Cost analysis: VMware Horizon View vs Citrix XenDesktop

When I’m advising customers on desktop solutions it’s an obvious battle between VMware, Citrix and Microsoft.

Customers are becoming more and more cost aware due to the economic circumstances but the demand for audio/video and real time communication is growing. When Server Based Computing (SBC) is a viable option customers tend to compare Citrix XenApp to Microsoft Terminal Services.

When applications or customer demands require a VDI solution, it’s a battle between VMware Horizon View and Citrix XenDesktop.

Because companies are extremely cost aware nowadays, it’s not only a feature-based comparison but they must also look carefully at cost. Principled Technologies, compared Microsoft Windows 7 virtual desktops hosted on VMware Horizon View 5.2 and Citrix XenDesktop 5.6.

Hosted on the same physical hardware resources and using similar image rendering settings, they conducted scale testing with the Login VSI medium workload.  They found that VMware Horizon View 5.2 supported 174 Microsoft Windows 7 virtual desktop sessions at a cost per user of $483 Citrix XenDesktop 5.6 supported 175 sessions at a cost of $820 per user.

These findings mean that VMware Horizon View 5.2 delivered comparable density at a 41.1 percent lower cost per user,making it an excellent choice for a company that wants to deliver a high quality experience to users at an excellent price.

Conclusion

In our scale testing with the LoginVSI3.7 medium workload, we compared VMware Horizon View 5.2 and Citrix XenDesktop 5.6, and discovered that both enterprise solutions delivered a rich Microsoft Windows 7 desktop experience and supported a comparable number of concurrent users. However, VMware Horizon View 5.2 costs 41.1 percent less than Citrix XenDesktop 5.6. Included in the $483 per user cost of VMware Horizon View 5.2 is around the clock telephone support, while the!$820 per user cost of Citrix XenDesktop requires additional fees for telephone support. For companies that want to deliver a high quality experience with advantages like continuous customer service to users at a competitive price, VMware Horizon View 5.2 is an excellent choice.