The cloud technologies that make this possible lean heavily on virtualization, creating hypercoverged replicas of servers, switches and other hardware. That’s one area where Nutanix’s software-defined cloud technologies proved essential to Wipro’s pandemic response.
“By partnering with Nutanix, who is also a leader in the software-defined stacks, we were able to build a unique value proposition called Wipro Virtual Desk,” Yadavalli said.
This software proved crucial in the shift to remote work. Wipro’s virtual desktop user base jumped by a factor of 10 to 12.
“This is all because of the power of a software-defined infrastructure, which we built for them. And we're able to scale this out with exceptional user experience.”
Meeting Demands for More Remote-Work Capacity
Yadavalli said more than half a million users ran Wipro’s virtual desktop platform before COVID-19 arrived on the scene.
“When the pandemic happened, most customers asked us to double the infrastructure capacity,” he said.
Wipro helped many clients by converting disaster recovery infrastructure into production environments. This posed serious challenges for companies that lacked on-premises infrastructure.
“So, we had to create solution reference architectures and build all the workloads on hyperscalers, integrate these two environments and provide a single-pane-of-glass solution.”
Wipro’s virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) offering was a vital part of that solution.
“Fortunately, we were able to quickly build environments and restore normalcy in most of our clients in most of the industry verticals we are supporting,” Yadavalli said.
Addressing the Complexities of Accelerating Demands
Implementing remote workspaces practically overnight speaks to the power of software-defined networks that can be designed, implemented and managed remotely from a software management platform. Every client — and many departments within a client — has different users, networks and applications. Getting them all synced and optimized is easier with a single-pane-of-glass interface.
“Having a bird's eye view on the end-user experience and application performance is vital,” Yadavalli said.
Much of this was possible before COVID-19. People just had to shift into high gear.
“The pandemic has accelerated digital adoption,” Yadavalli said. “What used to happen in a two-year timeframe generally has happened in the last two or three months.”
Wipro used analytics powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning to anticipate problems before problems negatively impacted remote workers’ productivity.
“We were able to predict most of the issues and address them proactively,” he said. That gave Wipro the maneuvering room to enable a rapid shift to remote work while limiting the impact on Wipro and its customers.
Value of Software-Defined Technologies
“Never has the world seen an exercise of this magnitude,” Yadavalli said of the rapid embrace of work-from-home technologies running in the cloud. “Almost the entire workforce around the globe is adapting to this new culture.”
That requires new thinking about creating robust, resilient remote-work solutions that are secure by design. In years to come, enterprises will have to think much more about computing that’s contextless, serverless and all in the cloud. The goal is enabling compatibility across multiple technologies that make it easy to collaborate and engage in flexible remote-working scenarios, Yadavalli said.
“Mobility, cloud and IoT technologies are going to dominate the future of the workspace,” he concluded. “And all these technologies are going to unlock many exciting opportunities since this will help connect with people and things.”