VMware Horizon View - Healthcare Review
October 19, 2015

VMware Horizon View - Healthcare Review

Paul Pettit | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review

Software Version

6.1

Modules Used

  • View
  • ThinApp
  • vSphere
  • vCenter
  • Composer

Overall Satisfaction with VMware Horizon View

We use VMware Horizon View to help enable our healthcare IT customers to improve end user productivity and user experience. The ability to roam desktops with Horizon View saves a tremendous amount of time for clinical task users, and is met with excitement in nearly every implementation we've done. Most IT organizations are already using VMware vCenter for server virtualization, which eases the VDI implementation over competitive products.
  • Integration with vSphere - Administrators who are already familiar with VMware vSphere are able to quickly grasp the management of Horizon View. Being able to modify master images directly from the vSphere console(s), then simply create a desktop pool based on a snapshot of that master image makes VDI desktop pool creation a breeze.
  • Zero Client Support - Teradici PCOIP zero clients are very mature and are a simple replacement for traditional windows based machines or thin clients when using Horizon View..In our testing we've seen a fairly significant performance improvement with Teradici based zero clients vs Linux or WIndows based Thin Clients.
  • Integration - Horizon View integrates well with the software our customers need like Imprivata OneSIgn, AppSense Desktop Now and line of business and EMR applications.
  • Microsoft Office License Control - Microsoft currently requires that every endpoint device that could potentially connect to a VMware Horizon View desktop with Microsoft Office installed be licensed for Office. This can become very expensive for organizations, and there currently isn't an included solution with Horizon View to address this. We typically use AppSense Application Manager for customers who wish to control Microsoft Office licensing based on endpoint. Microsoft has endorsed Application Manager for license control as it operates at the kernal level.
  • Enhanced User Experience - Better user experience is typically the primary reason we recommend VDI to our customers. The ability to roam your desktop from an office, to a patient room, to a tablet removes the time spent logging in and out of desktops, and allows end users to feel a better sense of ownership over their computing environment.
  • Security - In healthcare, the security of patient health information (PHI) is a top priority. VMware Horizon View allows customers to keep the desktop in the datacenter, preventing caching of patient information on the endpoint device.
  • Management - The ability to replace Windows based endpoint devices with zero clients, and the transfer of the user desktop from a physical machine to the datacenter yields a much better management process, while ensuring that end users are receiving the best possible experience.
Traditionally, VMware Horizon View was best suited for task based workers where personalization of the environment wasn't required and a non-persistent desktop was the best value. Recent advances from storage vendors like inexpensive flash arrays, and hybrid RAM cache + shared storage have made high performance persistent desktops more affordable than traditional desktops.

VMWare Horizon View does have a slight learning curve because the delivery model of the desktop will change, so organizations need to be prepared to commit resources, and provide end user education to ensure a successful implementation and best return on technology investment.