Managing and maintaining your desktop environment at home can take a significant amount of time and resources. Your IT staff must constantly support, troubleshoot, and update each PC and application your users use. In 2020, employees will be required to work remotely, making this task even more difficult. In light of these challenges, Desktop as a Service, or DaaS services, is a service worth considering.
How does DaaS function?
DaaS solutions are conceptually similar to virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) in that your desktop and applications are hosted in a virtualized environment rather than directly on your PCs. However, with VDI, your IT department is still managing and maintaining the physical and virtual machines on-site. When it comes to VDI, your desktop environment can be divided into four distinct layers and required skill sets, as explained by Gabe Knuth, senior product line marketing manager for EUC at VMware and author of DaaS services book published in 2014.
The fundamental level: The machines on which your platform runs are at the most basic level. Maintaining all of your PCs necessitates some hardware knowledge.
The layer of virtualization: This is the layer that houses your servers, network, and security systems. This position necessitates knowledge of storage, networking, and security.
Infrastructure for desktop virtualization: In the case of VDI, this layer consists of the servers and services that allow you to access your virtual desktops and applications. It necessitates knowledge of networking, remote protocols, and virtualization.
The top layer: The top layer is made up of your users’ virtual desktops and applications. It necessitates an understanding of operating systems, applications, security, licensing, and system management and patching.
“Typically, a customer must manage all four of these layers, which necessitates several employees with diverse skill sets,” Knuth told TechRepublic. “Desktops-as-a-Service eliminates the bottom three layers by managing the hardware, SDDC (software-defined data center), and desktop virtualization infrastructure, leaving the customer to manage only the virtual desktops and applications.”
Why should you consider DaaS?
The following are some of the primary advantages and reasons why a company should consider deploying DaaS solutions:
IT is under less stress
Outsourcing most of the management and regular maintenance of your desktop environment reduces the burden and focus on your IT staff, especially when dealing with day-to-day support tasks.
Reduced reliance on a data center
A fully equipped data center is required for an on-premises or VDI environment. DaaS can help with expenses by reducing that need, especially for organizations that rent space in a third-party data center or are nearing capacity at their existing data center.
Cost control
DaaS allows you to continuously scale your desktop requirements up or down based on the number of users. As a result, you only pay for the virtual resources that you require. It can assist your organization in avoiding the initial capital expenditures associated with an on-premises environment.
Security risks have been reduced
According to Adam Lotz, senior manager for product marketing at Citrix’s desktop and applications group, DaaS can reduce security issues caused by employees who lose their laptops or mobile devices, particularly when traveling. Because all data is hosted in the cloud, users, security staff, and compliance officers do not need to be concerned about compromised sensitive metadata. This also creates a more secure environment for remote work and brings allows you to run Windows virtual desktops and applications in Microsoft Azure without incurring additional licensing fees. Your device (bring your device).
Ensure that you have access to all necessary resources. According to Lotz, DaaS provides a secure cloud-based environment from which users can access SaaS applications, cloud-based office software, cloud services, file shares, and corporate resources just like they would from an on-premises device. The only prerequisite is a reliable internet connection.
There is no need to run or manage VDI
Although VDI virtualizes your desktop environment, it still necessitates using in-house resources to manage your physical and virtualized machines. According to Knuth, most organizations have desktop management experience but not necessarily the skills to support an on-premises virtual infrastructure. DaaS allows businesses to outsource infrastructure management and focus on other tasks.
Desktop deployment is now faster
Knuth claims that virtual infrastructure on-premises the virtualized desktop environment can be up and running faster than an in-house infrastructure with DaaS. There’s no need to set up an entire on-premises PC environment. Adding a new user to your environment is also a quick and straightforward process.
This is a better option for remote work
According to Kam VedBrat, partner group program manager for Windows AI and graphics platforms at Microsoft, DaaS can benefit employees whether or not they have a company-provided device with the transition to remote working. Those with a company device may still need to use apps and tools that cannot be accessed via a VPN. Those who do not have such a device, such as temporary employees, contractors, or new employees, can use their own devices to access the desktop environment.
Specialized workers have a better option
Developers, graphic designers, data scientists, and other specialists frequently need powerful computers with increased CPU and GPU capabilities. In situations where such machines are not available in-house, DaaS can provide them.
Windows Virtual Desktop saves money
Knuth explains that organizations that already have a Microsoft Enterprise agreement can use Microsoft’s Windows Virtual Desktop. It allows you to run Windows virtual desktops and applications in Microsoft Azure without incurring additional licensing fees. You only have to pay for Azure consumption. In such cases, Windows Virtual Desktop can be a low-cost entry point into DaaS.
