With the rising popularity of "cloud-first" technologies, Desktop as a Service (DaaS) is fast becoming the new normal in delivering desktop interfaces to clients. According to IDC, the DaaS market is set to grow to US$ 2.99 billion in 2021, at a compound annual growth rate of 32.1% from 2017. The rapid onset of the Coronavirus pandemic will likely push these growth rates higher as DaaS becomes essential to enabling employees to work from home.
So, what’s DaaS and what’s driving its phenomenal growth?
DaaS is a cloud-based delivery model that enables users to access cloud-hosted virtual desktops from anywhere on their devices. The service is independent of device, location and network. Furthermore, the DaaS architecture allows multiple users to access a single instance of software application, in contrast to single instance architecture.
Cloud-hosted virtual desktops can be categorized into two technologies:
- Managed Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), which is based on VDI technology provided as an outsourced managed service.
- Desktop-as-a-service (DaaS), which provides a higher level of automation and real multi-tenancy, reducing the cost of technology. The DaaS provider typically takes full responsibility for hosting and maintaining the computer, storage and access infrastructure, as well as applications and application software licenses needed to provide the desktop service – in return for a fixed monthly fee.
VDI and DaaS have been around since early 2000. However, many CXOs considered performance and usability concerns, high costs and lack of technology maturity to be major limitations hindering the adoption of DaaS even as late as in 2017, as reflected in the Forrester Analytics Global Business Technographics Infrastructure Survey, 2017.
Figure 1: Concerns in using desktop / application virtualization technologies, Based on: Forrester Analytics Global Business Technographics Infrastructure Survey, 2017.
Three years on, cloud hosted workspaces are a strong, viable alternative to on-premise or remote desktop session-hosted (RDSH) and server-hosted VDI for providing employees with flexible access to managed, secure remote desktop and application environments. The change in workplace culture brought about by the increased adoption of cloud technology and mobility are reflected in the altered response of CXOs to DaaS Strategies. In the Forrester Analytics Global Business Technographics Infrastructure Surveys, 2018, an overwhelming majority of 62% and 51% said their firms plan to adopt Remote PC access and DaaS strategies respectively.
Figure 2: Plans to adopt alternative client PC technologies. Based on: Forrester Analytics Global Business Technographics Infrastructure Surveys, 2018 and 2017
According to a Forrester report from July 2019, cloud-based virtualization will surpass on-premises VDI due its ability to improve scalability and manageability. Prior to the term “work from home” gained ground, use cases for cloud solutions were predominantly streamlined versions of older and popular on-premises VDI use cases. However, with popular demand for connectivity at the edge and the need to work from home become more ubiquitous and powerful, the use cases for cloud solutions are poised to diversify.
There's early evidence to support this: Companies like Dudek and OHM, both engineering firms, are using drones to take pictures of construction sites or environmental areas, port the data on the cloud and provide engineers access to the information through an onsite Workspot cloud desktop. In the past, field workers would need to attach a USB stick to the drone to extract the information. But now, they have immediate access to the data whenever the drone uploads the information to the cloud. Cloud solutions today depend on a strong internet connection to make this happen; 5G promises better connectivity to allow field workers to access cloud solutions in remote areas as it becomes available.
Why consider Amazon Workspaces for DaaS
Amazon WorkSpaces is a managed, secure Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) solution that’s quickly growing in popularity. It’s easy to see why. You can use Amazon WorkSpaces to provision either Windows or Linux desktops in just a few minutes and rapidly scale to provide thousands of desktops to workers across the globe.
With its monthly and hourly subscription models, Amazon Workspaces helps businesses save a lot as compared to the traditional VDI deployed on premises.
Key benefits of AWS Workspaces include:
- Simplified desktop delivery
- Reduced costs
- Centralized management
- High data security
- Zero complexity
How Cloud4C helps enterprises make the most of DaaS in the new normal
With complex infrastructure needs spread across multiple business units, managing human resources can become a tedious task, particularly with employees shifting to the work from home (WFH) model in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. With the WFH trend likely to continue in the post-pandemic reality, ensuring connectivity and productivity of employees is critical. With passing time, this will only increase and employees will have to enable themselves to the new style of working and still remain productive.
As an experienced Managed Services Partner, Cloud4C helps businesses seamlessly implement DaaS and ensure monitoring and support for customers. Our in-house team comprising over 2000 certified cloud experts ensures speedy assessment, planning, design and implementation of DaaS. Our proven migration and transformation frameworks, customized to leading edge industry standards, drive security and business continuity with streamlined backup and disaster recovery plans. Our flexible pay-as-you-go model ensures you pay based on consumption, doing away with heavy CapEx investments in hardware and software while simultaneously allowing for scalability of infrastructure within minutes. Our end-to-end automated deployment and managed services are designed to save you both time and money. Other benefits of partnering with Cloud4C on DaaS include:
- 20+ Centers of Excellence (CoEs) and 24 X7 Support with NOC & SOC.
- Total ownership with Single SLA up to managing DaaS.
- Successful deployment and management of 5000+ instances.
- Uninterrupted, remote support availability even during testing times such as COVID-19.
- Continued monitoring of Industry compliances and security control
- Reduced Total Cost of Ownership
As businesses grapple with a volatile environment in a post-pandemic world, DaaS provides a cost-effective and robust solution to ensure both short and long-term business-continuity, while simultaneously eliminating the need for hardware and hardware expertise. Clearly, DaaS is here to stay and evolve.
To know more about how Cloud4C can help you leverage DaaS to power your business ahead, get in touch with us at globalsales@cloud4c.com
References: Forrester report on The Future Of VDI Is Cloud, AWS Workspaces
