Desktone Blog

Validation of DaaS in the VDI Smackdown

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:00:00 EST

It was great to see that Desktone was included in Ruben Spruijt's VDI Smackdown analysis of the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure space. This paper has gone through several iterations now and includes a very comprehensive comparison of the features and functionality included in a number of the on-premise VDI solutions.

At Desktone, we have witnessed a real market shift in the last year as end customers are now asking Service Providers for this same VDI service - often known as DaaS. It makes tremendous sense for the business to attain the same benefits and capabilities of VDI, without the need to invest the human and capital resources to understand all the complexity and challenges of running a VDI infrastructure.

As we were purpose built over 4 years ago for this exact market and we have Service Providers asking to run our platform continuously, we're excited to be included in the report. It's another solid validatation that cloud hosted virtual desktops are an increasingly attractive option.

New VMware VSPP SKU Makes DaaS More Cost-Effective

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:00:00 EST

Exciting news from VMware today: they have announced a new VMware Service Provider Program (VSSP) SKU that makes delivering virtual desktops as a service (DaaS) easier and more cost-effective.

The VSPP was created for IT partners providing Hosted IT services to end user companies. Any partner that provides subscription or web services to third parties may be considered a Service Provider in this program.

This new SKU builds on the Desktone-VMware partnership announced in October 2011 making it easier and more cost-effective for service providers to deliver DaaS. By collaborating on a solution that leverages VMware’s cloud expertise and leading virtualization technologies with Desktone’s proven DaaS platform, we can enable service providers to offer a highly differentiated and compelling DaaS solution. The VSPP SKU offers a more affordable point for access to vSphere Enterprise Plus and PCOIP.

VMware is adding the View Enterprise SKU to the VSPP program as of February 1 and will be available through all VSPP aggregators (e.g., Ingram Micro). The SKU pricing is based on the VSPP point system so partners who have already accumulated or have committed to more points in the VSPP program will receive a discount on the price.

The main benefits of VMware View VSPP include:

45+ VMware products are available, including VMware View
Partners can mix and match products during a given month
Partners pay monthly “rental” fees—the same way Service Providers charge their customers
Variety of point plans to suit all sizes of Service Providers
12-month, fixed-price contract
Multi-tenancy licensing provides economy of scale*

* Option only available in conjunction with View Enterprise Bundles with Desktone licenses.

I am glad service providers have choices in the hypervisors and display protocols they use for delivering hosted virtual desktops. Service providers should ensure that the virtual desktop platform they adopt for delivering DaaS is technology agnostic, meaning it can support multiple hypervisors and display protocols (RDP, PCoIP, HDX, RGS, etc.).

Desktops: A Total Cost Analysis of PCs, VDI, and DaaS

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:00:00 EST

Physical desktop computer infrastructures no longer make sense for businesses. Not only are they expensive, insecure and maintenance-heavy, they also cannot effectively support the changing business IT landscape.

Our recorded webinar (found in the link below) compares the total cost of ownership (TCO) of physical PCs, virtual desktops, and cloud-hosted desktops as a service (DaaS). Cloud-hosted desktops as a service eliminates many barriers to virtualization, delivering a complete desktop from the cloud, providing all the benefits of VDI without any of the hassles. Businesses can eliminate the cost and complexity of deploying and managing desktops, while enabling the flexibility that users require.

Cloud hosted desktops require no upfront infrastructure investments. And, by transforming desktops from the CAPEX outlay inherent in onsite VDI and physical PC refreshes, businesses benefit from a predictable, easy to budget OPEX-based desktop environment.

Watch the webinar recording here

Welcome Quest - DaaS Data Center Expansion Delivers High Quality User Experience

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST

Today we announced that Quest has become the latest service provider to leverage the Desktone Desktop as a Service (DaaS) platform. By leveraging Desktone’s multi-tenant DaaS platform, Quest is able to deliver cost-effective, full-featured virtual desktops to any device on-demand. Quest will be offering hosted desktop virtualization to both large and small companies mainly on the US west coast region. Quest is one of the nation’s leading technology management and consulting firms.

I am excited about this new relationship for a number of reasons but one of the top reasons is the further expansion of our DaaS data center network. This may not seem like a big deal but it is a key driver of virtual desktop performance. One of the primary deterrents to Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) adoption is end user performance. If your end users don't like the performance of the virtual desktop it will more than likely stop the project. One of the top reasons that virtual desktops have bad performance is latency (the delay it takes for data to get from one designated point to another in network). If typical desktop actions like keystrokes are delayed end users will be upset. TechTarget covered this issue in detail in this article 'VDI over the WAN: How latency affects virtual desktop performance'.

One of the ways to reduce latency and significantly improve desktop performance is to have desktops physically close to the datacenter running the virtual desktops. This is not so easy if you are deploying virtual desktops in your enterprise. Most companies don't have the resources to build data centers all over the country and globe. For example, your headquarters and your VDI datacenter are in New York but you have remote offices all over the country. Do you think the end user in California is going to be ok with their VDI session coming from New York? How do you service these users effectively?

This is one of the benefits of Cloud-hosted virtual desktops. You get access to carrier class data centers that are close to end user locations. Desktone and our service provider partners are committed to delivering sub-20 millisecond latency for all of the markets we serve to ensure a differentiating, high-quality customer experience.

We were also excited to work with NetApp on this partnership to ensure an offering that leverages the highest performing storage technology. Announced in August 2011, the collaboration between Desktone and NetApp makes it easy for service providers like Quest to offer complete virtual desktops in a truly scalable cloud environment.

The addition of the Quest datacenters to the Desktone DaaS network ensures that customers will receive a high performing virtual desktop. Quest had many choices when it came to virtual desktop technologies, but after a thorough evaluation they recognized that only Desktone was built to deliver DaaS. Other VDI providers can only be used for onsite deployments. Welcome to the club!

Desktop Virtualization Use Case: M&A Integration

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST

Guest Blog by Equinix's Ephraim Baron

Merger and acquisition integration can be a daunting challenge for IT – but one that can be made considerably easier through the use of virtual desktops.

For IT staffers, the process usually begins with rumors about a pending deal. These are likely to be played down by management trying to maintain a veil of secrecy.

Next comes a hurried exercise in integration estimation. The conversation might go something like this.

M&A Planner:
“I need to know how long it would take us to integrate another company’s IT systems into our environment.”

IT Staffer:
“How many apps? What platform do they run on? How much data is involved? Where are the users located?”

M&A Planner:
“I don’t know, and even if I did I would not be at liberty to disclose that information.”

IT Staffer:
“Uhhh … best case, let’s say 90 days.”

Finally there comes a major announcement, the deal is done, and the clock starts ticking.

The integration timeline SWAG becomes a hard requirement, with bonuses for the entire IT dependent on meeting what turns out to be a hopelessly optimistic date.

Options

Options at this point include:

1. Heroic efforts involving cancellation of all vacations, mandatory nights and weekend work, and the hiring of a small army of contractors and consultants.

Benefits include a clear sense of urgency.
Drawbacks include widespread disorganization, staff burnout, and high costs.

2. Have the PMO create a project plan based on realistic estimates. The resulting timeline will probably be on the order of 6 – 9 months, and so will be rejected. But the point will have been made.

Benefits include having a semi-fact-based document to justify why the original target was missed.
Drawbacks include the likelihood that management will decide to keep staff from the acquired company when analyzing redundancies.

3. Attempt to run the acquired company as an independent operation, thereby obviating the need for integration.

Benefits include reduced integration effort.
Drawbacks include duplication of systems; difficulties in getting roll-up views of common metrics; and ongoing second-guessing about why the deal was done in the first place.

4. Find a technology solution to speed up the integration process (aka looking for a miracle). The good news is this last option is actually viable using virtualized desktops.

Most often people think of virtual desktops as replacements for physical machines. However, they can also be used to augment existing environments in much the same way that Citrix and Microsoft Terminal Services have been used for years to deliver special or problematic applications.

For the M&A integration use case, the acquiring company can set up a virtualized desktop environment that serves up key environments such as the company intranet and business critical apps.

Best of all, this can be done prior to the consummation of any agreement. Once the deal is finalized, users of the acquired company are simply given access to this virtual environment.

I have personal experience working with a large health care insurer that had acquired a claims processing company in a distant city. As is often the case, there was an integration deadline with severe financial penalties if it were missed.

In this instance, the acquiring company began by building out a virtualized desktop environment.

An icon was then placed on the desktops of the claims processors that launched a Remote Desktop Connection to a desktop virtual machine.

This gave the new workers rapid access the applications they needed to do their jobs. They viewed the virtual desktop as a simple extension of their existing environment.

Desktop as a Service (DaaS) Delivery Model

The process can be made even easier with a Desktop as a Service (DaaS) delivery model.

Rather than having to spin up a sizeable virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) environment, a company can use DaaS as a pay-as-you-go alternative.

In addition to being simpler and faster than the do-it-yourself approach, DaaS avoids large capital expenditure as well as the questions that would inevitably arise with a major VDI build out. Plus the predictable per-user costs provide an improved basis for the M&A financial analysis.

Whether built or bought, virtual desktops can deliver quick, secure access to necessary resources for employees of acquired companies.

Desktop virtualization can also buy much-needed time to plan out further integration activities without stress.

And once users are accustomed to the benefits of virtual desktops, they rarely want to go back to the old, noisy, unreliable space heaters that used to sit on their desks.

Read this blog on InterConnections: The Official Equinix Blog

Virtualization Tops CIO Priorities In 2012

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST

Every couple weeks we like to highlight blog posts and articles about our industry that we find interesting. Here are some BYOD, mobility, and virtual desktop articles that we thought you might enjoy:

Virtualization Tops CIO Priorities In 2012

"When CIOs were asked by IDC to name their top three IT priorities for this year, nearly 40 percent of them picked virtualization and server consolidation, more than any other area of IT. After virtualization, investment in cloud services came in second, followed by collaboration tools, business analytics, and the consolidation of application portfolios." - Robert Mullins, Information Week Read More...

12% of iPad Owners in the Enterprise No Longer Use Their Laptop

"More than one in ten iPad owning business professionals have indicated that Apple's touchscreen tablet has become their portable device of choice, completely replacing their laptop.The role of the iPad in the enterprise was explored in a new study revealed this week by IDG Connect. The 'iPad for Business Survey 2012' features interviews with IT and business professionals from around the world." - Neil Hughes, Apple Insider Read More...

Mac Attack - The Big Switch Is On

"The popularity of consumer-oriented devices like iPhones and iPads among traditional end users has created a sea change in the enterprise. Whereas enterprise IT managers once tried to keep a tight lid on new hardware accessing the network, the trend toward a new open attitude is described in two of the big buzzwords of the day: consumerization of IT and BYOD." - Maria Korolov, TechWorld Read More...

Could Mobility and not Cost be the Driver for the Cloud in Business?

"Rick Blaisdell often has some interesting observations to make about business in the cloud. This post is no exception as he takes a look at a recent report from CSC, a leading business solution company, about why companies choose to move some of their business to cloud computing." - Rick Blaisdell, RicksCloud.com Read More...

Security Manager's Journal: BYOD Planning Gets a Big Boost

"We're making big strides toward our CIO's goal of enabling a 'bring your own device' BYOD policy. For me, it's none too soon. That's because employees are increasingly finding ways to connect their own Macs, tablet PCs and other mobile devices to our internal corporate environment, both from within the office and remotely." - Mathias Thurman, ComputerWorld Read More...

Desktop Virtualization Use Cases: Education

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 12:00:00 EST

Guest blog by Equinix's Ephraim Baron

There is perhaps no better use case for virtualized desktops than education.

Computers have become as much a part of today’s classroom as textbooks. Students use computers to receive and work on assignments, to take notes, to research and share information, and to socialize. Schools find themselves forced to provide support for a myriad of operating systems and often for devices, as well. The challenge and cost of procuring, configuring, and supporting student computing can be huge.

Desktop virtualization combined with a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) consumption model is a great fit for education.

By offering Desktops as a Service (DaaS) to their students, schools can reduce cost and complexity while delivering significant enhancements to the learning experience. Rather than the school providing a system, with DaaS students are assigned a desktop virtual machine (dVM) that they connect to over the network.

While this looks similar in many respects to current web-based education portals, it is significantly more powerful.

The virtual machines can be imaged with the specific applications needed to support the classes they are taking while avoiding licensing and support costs of unnecessary applications. The target virtual machine is locked down – no administrative access, no extra storage for non-school files – and optimized for capacity and performance.

Additional security and data loss prevention (DLP) utilities can be layered in to greatly reduce exposure to malware and to prevent unapproved types of data transfers. Unneeded ports and protocols are blocked and stay blocked.

Most students already have one or more computers, tablets, or smartphones they can use to connect to their dVM. If something happens to their primary device such as loss, infection, or hardware failure, they simply need to find an alternate device.

Schools can still provide “computer commons” rooms for general use, but the systems may be either older, low-performance machines or thin/zero client terminals since they are only used for basic I/O and display traffic. Additionally, use of physical facilities is often limited due to staffing limitations. Virtual desktops do not have these restrictions, so dVMs allow learners to work from home or their dorm rooms at times that better suit the student.

Multiple Consumption Models

There are multiple consumption models for desktop virtualization in education.

A school may choose to offer dVMs that are tuned for the specific needs of a course or major. These would exist only for the duration of a class.

With this model, a student might be assigned multiple dVMs at the same time. Alternatively, students may be assigned a logon when they first matriculate that stays with them as long as they remain enrolled. The school could offer dedicated dVMs that are assigned to a specific student and that retain the user’s settings and data. Or they may choose a pooled model where students get a new dVM each time they log in. With both arrangements, students will need to be assigned space on a network file share to store their work.

Additional services can be added to enhance a school’s desktop virtualization offering. Examples include:

data backup against accidental or malicious loss
collaboration services for group projects
video connectivity for remote or disabled students
print services to central and/or commercial print shops
support of multiple languages
third-party support services

Standardization

Standardization of the client platform also allows software companies that serve the education market to move to the cloud more quickly. Instead of having to design for a wide range of client environments and access devices, these companies can optimize their offerings to a common platform. So while users will still have their choice of client, software vendors will not need to update their code every time a new device or operating system is introduced.

People have long recognized the potential of the computer to enhance education. Undoubtedly, much of this promise has been realized. But numerous challenges have lessened or muted many of these gains. The difficulty in delivering content on multiple platforms (Windows vs MacOS vs Linux) and devices (desktop, laptop, tablet, mobile) strains even the best school IT departments. Desktop virtualization directly addresses these challenges. It provides anywhere access on any device, giving greater flexibility to users and reducing the administrative and support burden on schools.

Beyond the App Store: iPads in the Enterprise

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 12:00:00 EST

Every couple weeks we like to highlight blog posts and articles about our industry that we find interesting. Here are some VDI, BYOD, and virtual desktop articles that we thought you might enjoy:

Beyond the App Store: iPads in the Enterprise

"The initial wave of desktop virtualization initiatives focused on traditional PCs and laptops, as well as desktop and mobile thin clients. Now, many enterprises are extending their virtual desktop environment to include tablets and smartphones as well. CXO Magazine calls this embrace of mobile devices one of the top current desktop virtualization trends." - Cindy Humphrey, CentruryLink Business Read More...

Is the Hosted Virtual Desktop the Way of the Future?

"The questions that you need to ask when looking into a hosted desktop solution are more aligned with the user requirements than the actual virtual desktop environment itself. Is a hosted virtual desktop a good fit for a call center environment – absolutely! Financial services – absolutely! Government and Education – yes! Healthcare – yes! Executives – yes! Developers – maybe. Road warriors – maybe." - Joey Widener, AT&T Read More...

Virtual Desktops are Said to Save Money

"It's a very cost effective solution for managing desktops. There are around 3,500 desktops that we manage around campus now, and we could manage all of those through a single cloud device...We are so overwhelmed with servicing the amount of actual desktops on campus, and we can't afford to hire staff to manage them all." - Jessica Gerlich, Purdue University Calumet Read More...

The Why of VDI - Use Cases

"A virtual desktop architecture is an administrator’s dream – providing increased control, dependability, and security when compared to traditional desktops. Now the entire company can be updated, for example, from Office 2003 to Office 2010 without upgrading or even touching any individual desktops." Morgan Hamilton, By the Bell Read More...

Consumerization of IT Continues: HP Bringing Back the Tablet?

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 12:00:00 EST

For those of you not following the ongoing saga of HP tablets, there was another announcement last night about a short term availability of HP tablets beginning at 7pm ET. I thought that $99 for a tablet was too good to pass up and logged into eBay at 6:58pm or so ... ready to snap one up for myself.

At 7:02pm, I refreshed the page, found the device and clicked on the "Buy Now" option. From there, it was all downhill. The site began to crawl and each click was taking minutes to return. When I got to the payment page, it told me I had to add my phone number to my address in order for the shipping to complete. This was supposed to be as easy as clicking my address, choosing "Change" and then "edit". Those two clicks were enough to do me in. Fifteen minutes later, it was evident that something had happened. I wasn't getting that tablet. EBay had hit a wall.

From the news today, it sounds like the response was so overwhelmingly positive to the price point, that HP may even bring the tablet back. What does that tell me? People want consumer devices - especially at the $100 and $200 price point.

Looking at my own use case though, it doesn't even make sense for me to buy a tablet. I already have two. Why would I want one more? Part of this is that I am a bit of a tech junky, but it also shows the innate desire to go mobile - a mobile tablet for everyone in my house. If Windows realized the demand at the consumer level for individual devices, it might cause them to change their mind on Microsoft client OS licensing. If the corporation recognized the demand from the consumer to go mobile, it might cause them to reconsider the corporate desktop as just another app on the client device.

What do you think?

Sutter Health – Latest Data Breach Victim Could Have Been Saved by a Virtual Desktop

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 12:00:00 EST

Lately there seems to be a torrent of data breaches by companies who have “lost”, “misplaced” or “left unprotected” what was assumed by trusting patrons, patients, student, or citizens, to be secure data. This has been most pronounced in the healthcare industry. The latest victim: Sutter East Bay Medical Foundation in Albany California. Just this past Wednesday, Sutter Health reported that “a desktop containing data for 4.24 million patients was stolen from its headquarters in Sacramento. The stolen computer had no encryption software and contained names, addresses, dates of birth, phone numbers, email addresses, medical diagnoses, procedures, record numbers and health insurers information. Yes, that was 4.24 MILLION patient records from two hospitals and 19 medical facilities.

I think you can imagine the PR mess, legal backlash and costs Sutter Health will be scrambling to address as they notifying millions that their data is unaccounted for; in whose hands? No one knows. This is exactly the type of data that hackers and thieves utilize for phishing schemes to obtain bank account information and social security numbers. In this digital era where our lives are played out online, we’ve almost become numb to data breaches and stolen data. No longer is the question if this could happen, but what can we do to prevent it? Therefore, it’s shocking to see that despite the money being spent on data security, there seems to be a serious hole in IT’s ability to securely close the loop hole on stolen devices and data loss from the end point.

TheInfoPro (a division of the analyst and data company The 451 Group) recently released their Bi-Annual Study of the Global 2000, reporting a 39% increase in security spending in 2011 over 2010 with high profile breaches and mobile devices being the key spending drivers. That increase is projected to carry through into 2012. So, where will all that money be spent? No doubt in a variety of areas including anti-virus, application-aware firewalls, penetration testing and encryption. But, what about securing the device itself? Most organizations will try to tackle end point security by attempting to lock down the environment and devices their users can use to access corporate data. Unfortunately, Consumerization of IT has changed this game. No longer can IT expect users are just using the one locked down device

There is a different approach to consider when looking at your end point security. Stolen laptops do not have to equate with PR nightmares, data breaches, and loss of corporate valuation. Enter – Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) and Desktops as a Service (DaaS). With a hosted virtual desktop, there’s no fear of stolen devices releasing sensitive data into the great unknown because the end point (i.e. laptop) is just that, an end point. No data lives on the device, instead the device is merely delivering the corporate desktop within a secure window. No data is exchanged between the corporate desktop and the end-point (be it laptop, mobile device, iPad, PC, etc.,), and a two factor authentication between the end-point and virtual desktop provides a solid and secure barrier from hacker access, untrusted devices accessing the corporate network, and the inevitable lost / stolen device scenarios. The only communications between the end point device and the data center are keystrokes and mouse data in one direction and screen updates in the other - and these are encrypted with the strongest levels of encryption. In fact, with a hosted desktop, there’s even the option for a fully network-segregated solution within your own “tenant” and the option to host in your own data center if you prefer, thereby making all of the corporate security features inherited within your firewall, active directory, controls, etc.

The list of enhanced security features delivered with hosted virtual desktops is extensive:

-Data kept secure from laptop/device theft or loss

-Intellectual Property (IP) secure when third party or offshore teams are leveraged

-Secure access from insecure networks

-Data Secure from “thumb drive” theft

-PC remains inside corporate network

-Supports two factor authentication

-Ability to lock out email and internet

Sutter Health recently expressed regret for the breach ensuring a breach like this will never happen again, but really, with data on end point devices, how can anyone be so assuring? We’d love to chat with Sutter Health CEO, Patrick Fry about DaaS and how he can truly ensure patients that their data will never again be accessible as a result of theft or loss. Patrick we offer you the DaaS challenge, and promise you secure data, call us!