A recent Center for Digital Government research survey of 152 state and local government leaders discovered that more than half of state and local government agencies have implemented, are in the process of implementing or are considering desktop virtualization. To embrace desktop virtualization successfully, however, governments must understand the impact of virtual desktops on storage system performance. This issue brief highlights the benefits of desktop virtualization, along with the challenges of a shared storage environment. It discusses storage strategies and technologies that enable governments to achieve the benefits of the virtual desktop. By pairing their virtual desktops with an efficient virtual storage architecture, governments can take full advantage of the benefits of desktop virtualization.