This IDC study represents the vendor assessment model called the IDC MarketScape. This research is a quantitative and qualitative assessment of the characteristics that explain a vendor's success in the client virtualization marketplace and help anticipate the vendor's ascendancy. IDC assesses the capability and business strategy of many desktop virtualization vendors. This evaluation is based on a comprehensive framework and set of parameters expected to be most conducive to success in providing desktop virtualization solutions, during both the short and the long term.

"The rise of mobile and cloud applications is subverting existing IT management paradigms. Holistically being able to manage desktop, mobile, and cloud applications from a single management console is quickly becoming a must-have for next-generation IT," said Brett Waldman, research manager, Client Virtualization Software. "With the market rapidly changing, vendors are innovating to keep up with the increasingly demanding end-user workforce and regulatory issues that the consumerization of IT is bringing upon IT departments. It is important to understand the strengths and capabilities to understand which vendors are a good fit for a specific organization."