Most discussions of application and desktop virtualization focus on cost reduction, simplifying IT operations, and increasing convenience for employees. These factors are extremely important, but IT professionals should not overlook the immense impact of workspace virtualization on information security. In fact, application and desktop virtualization have profound advantages for key security functions such as data protection, access control, user provisioning and compliance. They can also give administrators extremely granular control over how employees, contractors and business partners use and share application data.