June 15th, 2012
I had the pleasure of spending this week presenting cloud-hosted virtual desktops with our partner Dell and Dell Wyse at the Cloud Expo event in NYC. NYC is such a great place filled with diversity and unique individuals, to say the least. The event show floor on the other hand was not so unique. It seems that everyone is playing in the IaaS space and differentiating is very difficult. I feel bad for the IT manager who has to navigate these waters. However, many service providers are recognizing that DaaS (Desktops as a Service) can help them differentiate while end customers want options aside from building their own virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI).
I feel very lucky to be part of something so unique when it comes to the cloud and I am appreciative that Dell believes as well. The good news is that the cloud is finally garnering the recognition of companies of all sizes as a valid option for IT services. Those that have already adopted IaaS, or other cloud services, are quick to see the value of moving virtual desktops to this same delivery model.
Summarized below are the top value propositions that are achieved with this model:
1. Upfront cost - Cloud-hosted requires no upfront capital and turns virtual desktops into a CAPEX versus OPEX. Everyone we spoke with had sticker shock with traditional VDI.
2. Ease of deployment - As an end user you don't need to deploy anything. Simply decide on the desktop model and endpoint, and you are good to go. Compare this tothe cost and complexity of building datacenters to house VDI.
3. Performance - Decentralized workers are better served by virtual desktops that are housed in VDI datacenters that are geographically close. It is difficult for IT to deliver datacenters close to all users. With the cloud you can!
I thought I would also summarize some of the top questions I received from customers at the show:
1. Microsoft Licensing - Can you do DaaS and be compliant with MS? It wouldn't be a DaaS conversation without this question. Yes, yes and yes, you can do DaaS and be Microsoft Licensing compliant.
2. Bandwidth - Will this require me to upgrade my bandwidth? I am writing this blog using a Desktone DaaS Win7 desktop on Amtrak's Wifi. For anyone that makes the train ride from Boston to NYC you know this is not the fastest network around!
3. Data & Applications - How do I get access to my data and applications back at home base? A proper DaaS offering provides seamless and secure enterprise integration. Your end users can access drives, applications and other corporate assets. They won't notice any difference in end user experience.
Thanks to Dell and Dell Wyse for hosting Desktone at the event. If interest at this event was any indication of the DaaS market interest we are all going to have a good year.
