Five ways VDI technology is affected by storage

When it comes to VDI hardware vs. software, opinions can be divided among storage professionals. But according to Brian Madden, focusing on that might be a useless exercise.

Don't become too concerned about whether your storage is hardware-focused or software-focused. Stacks are essentially commodity parts -- hard drives, solid-state drives and processors. The value -- such as performance and management -- comes from the software. If you feel reluctant about handing over your critical storage to a software vendor, you could be limiting your options and avoiding storage vendors that might otherwise be a boon to your project.

"We're not buying jugs, we're buying the milk," Madden said. "Don't worry about your storage vendor being a software vendor. They're all software vendors."