Cloud computing has become much more commonplace in recent years, as businesses increasingly-adopt flexible hybrid working models. And as a result, many companies are transitioning to something called ‘desktop as a service’ – often referred to simply as DaaS.
In this article, we’ve explored all things DaaS, including what it is, the benefits and considerations, and how it compares to potential alternatives.
An introduction to desktop as a service
DaaS is a cloud-based technology where virtual desktops are provided to users over an internet connection. Rather than relying on physical, on-premises hardware, businesses can now use managed desktop as a service solutions to offer employees virtual desktops. These are hosted by a cloud provider.
What are the benefits of DaaS?
We’ve outlined five benefits of DaaS, to help you decide whether it’s the right solution for your business.
1. Remote working
Over the last few years, hybrid and remote working has become more prevalent, meaning businesses have had to adapt their approaches and provide suitable alternatives to on-premises computing.
By introducing fully-virtual desktops, hosted on the cloud, companies can empower employees to work from anywhere in the world with an internet connection. Through DaaS, workers are able to straightforwardly access data, no matter where they are.
Incidentally, facilitating remote working can also increase productivity and improve an employee’s work-life balance, as it means they’re able to complete the same tasks in their own environment, which allows for a more flexible schedule.
2. Device flexibility
DaaS supports ‘BYOD’ (bring your own device), which is the concept of employees being able to work from their own personal laptops, computers, and smartphones – as though they were on a company machine.
This can significantly reduce the cost of acquiring and maintaining on-premises, company-issued hardware, and allows employees to use the devices and operating system they’re most comfortable with – which can subsequently improve the user experience.
3. Reduced IT costs
As above, by facilitating ‘BYOD’, your business won’t need to invest as heavily in physical on-premises machines, nor will you necessarily be liable for the ongoing maintenance of the hardware.
In addition, many DaaS providers offer flexible pricing models and resource-optimisation services to suit your business needs, so you’re not using or paying for more resource than you use. What’s more, by outsourcing to a third party, you can significantly reduce the time your IT team is spending on desktop management, meaning you can either reduce your IT overhead or reallocate internal resources to address alternative business needs.
4. Improved security
Security is a major benefit of cloud computing solutions like DaaS. Notably, all data and sensitive information is stored within a secure virtual vault, with cloud providers usually offering best-in-class protection measures. Additionally, your service provider will typically offer disaster recovery, with backups hosted across multiple data centres to reduce data loss and downtime.
5. Resource scalability
Another key benefit of cloud-native computing is the simple scalability that comes with working within a virtual space.
Operating in the cloud enables you to quickly and dynamically adjust or reassign resources to each virtual desktop, or simply add more virtual desktops to meet increasing demand as your business grows. This is especially useful during peak periods, seasonality, and rapid growth. And on the flipside, you can just as easily reduce resource or number of virtual desktops.
This provides your business with the flexibility to scale up or down, to meet business demand, ensure optimal performance, and meet cost-efficiency targets.
What to consider before investing in desktop as a service
Before investing in desktop as a service, make sure to take the time to research your options and consider the following:
- Security features: A reputable cloud provider will offer robust, industry-compliant security features to protect your business and sensitive data. Keep this in mind when choosing a DaaS solution.
- Integration: It’s important to assess how well your chosen DaaS solution will work alongside your wider IT infrastructure. You should also consider the process involved in migrating to a cloud-based model.
- Device compatibility: While DaaS can empower employees to use their device of choice, you should first-verify compatibility. Failing to do so runs the risk of some employees not being able to access your cloud-native IT model.
Why use desktop as a service?
Of course, virtual desktops aren’t the only solution: you also have on-premises computing and virtual machines. We’ve offered a quick overview covering the key distinctions between the various services, to give you an idea as to why you’d perhaps favour DaaS.
However, if you’re interested in learning more about the differences, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team!
DaaS vs on-premises desktops
There are a number of obvious differences between virtual and on-premises desktops – including, most notably, the infrastructure required to access each model.
DaaS is hosted and managed by a third-party provider from a remote data centre, while on-premises solutions are hosted on physical hardware within your own data centre (and managed by your IT team). This means DaaS offers significantly greater flexibility, scalability, and accessibility.
DaaS vs virtual machines
Virtual desktops and virtual machines may sound similar, but there are key differences between the two.
Hosting
Virtual desktops are hosted on fully-remote cloud infrastructure and are typically managed by a DaaS provider – streamlining the user experience, reducing the burden on your IT department, and removing the requirements for in-house hardware. In contrast, virtual machines can be hosted on premises or via the cloud.
User control
DaaS is usually preconfigured by your cloud provider, to offer a straightforward and intuitive desktop experience. Whereas virtual machines offer high customisation and user control over the environment – though, this requires IT management resources.
Scalability
Hosted entirely on the cloud, DaaS offers pretty-much-instant scalability, which helps you meet business demand. While scaling cloud-based VMs is often a simple process, on-premises solutions typically offer less elasticity and flexibility.
Interested in learning more about DaaS?
If you’re interested in learning more about the benefits of DaaS or how to identify the best DaaS provider, or simply want to know how your business can adopt cloud-based services, reach out to our team of experts, who’ll be more than happy to discuss your bespoke requirements in detail.
Alternatively, for even more advice about transitioning to the cloud, explore our full range of guides over on our blog!
