May Newsletter: Products
Cloud Desktops – Desktop-as-a-Service
A cloud service that is starting to gain momentum in the partner realm is the cloud desktop or “Desktop as a Service”. DaaS has been around for a few years, but lack of understanding around the technicals and value proposition have caused a slower uptake than IaaS and SaaS. Now, things are heating up and we can help with DaaS. All TekEfficient desktops are served from the cloud! We chose cloud desktops for the support/management efficiency, reduced costs, centralized/secured data, and secure desktop access from any mobile device. But there’s more.
What Is a Cloud Desktop?
Cloud desktops or “desktop as a service” is basically like plugging any Internet enabled device into a giant, invisible data center filled with servers, storage, security, and networking gear and voila – you have your corporate desktop at your fingertips.
Simply log-in to the cloud desktop using a dialog box like you normally would at boot-up, and seamlessly your desktop is there – Windows or Mac – just like it always is.
The differences are huge. All of the storage is coming from the cloud data center. So, your local spinning disk or SSD drive is not the primary source for storing data. Instead, every time you or your employee saves a file, it is on secure, corporate-controlled cloud storage.
Same with CPU and memory. Instead of your DDR memory sticks driving laptop performance, you are being powered by the server resources from the cloud data center – which can be an incredible upgrade in performance depending on the cloud provider you choose!
So, What’s the Big Deal?
One of the biggest benefits is the increase in desktop support or management efficiency.
Instead of having to manage 100 individual laptops and push out updates, upgrades, patches, etc. one-by-one-by-one-by…you get the point, desktop support manages to what is called a “master image” that automatically updates each desktop with that configuration at next login!
That is a 100 to 1 efficiency gain!
Think about how fast IT can spin up a new workstation. Create user/desktop. Copy master image. Done.
As soon as the employee logs in, they are now on their shiny new cloud desktop. This makes on-boarding new employees or even contractors easy and secure as all of the corporate specs have been thoroughly reviewed, vetted, and tested well before the new employee has come along.
If an employee leaves or is asked to leave, securing their files from potential “mass deletion” or theft is easy as you can lock them out with a few clicks from anywhere in the world.
Having issues with the desktop? Simply blow away the corrupt image and spin up a new one in a snap. No more hours of painstaking troubleshooting of the local machine.
Next Benefit: enables bring-your-own-device (BYOD) and secure, mobile device interaction with corporate assets.
Remember, since the cloud desktop is accessed via secure Internet/network connection and it is using cloud resources, it doesn’t matter what machine/device you are using as long as their is a connection!
Plus: it reduces costs, enables the use of thin or zero clients instead of costly desktop machines, has full resolution output to monitors, supports USB is you allow it, and can be configured to allow/disallow the ad hoc installation of applications from the user according to your policies. And, most DaaS providers will be able to provide you with Office Suite, antivirus and the standard software you need on the cloud desktops…if you don’t do that yourself.
How Do I Sell Them? What Is the Sales Opportunity?
The sales opportunity can be enormous depending on your target. With the cheaper, basic, commodity cloud desktops running around $40/month per user, if you sell a 50 person company, you are talking $2,000 per month before adding any software, service, support, etc.
Sell a 1,000 employee company, make that $40,000 per month!
We can help you with the technicals of DaaS when you get a fish on the line. Our recommendation is to look for companies or needs like the following:
- Companies nearing a desktop refresh milestone
- Companies with multiple branches/locations who could benefit from centralization
- Call centers, computer labs, and companies with numerous “same” computers for efficiency gains
- Companies with large amounts of temporary workers/contractors for fast spin up/spin down
- Retail companies with numerous franchises, store locations benefitting from centralization, security
- Universities with classrooms filled with common desktops
- Virtual companies with decentralized workforce in home offices
- Companies who have experienced data theft, desktop issues with terminated employees
- Companies with overworked desktop support teams
Feel free to contact TekEfficient to learn more or to take us along on a sales call to get your feet wet with this exciting new cloud service!