The secure enterprise desktop: Changing today's computing infrastructure

Abstract

An end-user computing environment is characterized by an image which is the ensemble comprising operating system, applications and data) and by the hardware where the image is running. One can essentially distinguish two fundamental approaches: either the image is installed on a given end-user owned computer or the image is run on a server and is remotely accessed by the user through a remote desktop. Both approaches, however, have a disadvantage. In the former case, no network connectivity is required as the image is stored on the local computer, this data is lost when the computer such as a notebook is lost or stolen. Moreover, in an enterprise environment, it is very difficult to control that image and apply patches, check for viruses etc. While the latter approach waives these shortcommings, a continuous network connection is required to work with that virtual machine which may not be always available. With the Secure Enterprise Desktop, we bridge this gap and allow users to use their computer image locally or remotely and ensure that their computer image is continuously synchronized. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.