NVIDIA Reduces Virtual GPU Costs, Simplifies VDI Adoption with Windows 10 Migration Acceleration Program

Cisco, CDW, Dell, HPE, NetApp and others are offering complete, certified NVIDIA GPU servers for best VDI user experience and streamlined deployment.
by Anne Hecht

Companies adopting Windows 10 can upgrade to a modern virtual desktop environment with our new Windows 10 Migration Acceleration Program.

From now until Jan. 14, 2020 (the end-of-life date of Windows 7), NVIDIA is offering special pricing through its partners on NVIDIA GRID software. For example, a three-year subscription to GRID software for VDI is now being offered for the price of two years, and a five-year subscription is available for the price of three.

With the cost per user per month for NVIDIA GRID software and GPUs nearly halved for some configurations, businesses can cost-effectively scale VDI across their organizations.

The world’s leading server manufacturers, including Cisco, Dell, Fujitsu, HPE, Lenovo, NetApp and Supermicro, are using this promotion to offer complete, attractively priced bundles that include NVIDIA T4 or M10 GPUs with NVIDIA GRID virtual PC software.

These server bundles offer the performance needed in digital workplaces where video content, multi- and high-resolution monitors, and graphics-intensive productivity applications are the new normal.

NVIDIA GRID Delivers Modern VDI Experience

Legacy, CPU-only VDI deployments weren’t designed for the needs of the modern workplace. And Windows 10 is the most graphically intensive operating system to date, with each new build adding more graphics-intensive features (see diagram below).

NVIDIA GRID vPC with NVIDIA T4 GPU-accelerated servers improve virtual desktop performance by up to 33 percent compared to CPU-only servers. So companies can boost graphics performance for users, increase data security and streamline IT management, all at an affordable price.

NVIDIA’s reference architecture takes the guesswork out of deploying modern VDI with tested and validated configurations from OEMs. It includes an OEM server certified for NVIDIA GRID, so every user gets the benefit of a GPU-accelerated desktop delivering a native-PC experience.

NVIDIA GRID server bundles with Tesla M10 GPUs provide high VDI user density at an affordable price. For multi-workload needs, the NVIDIA T4 combined with NVIDIA GRID software also provides high VDI user density with the added flexibility to run compute workloads at night.

Cisco, Dell and Supermicro will be the first OEMs to offer the new certified bundles with special pricing on NVIDIA GRID, so businesses can run the graphically demanding applications, video content and 4K monitors that are becoming standard in workplaces. CDW, Fujitsu, HPE, IOdis, Lenovo, NetApp and others will be offering certified NVIDIA GPU servers later this year.

Industry Support for NVIDIA GRID

“Certified servers with NVIDIA GRID are an affordable avenue into desktop virtualization and offer organizations the security, mobility and flexibility they need,” said Tom Cahill, vice president of Product & Partner Management at CDW. “NVIDIA and CDW are providing customers with the GPU power required for smoother graphic workloads, helping businesses save time, money and resources while getting the best VDI user experience.”

“NVIDIA GRID on Cisco UCS servers offer the most efficient and cost-effective solution for scaling VDI across the enterprise,” said Siva Sivakumar, senior director of Data Center Solutions at Cisco. “Our new Cisco solution bundles make it easier and more affordable to deploy GPU-accelerated VDI and improve the virtual desktop experience for our customers.”

“More enterprises require GPU acceleration to deliver high quality performance with a rich user experience, and Citrix brings these GPU acceleration capabilities to every user through virtualizing Windows 10 desktops,” said Sridhar Mullapudi, senior vice president of Product Management at Citrix. “By deploying NVIDIA GRID with Citrix digital workspace technology, users have advanced GPU capabilities within their virtual Windows 10 desktop making it easy to access GPU power and performance from any device.”

“As users transition to the more graphically intensive Windows 10, and knowledge workers demand more responsiveness from their applications, users need greater GPU acceleration for maximum performance from their virtual desktop infrastructure,” said Mike Artebury, vice president of Strategic Alliances at Dell. “Dell EMC has partnered with NVIDIA to offer fully validated PowerEdge solutions with NVIDIA GPUs and GRID software. This will allow our customers to gain the visual fidelity they need in the virtual PC environments in order to be the most productive — all at an affordable cost.”

“Fujitsu and NVIDIA are offering virtual desktops that provide benefits beyond the traditional VDI experience,” said Kenichi Sakai, corporate executive officer, senior vice president and head of the Data Center Platform Business Unit at Fujitsu Ltd. “NVIDIA GRID is the go-to solution for delivering GPU-accelerated capabilities to OA VDI users, enabling companies to be more efficient, flexible and secure in a virtual environment.”

“Now is the best time for businesses to transform their virtual desktop experience with amazing GPU-accelerated performance and scalability,” said David Sung, senior director of Technology Incubation at HPE. “HPE servers combined with NVIDIA GPU acceleration and NVIDIA GRID vPC software provide a seamless transition to a better VDI experience, allowing users to get the most out of the new Windows 10 operating system.”

“As more applications and workloads require GPU power, many companies are upgrading VDI environments to get enhanced performance and better streamlining for multiple workflows,” said Michèl van Proosdij, channel manager at IOdis. “With VDI-Appliance.com, NVIDIA and IOdis are providing GPU-accelerated virtual desktops that are reliable, manageable and cost-effective, so businesses can easily deploy modern VDI environments and deliver an elevated virtual desktop experience.”

“Broad adoption of public cloud has set a new bar for the IT experience that enterprise users demand putting enormous pressure on IT leaders and cloud architects to deliver a similar breadth of services and experiences from on-premises environments,” said Brett Roscoe, vice president of Product Management, Cloud Infrastructure business unit at NetApp. “NVIDIA and NetApp are working together to provide customers with the acceleration they need for optimal mixed workload performance and seamless user experience on VDI.”

“Virtual desktops require more power to meet the demands of modern apps, and NVIDIA GRID delivers the GPU acceleration that knowledge workers need to be engaged and productive,” said Michael McNerney, vice president of Marketing & Network Security at Supermicro. “Supermicro offers GPU-accelerated VDI solutions with GRID software, and for a limited time is offering 5 percent off applicable systems and NVIDIA M10 GPUs, sized to deliver the best user experience and density for graphics-accelerated virtual desktops.”

“GPU acceleration is benefiting more and more use-cases to provide an optimal user experience on Windows 10 VDI. With NVIDIA GRID, users can more easily handle the increasing graphic demands of productivity apps and workflows,” said Bharath Rangarajan, vice president of Product Management in the End User Computing Group at VMware. “NVIDIA and VMware offer a modern digital workspace environment that is efficient, more secure and affordable so employees can get powerful performance, increased flexibility and enhanced workflows on GPU-accelerated virtual desktops.”

Learn more about NVIDIA GRID or find an NVIDIA partner to get started.