Whether you’re just beginning a journey into Virtual Desktop services, considering engaging a desktop-as-a-service provider (DaaS), or happy with an on-premises system, it’s always good to step back, evaluate, and ensure that your existing system is delivering what your business needs. Here are some top considerations.
Is my current virtual desktop service future-proofed?
Technology is evolving rapidly, and the last thing you want is to invest heavily in a solution that will quickly become outdated or surpassed by the competition in a year or two.
Any company that has invested in technology knows that new solutions take time to implement, dedicated training and change management efforts, and ongoing maintenance and improvements. It’s critical that your current or soon-to-be-chosen system is flexible enough to scale and integrate with evolving solutions to grow with both your organization and technological developments.
Should we implement VDI on-premises or consider DaaS?
If you’re new to the game or unhappy with your current virtual desktop set-up, you may be wondering what are the differences between on-premises virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) and DaaS. Here are some key components to think about.
- Tenants. An on-prem VDI uses a single-tenant model, which requires resources that are dedicated to a one organization. That company has control over the configuration and distribution of resources. On the other hand, DaaS services are typically multi-tenant models, which means that multiple businesses share the same infrastructure. That said, each organization only has access to its own data and resources within the larger model.
- Management. Any on-premise solution puts the complete management responsibility on the company itself including installation, maintenance, upkeep, and management. Your business is responsible for the central hardware, virtual machines, licenses, and so forth. Engaging a DaaS partner means shifting that management responsibility to a third-party. Instead of maintaining the system internally, you’ll pay a monthly fee and no longer be responsible for hardware monitoring, troubleshooting, upgrades, or availability.
- Cost. Both solutions require a monetary investment; the difference is when that investment is made and how much. An internal VDI deployment requires a large up-front capital investment for hardware, virtual machines, licenses, and other infrastructure. However, once those investments are made, the ownership is secured. Working with a DaaS provider allows you to get up and running quickly, paying a smaller but regular monthly subscription fee based on the number of users or features needed.
- When a company operates an internal VDI system, it has full control over the infrastructure, data, and configurations. You can also decide which tools you prefer, how systems are secured, who has access to what, and where data is stored. Shifting to a DaaS provider means relinquishing some of that control; the third-party vendor now handles monitoring, data storage, and configuration.
Read more about the benefits of a hosted virtual desktop solution >
How easily can I scale my business with virtual desktop services?
If you need to scale your company–either up or down, permanently or temporarily–virtual desktop systems can help. In this case, there is a definite advantage to DaaS compared with an on-premise system.
In an on-premises scenario, adding new users may involve purchasing additional virtual machines, upgrading servers, or licensing challenges. If you suddenly require fewer employees, you end up with wasted or unused resources.
With DaaS deployments, however, it’s much easier to scale up or down to manage volume changes. Usually, it requires a simple change in authorization, access, and desktop settings to add or remove employees quickly and securely from a system.
Curious about when to deploy VDI and when DaaS is best? Learn more about the differences between DaaS and VDI >
What should I look for in a virtual desktop provider?
If you’re leaning toward working with a DaaS partner, it’s important to understand what to look for in making the right vendor choice. Here are some questions to ask your prospective partners:
- Do you provide a seamless interface? Virtual desktops are frequently used in remote or hybrid working situations, which means that your DaaS partner must provide an intuitive, easy-to-use interface. Ideally, the system requires a single login within a familiar browser setting.
- Do you offer central management? This, after all, is the main reason you are choosing a DaaS provider. Be sure your selected partner will handle management of operating systems, software, applications, troubleshooting and data to optimize your employees’ efficiency.
- Are you integrated with industry-leading communication and collaboration tools? Be sure your employees can move easily between the virtual desktop system and popular tools such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom, or Cisco Webex platforms. Integrations should be seamless to maximize productivity.
- What business continuity assurances do you offer? When your team is spread out throughout a vast geographic region and associated time zones, you want to make sure your partner can provide reliable access to all individuals, any time of day. Check to see how data redundancy and backups are handled to be sure inclement weather or unexpected occurrences will not affect your operations.
Conclusion
If you need more assistance in evaluating your virtual desktop system, reach out to our team today. Evolve IP has years of experience in helping organizations like yours make the right decisions to support remote and hybrid workforces. We’d love to share our knowledge with your organization and help you grow into the future.