Managed Service Providers are looking for ways to deliver managed application services to their customers at scale. Many of those MSPs find it challenging to do so by way of virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), finding it costly and too difficult to manage. This week, a company called Cameyo launched a solution that makes it possible for MSPs to deliver any Windows applications to any device virtually without having to go onsite and install apps, enabling them to more profitably scale these services globally while managing everything from a single dashboard.
To find out more, VMblog spoke with Andrew Miller, Co-Founder & CEO of Cameyo.
VMblog: Can you start by giving us a general overview of
what Cameyo does?
Andrew Miller: Cameyo is a cloud-native virtual
application delivery platform that enables the secure delivery of Windows
desktop applications to any device from any browser. As organizations pursue Digital Transformation,
they hit a common roadblock during their shift to the cloud - the inability to
deliver their legacy Windows applications from the cloud.
For organizations moving to the cloud, that's a showstopper.
They still need to provide their people with access to the critical legacy
Windows applications that they need to stay productive - even if those apps
haven't been web-enabled - so that business continues to move forward.
Previously, application delivery was done with Virtual Desktop Infrastructure
(VDI) and Desktop as a Service (DaaS) products, but those approaches are far
too costly and complex for most organizations when it comes to providing access
to applications on any device. Cameyo
solves this issue by providing everyone with seamless access to any Windows
applications on any device, from any HTML5 browser. It's also the
only built-for-the-cloud platform that runs in any customer environment - cloud,
multi-cloud, hybrid, or on-premises.
VMblog: In addition to helping enterprises deliver Windows
apps to their people, you also work with software vendors as well, right?
Miller: That's right - we also enable independent
software vendors (ISVs) to help them web enable their applications without any
redevelopment. For the thousands of ISVs who still have desktop-installed
software, they know that their customers would prefer to access their software
as a SaaS offering. But the time and cost of redevelopment - usually 12-18
months and millions of dollars - simply isn't feasible for many ISVs.
With Cameyo, ISVs
can upload their software to Cameyo and within minutes they can provide their
customers with access to the full desktop version of the software, all from the
browser, with zero redevelopment. In addition to being the easiest way to give
customers access to their software from the cloud, Cameyo also helps ISVs automate the sales process by
giving customers instant access to free trials from their sites - with no
installation required. Cameyo's Automated Trial Service has been proven to
increase engagement rates while lowering sales and marketing costs. By not
making your customers install your software for a trial, you save them time and
reduce friction, while also saving your budget by converting customers more
quickly.
VMblog: This week you announced a new product - Cameyo for
MSPs. Tell us a bit more about that.
Miller: Cameyo for MSPs
is a new version of the Cameyo platform built specifically for the MSP
community to help them build more profitable and scalable application delivery
practices for their customers. The new platform makes it possible for MSPs to
deliver any Windows applications to any device virtually without having to go
onsite and install apps, enabling them to more profitably scale these services
globally while managing everything from a single dashboard.
VMblog: And why does this matter to an MSP's business?
Miller: Businesses rely on their MSP partners
to help them reduce the cost and complexity of running their business. Cameyo for
MSPs helps MSPs deliver profitable and scalable virtual application delivery
services while eliminating the complexity and security issues of VDI, which
helps them deliver more reliable, secure services to their customers at a
fraction of the price.
VMblog: You mentioned issues with VDI when it comes to
application delivery. Can you expand?
Miller: To
successfully compete, MSPs must maximize services while reducing their costs to
provide their customers with the best possible solutions at the lowest price.
Prior to Cameyo for MSPs, the channel and MSPs had two options if their
customers needed access to Windows desktop applications on any device.
The
first option was to use expensive and complex VDI or DaaS products. These
products are notoriously hard to implement, are expensive, and are overkill if
you just need to run Windows applications to any device and don't need a full
virtual desktop. The second option was to manage each PC individually, which
meant using complex and unreliable scripting or physically going to each device
and updating it with the latest version of the Windows application. Both
options are untenable from a cost and management perspective, eating into
already tight margins the MSPs rely on for profitability. In addition, many of
the partner programs offered by the VDI and DaaS vendors are complex and
confusing.
VMblog: Do you have an example
of why a customer would select Cameyo over traditional VDI products?
Miller: Consider one of our first MSP
partners, XPERTEK. Here's what they had to say about why Cameyo is better for
their customers than VDI:
"Cameyo lets our clients grow
at their own pace. They're able to quickly adapt to changes in their business
by increasing and reducing headcount, capacity, and resources without needing
to pay the large upfront cost of new infrastructure or be burdened by
maintaining hardware they no longer fully utilize," said Daniel Goodpasture of
XPERTEK IT. "With Cameyo, our SMB customers can enjoy the benefits of VDI
without needing to invest in infrastructure that doesn't make sense for their
scale or budgets. It lets them put their money to use in the most efficient way
possible."
VMblog: What is the pricing
like, and how does that compare to competing products?
Miller: With Cameyo for MSPs, we have
introduced a new Service
Provider License Agreement (SPLA) model for MSPs, which has only a single SKU.
Pricing is based on a per-user, per-month basis beginning at $10 per user, per
month - but can go as low as $1 per user, per month based on volume discounts.
The SPLA pricing model gives MSPs the
flexibility they need to quickly add and delete users and to spin up
infrastructure only as needed - all while ensuring that they are only billed
for the number of users who actually access the service each month. This eliminates
the confusion and high cost of VDI licensing issues, enabling MSPs to deliver a
better, more secure solution with a significantly lower cost per user - while also
getting rid of bill shock forever.
VMblog: And if you were to sum up the key benefits of Cameyo for
MSPs, what would those be?
Miller: Cameyo
for MSPs helps MSPs differentiate themselves in several ways.
First,
it significantly lowers the cost of delivering Windows applications to any
device from the browser. This gives MSPs the ability to offer the service at a
lower price point to their customers while increasing margins.
Second,
Cameyo for MSPs provides MSPs the ability to manage all of their customers from
a single Cameyo administrative portal. MSPs can easily manage users and
instantly provide updates to applications their customers are using without the
need to go on-site to update customer PCs manually.
Third,
MSPs can utilize Cameyo for MSPs to help their customers save on infrastructure
costs. Because these customers are now running their Windows applications from
the browser, they now have the option to purchase less expensive Chromebooks,
tablets, Linux devices, etc. if they so choose.
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