Desktop as a Service (DaaS) is a very intriguing proposition. It is the virtualization of a personal computer, or desktop, in the same way that many companies have virtualized their servers. Instead of investing in the infrastructure and architecting everything in-houses, DaaS allows an organization to use the capabilities behind DaaS and enjoy the benefits as a turn-key service.
Why would someone want to use DaaS?
Virtualizing a desktop offers a number of benefits, ranging from cost efficiency to enhanced productivity. Imagine a company employee who must use different software applications – these might run on different operating systems or have mutually exclusive requirements of the computer. Instead of issuing multiple laptops to the employee – you issue them virtualized desktops so they can run them through a browser.
History of VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure)
For the last several years, interest in VDI (virtual desktop infrastructure) has been growing. Numerous IT organizations have embarked on highly expensive capital investments and brutally grueling experimentation only to be frustrated by the complexity behind standing up a VDI environment. Numerous vendors have attempted to come to the rescue with “VDI in a box” or “VDI software” – only to add more confusion to the mix.
Over time, VDI has gone from something that was the only route to virtualized desktops to a very remote consideration in most organizations. Rather than spend money, spend months or years rolling out VDI in-house, companies now have the ability to try it as a service without the penalty of time and capital.
Well, you cannot put an exact dollar value on how much a Desktop as a Service (DaaS) solution cost, as there are a lot of variables at play. First of all, the factor which will directly impact your DaaS costs is the technical specifications of your Cloud Desktops.
These include the RAM, Storage, CPU and GPU you select for your cloud desktops. Then, your costs will also depend on the total number of cloud desktops that you end up deploying through your DaaS provider.
Lastly, the factor which will impact your DaaS costs is the type of Service Level Agreement (SLA) you enter into with your DaaS provider. While we are at it, one really important aspect to consider is hidden costs.
Unlike dinCloud, a leading DaaS provider that offers a Flat Rate Pricing Model, some DaaS providers may sneak in hidden costs in your DaaS bill. The examples of such costs may include bandwidth charges, migration fees and in some cases, even Customer Support.
Desktop as a Service (DaaS) offers deploying enterprises a multitude of advantages. First of all, an enterprise no longer needs costly, on-premise data centers or servers. Instead, the infrastructure of the DaaS provider does all the heavy lifting for you.
This in turn also increases the useful life of your otherwise dated IT hardware, such as employee laptops or desktops. DaaS solutions enable deploying enterprises to move away from a CapEx to an OpEx costing model.
DaaS solutions are ideal for supporting remote and hybrid work models, as they give employees seamless access to enterprise data and productivity resources. Another compelling advantage of DaaS is the instant scalability it has to offer enterprises.
These were just some of the core benefits of a quality DaaS solution, like dinCloud Hosted Virtual Desktop (dinHVD). DaaS solutions deliver long term value to the deploying organizations, while also simplifying IT management along the way.
Well, the terms Desktop as a Service (DaaS) and Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) are often used interchangeably, which is incorrect. Although both DaaS and VDI share the common element of Virtual Desktops, the setup and delivery model is quite different.
In the case of VDI, the deploying enterprise houses the data center on-premise, which in turn is home to all the virtual desktops. VDI is generally deployed by organizations that want to retain absolute control over the data, and there are considerable costs to it.
DaaS on the other hand, also delivers Virtual Desktops, but through a specialized Cloud Service Provider (CSP) like dinCloud. These virtual desktops are stored with the data center of the DaaS provider, and streamed to the end users over the internet.
So, despite Virtual Desktops being a common element among DaaS and VDI, the delivery model is altogether different. When it comes to simplicity, ease of management and scalability, DaaS is better than VDI, any day of the week.
Evolution of DaaS (Desktop as a Service)
Desktop as a Service (DaaS) has evolved over the years but the concept of being available as a turn-key service has not changed. Numerous vendors have come and gone, offering DaaS in one version or another. Some have built their own software, trying to compete against the likes of Microsoft. Others have adopted 3rd party software that attempts to beat Microsoft at its own game. As the data center evolved and software defined networking and the software defined data center became more mainstream, costs came down in supporting DaaS. Yet, the complexity of integrating servers, storage, networking, and connectivity is still a mix of art and science.
Today, only a few DaaS providers are able to offer this turn-key service. dinCloud of course being a mainstay in the business. With the evolution of DaaS, performance improvements, software enhancements, internet and connectivity stability, and continual security bolstering have turned DaaS into a very robust offering that is worth considering.
How does DaaS work?
DaaS is a combination of running servers, networks, and storage in a reliable and high performance manner. Connectivity has a lot to do with the ability of customers to access their virtual desktop. One benefit of VDI has been that employees can access their virtual desktop and their applications and shared files from the same network. With dinCloud, you can run both DaaS and IaaS (infrastructure as a service) in the same private data center. All this is wrapped by layers of security. This allows a company to access DaaS over an internet connection through a browser. The browser works with a connection broker that securely accesses the individual desktop of the employee. From there, the virtualized desktop is running on a powerful server as an independent virtual machine. It is allocated its own CPU processing power, memory (RAM allocation), and storage. Thus, it runs as a normal desktop would run.
What is dinCloud’s definition of DaaS?
DaaS is essentially accessing a dedicated and persistent desktop, assigned to an individual employee. With the evolution of DaaS, we call that desktop a workspace. It is persistent in that the employee can keep their own wallpaper and personalization settings. The virtual desktop is accessible from a browser window or through a local application on either Mac, PC, Android. This means that the employee can work from one computer, then leave that device, and continue their work at another location on a completely different device. This brings a whole level of convenience and productivity that isn’t possible with conventional desktops.
Well, you cannot put an exact dollar value on how much a Desktop as a Service (DaaS) solution cost, as there are a lot of variables at play. First of all, the factor which will directly impact your DaaS costs is the technical specifications of your Cloud Desktops.
These include the RAM, Storage, CPU and GPU you select for your cloud desktops. Then, your costs will also depend on the total number of cloud desktops that you end up deploying through your DaaS provider.
Lastly, the factor which will impact your DaaS costs is the type of Service Level Agreement (SLA) you enter into with your DaaS provider. While we are at it, one really important aspect to consider is hidden costs.
Unlike dinCloud, a leading DaaS provider that offers a Flat Rate Pricing Model, some DaaS providers may sneak in hidden costs in your DaaS bill. The examples of such costs may include bandwidth charges, migration fees and in some cases, even Customer Support.
Desktop as a Service (DaaS) offers deploying enterprises a multitude of advantages. First of all, an enterprise no longer needs costly, on-premise data centers or servers. Instead, the infrastructure of the DaaS provider does all the heavy lifting for you.
This in turn also increases the useful life of your otherwise dated IT hardware, such as employee laptops or desktops. DaaS solutions enable deploying enterprises to move away from a CapEx to an OpEx costing model.
DaaS solutions are ideal for supporting remote and hybrid work models, as they give employees seamless access to enterprise data and productivity resources. Another compelling advantage of DaaS is the instant scalability it has to offer enterprises.
These were just some of the core benefits of a quality DaaS solution, like dinCloud Hosted Virtual Desktop (dinHVD). DaaS solutions deliver long term value to the deploying organizations, while also simplifying IT management along the way.
Well, the terms Desktop as a Service (DaaS) and Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) are often used interchangeably, which is incorrect. Although both DaaS and VDI share the common element of Virtual Desktops, the setup and delivery model is quite different.
In the case of VDI, the deploying enterprise houses the data center on-premise, which in turn is home to all the virtual desktops. VDI is generally deployed by organizations that want to retain absolute control over the data, and there are considerable costs to it.
DaaS on the other hand, also delivers Virtual Desktops, but through a specialized Cloud Service Provider (CSP) like dinCloud. These virtual desktops are stored with the data center of the DaaS provider, and streamed to the end users over the internet.
So, despite Virtual Desktops being a common element among DaaS and VDI, the delivery model is altogether different. When it comes to simplicity, ease of management and scalability, DaaS is better than VDI, any day of the week.
