October 25th, 2012
We had so many fantastic questions following our recent Microsoft Licensing & Delivering DaaS webinar, that we've decided to follow up with a multi-part blog series. Check back with our blog all this week as we answer your questions addressing everything from licensing, to hardware, to documentation and cost.
Part III - COST
Q: As an end client, I've seen several proposals for Windows 7 VDIs (approx $70/usr/month). However, that seems to contradict your presentation. If I understand correctly, the cost per user/month is totally dependent on number of VDIs we order due to the requirement to host all our VDIs on dedicated servers?
A: If you are looking for much better pricing than what you list above, we can certainly put you in contact with many Service Providers who have an entry price much lower than this. It is true however, that for the SMB (less than 40 desktops) wanting to run Windows 7, there is an increased cost as the server density is not fully utilized. Most Service Providers will have a floor for Windows 7 desktops of 40 desktops based on the most common configuration of 1 vCPU and 2 GB RAM.
Q: If everyone wants VDI Win 7 - then present the economics?
A: If you contact our sales team, we have very detailed bill of material, pricing, cash flow and ROI calculators for the Service Provider. These are based on our extensive experience and real world DaaS deployments. This webinar was intended to cover the aspects of Microsoft licensing and the feasibility of delivering DaaS.
Q: How do the economics work for VDI Win 7 for less than 20 user company?
A: For the under 20 user company, we have Service Providers offering higher powered machines (eg. 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM) with Windows 7, or leveraging personal Windows Server machines skinned with a desktop experience under SPLA.
Q: Is there a threshold # of desktops we would need to hit to make this model work? Would this change by the model chosen?
A: The most common threshold number of Windows 7 desktops based on standard specifications is 40. Below this threshold, the economics make Windows Server a more attractive choice.
If you have additional questions, ask them here and our CTO Danny Allan will answer them.
