Can virtualization resolve the IT/end-user disconnect?
In this week's Keep the Joint Running ("The portal," 2/25/2008) I described the contrast between IT's view of the PC as a business computing device and the average end-user's perspective - that it's a portal to a universe of possibilities - I received this suggestion. I'll be interested in everyone's comments on this approach.- BobDear Bob ...What if... ... each employee's PC had two virtual machines installed -
Recommend ThisIn this week's Keep the Joint Running ("The portal," 2/25/2008) I described the contrast between IT's view of the PC as a business computing device and the average end-user's perspective - that it's a portal to a universe of possibilities - I received this suggestion. I'll be interested in everyone's comments on this approach.
- Bob
Dear Bob ...
What if...
... each employee's PC had two virtual machines installed -- one the locked-down "business computer" with the standard productivity and security apps and conservative security settings (for doing "serious" work) and the other a "sandbox" with wide-open, go-to-whatever-web-site, minimal security settings and any cool app you wanted to install and try out.
Add a keystroke toggle (or even an extended desktop with both environments open) and a secure (but not impossibly hard) way to move truly useful information from the sandbox to serious side, and mix in some process for peer review of your downloaded app "finds" (that IT has to consider for installing on the serious side if enough users give it an "A").
Finally, give the users a button to click to "reset" the sandbox to pristine condition if (when) things get too crazy.
Could we make peace between the IT and user worlds?
- Will Pearce
Dear Will ...
Will …
Seems like a good start to me. As with so many ideas, the devil is in the details. Let's think what Advice Line's subscribers think about it.
- Bob
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