U of A Virtualization Experts to Present at the Arkansas IT Symposium

Will Allred and Jon Kelley of Information Technology Services will present "Deploying VDI on the Bleeding Edge" at the Arkansas IT Symposium April 13 in Little Rock. Their presentation will discuss the business demands around a rapid VDI (virtual desktop infrastructure) deployment utilizing VMware's Software-Defined Data Center and Cloud Pod Architecture.

Over spring break, IT Services deployed VDI technology in three campus computer labs including Arkansas Union, J.B. Hunt and Northwest Quad B. 

"VDI is a brand-new paradigm for us," Chris McCoy, chief information officer, said. "The problem with traditional computer labs is all the software is local, so when a student goes to another lab they get a different experience. With VDI they get the same experience wherever they go."

Paige Francis, associate CIO, added, "We want to empower our students to connect to our campus and their coursework regardless of their personal location, access to a strong internet connection or choice of mobile device. This is our end goal—meeting the students where they are."

The Arkansas IT Symposium provides the opportunity for our region's IT leadership to gather and explore ways to compete in a global economy. The conference will be at the Statehouse Convention Center April 13 to 14. Learn more at ArkansasITSymposium.com.

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