Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) has become the preferred remote virtual desktop solution because of how cost-effective it is for businesses of ALL sizes.

What is cost-effective?

A service or a product that is cost-effective is meeting all the specifications of the customer, at a price that is satisfactory to them or lower than what they can afford to invest in.

Why is DaaS different?

Desktop-as-a-Service has been a real breakthrough for many businesses and IT employees globally ever since it was first introduced to the marketplace. This remote desktop virtualization solution relies on cloud computing technology and it’s referred to as cloud-hosted virtual desktop.

What actually made DaaS stand out from other virtualization technologies was the reduced cost of the service and the improved automation that customers were receiving. Managed service providers for DaaS like we-IT created a cost-effective alternative for many businesses around the world. Generally speaking, the possibility to outsource the architecture and the maintenance of a desktop virtualization technology from third-party providers- changed the game for thousands of businesses globally, helping them operate remotely, scale up and become a lot more flexible overall.

In perspective

Stating that a solution is cost-effective, does not signify the tangible benefits a business can actually experience. According to a recent statistic by the IDC Whitepaper, companies globally can benefit from a net reduction of over 56% in capital expenditures from expensive remote desktop virtualization technologies. Saving with DaaS is not only attributed to the cost related to the IT infrastructure. Desktop-as-a-Service helps businesses save from operational expenses to keep IT teams, in-house, occupied with functional issues on user desktops, or maintaining the actual server architecture.

What if we compare DaaS to VDI?

You have probably heard a lot about DaaS’ predecessor – known as Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI). These two technologies are close competitors on the market for functionality and scalability. However, in terms of cost-effectiveness, DaaS has no real competition, as it proves to be much more affordable for businesses of all sizes and limited budget capabilities.

Short price comparison

In order to understand closely what we were saying about DaaS being the more cost-effective virtualization technology, we are comparing some price estimates from customer experience with both Desktop-as-a-Service and VDI. Earlier, we were referring to capital expenditures on hardware infrastructure as being a major downside to VDI. In real numbers. server technology and its full set-up on-premises could cost a company over $120,000. This is only where it begins with virtual desktop infrastructure! Once you set up your own data center, you will need to spare about the same amount on software purchases and the respective licensing fees. What makes VDI even less cost-effective as a solution is the resources – required for keeping in IT staff – which could account for nearly $200,000 per year. Experts with these technologies are certainly needed to support and maintain the costly architecture up to the highest standards so that there are no gaps in security or a lack of service availability.

In this comparison, we must also mention the costs for keeping operational premises all year long, where your desktop technology will be based and conditioned. Keeping an office space that meets the energy requirements of a server station is not an insignificant commitment. Neither are the monthly charges for heating and cooling systems to keep your architecture intact and fully functional at all times.

Compared to VDI, DaaS is more effective because it takes away all these initial costs for businesses, but also the following operational expenses which come on a regular basis. Instead, Desktop-as-a-Service is offered to clients on a month-by-month subscription model of payment which only requires companies to pay per desktop storage space used and by the number of tenants using a workstation. These conditions vary between different providers, so it’s important to check the price offerings in advance and make the most cost-effective DaaS choice for your business. Hereby, it’s also important to point out that the more affordable solution is also very scalable, allowing companies to add and remove desktop accounts in their subscription on demand.

DaaS Versus traditional desktops

Purchasing and providing PCs or laptops to their employees is what plenty of companies do around the world. In that case, virtual technology to deploy the desktop environment to the physical devices of employees is not needed. This could seem like a cost-effective solution for a short space of time, but you may want to think twice before you decide to go down that road. Using endpoint devices which store company data if they are lacking the appropriate monitoring could have a worryingly negative impact on your information security. In terms of affability, buying a big fleet of laptops that meet your specifications, and come at a good price, is also not guaranteeing you a cost-effective resolution for figuring out your desktop environment. Maintenance, servicing, patching, and other recurring expenses make traditional desktops a far bigger investment than a lot of people may seem to think.

All in all

In this article, we made compared DaaS to VDI and traditional desktops, to come to a conclusion that multi-tenant cloud desktops are the best alternative to businesses, promising them zero commitment, no upfront capital costs, and better functionality altogether.

we-IT is part of a big community of Managed Service Providers (MSP) that take our work with seriousness and responsibility to all businesses that look for cost-effective alternatives and ones that choose to rely on innovative cloud-computing technologies such as DaaS for their remote operations.