With VDI becoming more and more of a hot topic, companies like VMware and Citrix are piloting a program called BYOC (Bring Your Own Computer). InformationWeek posted an article earlier this month detailing the workings of Citrix’s BYOC program. Basically, employees get a certain amount of stipend to buy a computer of their choice (brand, OS, features, etc.). Certain criteria must be met when purchasing the computer like a 3 year support contract, anti virus, ability to connect to the corporate SSL VPN, and running a XenApp client. Other than that, everything is fair game (including Mac). Once the computer is purchased, the user connects to a corporate desktop (VDI) for all corporate work. The corporate desktop is controlled by IT. The actual physical hardware is controlled/supported by the end user (and the 3 year support contract). This gives the employee personal ownership and a personal stake in the equipment. There is one down side to this scenario for the employee - taxes. Rich Crusco points out how the stipend is affected by taxes in this blog post. VMware also has an informal BYOC program. Mike DiPetrillo writes a little about VMware’s BYOC program in a blog post as well.

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