The widely prevalent remote work scenario has almost necessitated the use of Cloud Hosted Desktops. Cloud Desktops have become a quintessential element of supporting a large remote workforce, while ensuring productivity, security and agility.
In this post, we will pitch two of the world’s best Cloud Hosted Desktop solutions, namely dinCloud Hosted Virtual Desktops (dinHVD) and the recently launched Microsoft Cloud PC.
We will be addressing key decision criteria that enterprises use when choosing a Cloud Hosted Desktop provider. Those criteria include deployment, support, monitoring, maintenance, security, management and the actual cost of availing these services.
Click Here to Download a Detailed Comparison of dinHVD v/s Microsoft Cloud PC
It is well said that the “devil lies in the details”. When you delve deeper into the Cloud Hosted Desktop offerings out there, you will quickly realize that you are not being offered the true value you deserve by the big names of the cloud industry.
In most cases, these services carry a small entry or starting price, but once you start adding on the bare essential elements, you will conclude that most dinHVD competitors may end up costing you more if you look at the bigger picture.
The majority of essential services that you will need to setup a decent Cloud Hosted Desktop environment will carry incremental costs, with the outcome that you won’t be deriving the true value from those services.
Below are some tables, which compare dinCloud Hosted Virtual Desktop offering with the Microsoft Cloud PC’s Business as well as Enterprise editions. We have also added small notes to each criteria to make the comparison a whole lot easier for you.
| Criteria | dinCloud (dinHVD) | Microsoft Cloud PC (Business) | Microsoft Cloud PC (Enterprise) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bandwidth |
No additional charge |
Billed Separately |
Billed Separately |
As soon as you start using Cloud Hosted Virtual Desktops, you will be consuming a certain bandwidth. dinHVDs carry no additional charge for bandwidth, while there will be additional bandwidth charges for both the editions of Microsoft Cloud PC.
In the case of dinHVD, the network costs are also built into our Flat Rate Pricing model, as we don’t have any bandwidth charges. In the case of both versions of Microsoft Cloud PC, you will have to incur additional network charges for every GB of outgoing traffic.
| Criteria | dinCloud (dinHVD) | Microsoft Cloud PC (Business) | Microsoft Cloud PC (Enterprise) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Daily Snapshots |
Maintained for up to 10 days |
Not Offered |
Not Offered |
Consider “Snapshots” as the last known preferred configuration of your Cloud Hosted Desktop. In the case of dinHVD, we retain the snapshots of your Virtual Machines (VM) for up to 10 days, while this feature is not offered by Microsoft Cloud PC.
This makes it a whole lot easier for you to revert to the last best configuration in the case of dinHVD. This feature also doubles down as a good means of back-up, for up to 10 days, providing you additional peace of mind.
| Criteria | dinCloud (dinHVD) | Microsoft Cloud PC (Business) | Microsoft Cloud PC (Enterprise) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bring Your Own License (BYOL) |
Yes (M365 E3/5) |
Not Offered |
Conditional |
The Bring Your Own License (BYOL) feature of dinHVD saves you a lot of costs when migrating to a Cloud Hosted Virtual Desktop solution. Any existing licenses that you may have already purchased are valid in the case of dinHVD, saving you costs.
| Criteria | dinCloud (dinHVD) | Microsoft Cloud PC (Business) | Microsoft Cloud PC (Enterprise) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Administrative Features |
dinManage Portal Included |
Not Available |
Subscription or User Based |
With dinHVD, you get access to dinCloud’s in-house Cloud Management Portal called dinManage. This gives you a wide range of administrative features for your Cloud Desktop environment. dinManage is intuitive and very user friendly as well.
No such administrative features are offered under the Business edition of Microsoft Cloud PC. In the Enterprise version however, you get admin related features if you purchase the Microsoft 365 subscription. The other option is to pay an extra $10 per user.
| Criteria | dinCloud (dinHVD) | Microsoft Cloud PC (Business) | Microsoft Cloud PC (Enterprise) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Customer Support |
24/7 Support is Offered |
Paid 12/5 Support |
Paid 12/5 Support |
At dinCloud, Customer Support is one of our major differentiators from Microsoft Cloud PC and others. We offer 24/7 Customer Support to our valued users over multiple mediums, without any additional charge.
In the case of Microsoft Cloud PC, both Business and Enterprise, you get only 12/5 support and that is also charged. For 12/5 Customer Support, your minimum charge will be $1,000/-, which can also rise if the number of users increases.
| Criteria | dinCloud (dinHVD) | Microsoft Cloud PC (Business) | Microsoft Cloud PC (Enterprise) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Operating System |
Windows 10 Professional, Enterprise and Server 2016 / 2019 |
Windows 10 Enterprise only |
Windows 10 Enterprise only |
With dinHVD, you can choose from a wide range of Operating Systems (OS), such as Windows 10 Professional, Enterprise as well as Server Editions 2016 and 2019. This wide choice of operating systems makes your transition a whole lot easier and quicker.
| Criteria | dinCloud (dinHVD) | Microsoft Cloud PC (Business) | Microsoft Cloud PC (Enterprise) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Back-up and Disaster Recovery (DR) |
Data Centers at Multiple Locations |
No Backup / DR Offered |
No Backup / DR Offered |
dinCloud has a global footprint of strategically located Data Centers. This gives us the unique capability to offer a robust mechanism for your data backups. Multi-located data centers ensure a robust Disaster Recovery (DR) and Business Continuity (BC) posture.
| Criteria | dinCloud (dinHVD) | Microsoft Cloud PC (Business) | Microsoft Cloud PC (Enterprise) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Monitoring & Alerts |
dinManage, Citrix and RMM |
No High Level Access or Monitoring |
No High Level Access or Monitoring |
With dinHVD, you can constantly monitor your Cloud Hosted Desktop environment via multiple solutions like dinManage, Citrix as well as Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM). You also receive useful and timely alerts in the case of dinHVD.
In the case of dinCloud’s HVD solution, you will be receiving additional alerts about CPU usage, Hard Disk as well as Memory Utilization. This will enable you to keep tabs on your HVD environment. This feature is not offered by Microsoft’s Cloud PC.
| Criteria | dinCloud (dinHVD) | Microsoft Cloud PC (Business) | Microsoft Cloud PC (Enterprise) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
HVD Specifications |
Any Combination is possible |
12 Preset Configurations Only |
12 Preset Configurations Only |
In the case of dinHVD, you can “custom build” your dinCloud Hosted Virtual Desktops with the performance specs of your choice. These include the choice of RAM, CPU, Storage and GPU etc. We also have a wide range of pre-bundled packages for you.
For dinHVDs, you are free to choose the optimal Cloud Hosted Virtual Desktops for your needs. The Business and Enterprise versions of Microsoft Cloud PC allow only 12 preset configurations, leaving you with minimal choice.
Here is another catch, both Business and Enterprise versions of Microsoft Cloud PC only allow you to up-grade the existing Cloud Hosted Virtual Desktops. In the case of dinHVD, you enjoy complete freedom of up-grading or down-grading, as per the need.
| Criteria | dinCloud (dinHVD) | Microsoft Cloud PC (Business) | Microsoft Cloud PC (Enterprise) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Consumption Model |
Wide range of choices |
Only per user, dedicated and persistent |
Only per user, dedicated and persistent |
Each enterprise prefers to choose a service consumption model that is unique to its needs. There is no “one size fits all” solution to this issue. With dinHVD, you can choose among user based, persistent, non-persistent, session host, multi user or multi session.
Here is a break-up of what dinCloud’s wide range of consumption models mean for you as an enterprise:-
| Per User | You will be billed on the basis of the number of users you want to assign dinHVDs |
|---|---|
|
Persistent |
dinHVDs will retain their last state and personal preferences of users upon subsequent login |
|
Non-Persistent |
Upon session close, all the preferences of the user will revert to the default configuration |
|
Session Host |
The users can deploy session based cloud desktops as well as applications, and then share them |
|
Multi User |
A single dinHVD can be accessed by multiple users, thus saving you costs |
|
Multi Session |
Enables users to run and execute multiple workloads over a single dinHVD |
This wide range of consumption models offered with dinHVD ensure there will at least be one model that is best for the unique needs of your enterprise. You get at least 6 consumption models, all under the same dinCloud umbrella.
Although the Business and Enterprise versions of Microsoft Cloud PC do allow user based Cloud Desktops, but they need to be dedicated to each user and are only offered in persistent form, which ends up costing more to the deploying enterprise.
| Criteria | dinCloud (dinHVD) | Microsoft Cloud PC (Business) | Microsoft Cloud PC (Enterprise) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Geo Location |
Choice of Data Centers |
Not Offered |
Not Offered |
At dinCloud, we offer you full sway when it comes to choosing the Data Center of your choice. You can choose from any of our global data centers, especially one that is nearest to your operations. This minimizes latency and delivers optimal user experience (UX).
Within our data centers, dinCloud offers top notch Hyper Converged Infrastructure (HCI) that is combined with the latest and best hardware. With dinHVD, we offer SSD storage, which directly elevates your end user experience to a great extent.
In the case of Microsoft Cloud PC, both Business and Enterprise, you have no choice in terms of the Data Center. The hardware at these data centers is also mostly obsolete by default, as they want you to pay up for gaining access to better hardware.
| Criteria | dinCloud (dinHVD) | Microsoft Cloud PC (Business) | Microsoft Cloud PC (Enterprise) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Compliance Management |
High Visibility and Control |
Zero Visibility |
Zero Visibility |
With ever increasing regulatory pressures, it is imperative that you have visibility of your Hosted Virtual Desktop provider’s compliance posture. At dinCloud, we ensure this via ease of managing compliance and giving you high visibility as well as control.
Ease of compliance management, coupled with high visibility and control give you the much needed peace of mind and confidence that despite transitioning to dinHVD, you compliance posture has only improved.
Managed / Value Added Services
So far, we have just been comparing dinHVD and Microsoft Cloud PC on their core elements. Let’s move on to the Value Added Services (VAS) that only dinCloud has to offer as Managed Services.
| Patch Management | Ensures your Cloud Hosted Virtual Desktops are always up to date and secure from threats |
|---|---|
|
Additional Monitoring & Alerts |
This VAS provides you timely information and critical alerts |
|
Security Solutions |
Anti-Virus and Endpoint Protection Mechanisms |
|
Flexible Backup and DR |
Customize your back-up plans according to your needs, with a robust DRaaS |
In the case of these Value Added Services (VAS), no third party contracts are required. dinCloud has developed both the tools and expertise in-house to offer these as Managed or Value Added Services.
So far as Microsoft Cloud PC are concerned, both Business and Enterprise versions, these services are either not offered altogether, or these are made available as Third-Party add-ons. This results in more complexities and management related issues.
Conclusion
When you choose a world class Cloud Hosted Virtual Desktop solution like dinHVD, we will take you along the entire cloud journey. dinCloud has dedicated specialists, with years of expertise in Project Management, Cloud Implementation, Cloud Migration and re-design of your existing infrastructure.
As soon as you decide to migrate to dinHVD, the above professional services will be extended to you as part of the overall Cloud Hosted Virtual Desktop service. This is an on-going process and we at dinCloud will make sure that not only is your cloud migration process seamless, but you also enjoy an un-rivaled user experience.
When it comes to a head to head comparison between dinHVD and Microsoft Cloud PC, it is quite evident that dinCloud has a lot more value, flexibility and long term viability to offer as compared to its Microsoft’s counterpart.
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