high levels of productivity to these workers, it is important that organizations enable them to have access to their highly personalized set of applications and data locally on their PCs. It is equally important to provide the same list of applications from different PCs across organization, for situations where the workers need to continue uninterrupted work from a different office in case of a corporate move, bad weather, or any other event. The Microsoft recommended "hot desking" solution for such office knowledge workers who require locally running applications for productivity includes Microsoft Application Virtualization (formerly SoftGrid) to deliver the applications the users need, Folder Redirection to make centrally stored data available to user, and access to centrally executed applications via Terminal services. For the centrally executed applications, as the user disconnects from the Terminal Services session, the user can simply log on to another PC elsewhere, and reconnect to the application as if the user never left. With Terminal Services RemoteApp™ in Windows Server 2008, an application hosted within Terminal Services can appear as a seamless application on the local PC even though it is executing remotely on the server. As a result, users are able to access their data on whichever managed PC they log into and benefit from the rich Windows Vista experience for applications, while the IT department is able to maintain their compliance and protection of sensitive data and can easily move users from one PC to another across their organization. See a demo of this office knowledge worker scenario. User benefits - Business continuity
- Offline use
- Flexible configurations
- Rich user experience
IT benefits - Data security
- Centralized application management
- Compliance
 Mobility is a major requirement for most organizations. Knowledge workers need access to their data and applications anywhere, anytime. More laptops are being deployed than desktops in many organizations around the world. While users expect flexibility and the ability to take their data with them wherever they go, the IT department needs to make sure that data is protected and user productivity is not significantly affected in the case of a lost or stolen laptop. Additionally, both the user and IT department share the concern about easily having a "replaceable PC" to get the user back up and running with the same applications and, most importantly, the user's data, while reducing downtime. The Microsoft recommended "replaceable PC" solution for mobile workers includes Windows Vista Enterprise Edition with Bitlocker Drive Encryption to protect data, Microsoft Application Virtualization (formerly SoftGrid) to deliver user the applications they need for online and offline use without installing them, and Folder Redirection with Offline Folders to centrally store and make data available to the user, online and offline. If a user's laptop running Windows Vista Enterprise with Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption is lost or stolen, the data is better protected from unauthorized access. Folder Redirection helps ensure the data is still available to the user because it is stored on a network server and can be backed up centrally. After the user receives a new PC, upon logging onto the network, the data is automatically synchronized down to the local hard drive so it is always accessible, even when on the road, via Offline Files. Microsoft Application Virtualization (formerly SoftGrid) automatically delivers all the user's assigned corporate applications along with their application settings without any local installation required. Roaming User Profiles also makes sure application settings, system settings and other customizations follow the user to the new PC. As an extension of this scenario, the IT department can provide the mobile user access to more sensitive applications that run centrally on a Terminal Server via Windows Server 2008 Terminal Server Gateway. These technologies in Windows Vista, MDOP, and Windows Server 2008 make the replaceable PC both a reality today and the preferred way to deploy your PC. See a demo of this office knowledge worker scenario. User benefits - Home and emergency access
- Only the applications an organization desires to be made available from home
IT benefits - Security and compliance
- Centralized management
 There may be occasions where a user needs to access their applications or data but cannot get to their office (for example, during a snowstorm or other disasters) or they don't have access to their work PC (if they are visiting family while on vacation). The Microsoft Remote Desktop Protocol makes it possible for a user to access their work environment from virtually any location, over the Internet, while the IT department can protect corporate data and maintain control of the environment. The Microsoft recommended solution includes the Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services Gateway, which enables users to access a single application or an entire desktop as well as their data via Terminal Services from any PC running Windows Vista with Service Pack 1 or Windows XP with Service Pack 3 from the Internet through Microsoft Internet Explorer. When a user requires a more flexible remote desktop, one which provides a complete Windows Vista experience (for example, developers or users of an application requiring Windows Vista), Windows Vista Enterprise Centralized Desktop (VECD) virtual machines hosted on Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V can also be accessed through the Terminal Services gateway. Additionally, users not requiring a complete Windows Vista experience can access a complete Terminal Server-based desktop, complete with their data and configuration settings. By using Microsoft Application Virtualization for Terminal Services all their applications will be accessible to them as expected. See a demo of this access anywhere scenario. User benefits - Task-based user experience
- Access to right applications and data
IT benefits - Centralized management, security and compliance
- Extends the life of the existing PC hardware
 Organizations which hire outside or offshore developers gain the benefit of their expertise, but must also cope with unmanaged, non-corporate PCs on their network as well as the need to protect sensitive source code. One possible approach Microsoft recommends that organizations can use to mitigate such issues is to provide these developers older PCs, owned by the organization, running Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs (WinFLP), and giving the developer access to a Windows Vista virtual machine hosted centrally from a Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V host. Using this Windows Vista Enterprise Centralized Desktop enables the organization to provide the same standardized and managed Windows Vista experience to less-capable PCs while helping ensure all processing and date (including developers' source code) is kept in controlled, central locations. Developers benefit from the Windows Vista experience, administrative access, and a full range of applications delivered by both Microsoft Application Virtualization and Terminal Services. Organizations benefit from reduced security concerns, improved manageability, and further reducing costs and being more environmentally responsible by extending the life of older equipment. See a demo of this offshore contractor developer scenario. | 
