By Benjamin Crill

One Choice Solutions customer, a financial institution with thousands of desktops, had one of the more challenging end user computing (EUC) environments I’ve come across. Everything depended on manual builds. The organization kept a list with app-by-app installation instructions, and if disaster had struck their datacenter, it would have taken weeks or months to rebuild the EUC environment, if it could be replicated at all. 

So, we helped them start fresh with Nutanix. Today, their EUC environment is faster, simpler, and practically future proof compared to their old system. 

For Nutanix partners looking to help their own customers make a similar transition, the familiar “five W” questions (and a bonus “How?”) can provide a helpful framework. 

Who Benefits Most from EUC Modernization?

Who: The longer an organization has been using a particular approach to its EUC environment, the more leaders might resist change, but those are the customers who can benefit the most from a modernized solution like Nutanix. The customer we worked with was initially reluctant to move to hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI). But by trying out Nutanix for a smaller use case in their environment, we were able to show the customer that this was the right fit for their EUC needs. Turnover on this organization’s EUC team had wiped out much of the institutional knowledge required to manage the old environment, making the need for a modern solution even more urgent. 

What Changes with a Modern EUC Strategy?

What: This was not a lift-and-shift migration, but rather a fresh start. With Nutanix as the foundation, we helped the customer move away from manual, time-consuming processes and toward automated, repeatable processes to build images for its EUC environment. In the past, updates required hours of manual testing and documentation. The new system removes much of the “tactical” work from IT workers’ plates, allowing them to spend more of their time and energy on activities that drives value for the business. 

When to Prioritize an EUC Refresh

When: For this customer, the October 2025 end-of-support deadline for Windows 10 proved to be a powerful motivator. Looking across industries, many organizations have failed to properly plan for the deadline, giving partners an opening to suggest solutions like Nutanix. For some larger organizations, it will be too late to get an entirely new EUC environment up and running before the fall. However, the faster an organization can implement their new environments, the fewer extended support bills they will have to pay, and the sooner they’ll be able to get value from their new investments. This urgency creates an ideal entry point for partners to help customers rethink their environments. 

Where to Begin Your EUC Journey

Where: For this customer, we started in the virtual desktop environment. But soon, the organization plans to leverage these same Nutanix-backed automation workflows—along with tools like Intune—to manage and deploy images for its physical desktops, as well. Starting small, we have developed a methodology to allow consistent application deployment, deployment, and roll back. This will also help in areas of supportability where the physical and virtual estates will be managed more similarly.

How to Build a Repeatable EUC Imaging Process

How: We built a repeatable imaging process using automation tools that our customer was largely already familiar with. There are many tools that are available; Azure DevOps, Packer, Terraform, etc. The important part is to start where there is already expertise and build up. We started by scripting out all configurations. We created a repeatable process that does not depend on institutional knowledge. We also used Citrix Workspace Environment Manager (WEM) to apply contextual user settings. With a solid foundation, now we can include additional automation and management tools like Intune, expanding WEM usage, and integrating Azure DevOps more fully into the processes. Underneath it all is the Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure, that we can expand into Nutanix Cloud Clusters (NC2) for additional capacity without needing to procure additional hardware.

Why a Modern EUC Environment is Built to Last

Why: I’ve already mentioned how the move to Nutanix dramatically reduced complexity in our customer’s EUC environment. Professionals no longer need to babysit application installations and testing. All of that is automated, leaving time to focus on enhancements to the technology estate rather than maintenance. The move also prepares the organization for the next Windows operating system transition, as well as subsequent transitions. Those updates won’t require ground-up rebuilds. The customer will be able to essentially swap out one puzzle piece for another, without disruption. 

Choice Solutions Joins Nutanix Partner Elite

In the fall of 2024, Choice Solutions joined Partner Elite, a program for Nutanix’s top technical advocates. In May 2025, we’ll be meeting the rest of our cohort for the first time at the .NEXT conference in Washington, D.C. We’re looking forward to not only swapping ideas with other Partner Elite members, but to learning how professionals throughout Nutanix’s partner ecosystem apply the 5 Ws to a wide range of opportunities. 

Ready to modernize your EUC environment? Contact us today to schedule a consultation and learn how Choice Solutions can help you simplify, secure, and future-proof your desktop strategy.