Remote work is the need of the hour to stop the spread of the coronavirus. People must stay indoors and limit their outdoor exposure.
A study from Gartner reveals that 74% of organizations are willing to work remotely to some extent even after the COVID-19 pandemic permanently.
While remote work is a prominent trend in the IT industry as well, the workforce here demands unconventional tools and cutting-edge technologies for data access. In this way, the IT industry nurtures and retains its employees differently. During the pandemic, where every company accepted the new normal, the IT industry needs for more.
Virtual Desktop Hosting (VDH) is a viable, flexible, and agile method for fulfilling all these requirements – it is the ‘more’ we need. These hosted desktops create a technique for data and application access via multiple devices, such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, etc., using the Internet.
Let’s understand how it is becoming the new normal of the IT industry.
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Evolution in Technology
Traditionally, the IT industry has used Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) to access the resources without challenges centrally. However, setting up VDI and maintenance of the infrastructure prove costly and taxing for the organization. For this reason, Virtual Desktop Hosting has emerged as a viable solution.
With Virtual Desktop Hosting, companies have the power to define configurations. If you want your developers to use some apps and other employees to have different apps, modify configurations based on business requirements.
A few years back, updating or deploying application changes to various virtual desktops or desktop images meant achieving these modifications several times. Now, you can utilize Virtual Desktop Hosting in a hassle-free manner because the application layer has matured over the years.
For example, you can create one desktop image with different applications and modify access permissions to these applications with user access control.
Why Virtual Desktop Hosting is Popular?
The pandemic has changed how we work, socialize, and communicate-VDH is becoming the new norm. It is streamlining communication, productivity, and operational efficiency.
1. Hassle-Free Setup
Virtual Desktop Hosting requires minimum setup, which means you can start storing data on the cloud immediately. The setup is usually offered as an out-of-the-box and managed solution. Your Cloud Hosting Provider ensures quick data migration and virtual desktop setup. The time that you need to spend in this architecture is only for access control and multi-factor authentication or credentials.
2. Lower Total Cost of Ownership
A crucial benefit of VDH is the total cost of ownership. In VDI setups, from hardware to upgrades and maintenance, costs incurred are added to the company’s expense. In VDH, the situation is different due to minimal capital expenditure as everything is hosted on the cloud. The hardware and software required for the infrastructure are already maintained at CSP’s end. As a service acquirer, IT companies need to pay a nominal subscription fee for the managed service, and the service provider handles everything else.
Further, being in IT, it is simpler for your team to set up access control and credentials for data privacy. So, no additional charges are involved for the setup.
3. Easy Upgrade and Maintenance
When hosted on-premise, it is an inconvenience to maintain and upgrade hardware units and software licenses. While that is totally achievable, the time required is just too much.
With Virtual Desktop Hosting, the CSP manages updates, security, and patches. This reduces your efforts to manage the IT infrastructure. Your IT team only needs to upkeep the company desktops, and the VDH provider handles other upgrades.
4. Security and Privacy
A valuable benefit of VDH is security and data privacy. Since VDH is a managed service, the CSP manages security and data privacy. They have a secure infrastructure, and the security of physical servers is also maintained. Similarly, other security measures secure your data from intrusions.
- Intrusion detection and prevention to monitor and control intrusions on virtual desktops or cloud instances.
- Multi-factor authentication to ensure secure access to virtual desktops via external firewalls.
- Access control using internal firewalls to eliminate unauthorized access to confidential data files and certain applications.
- Data privacy as no data is stored on the endpoint. The endpoint just accesses a virtual instance of the desktop via the Internet and a browser. If the device is stolen, you can change the credentials immediately to secure data.
- Data and server redundancy to recover data from backup images in case of disasters. For example, accidental deletion of data.
5. Flexible Work Culture
With VDH, your employees are no longer confined to one desk. The entire workforce is remote and mobile. This means you can easily implement a flexible work culture, which employees appreciate today. There’s no hassle of VPNs or risky data access from unauthorized endpoints.
6. Seamless User Experience
Although IT employees rarely find it difficult to access any technology or tools, VDH is similar. Virtual desktops are like office desktops, so the experience is seamless. Every employee can utilize their virtual desktops, similar to office desktops only. Therefore, even non-IT employees can adjust to the environment quickly.
7. Enhanced Productivity
VDH can boost business productivity. Employees can access their virtual desktops on any device, such as their smartphones. This means that they can cater to client demands on the go. For example, if the client needs to know some details, you can offer assistance immediately. It is as simple as opening your browser, logging in to your desktop, and checking your data.
Another factor that contributes to higher productivity is uptime. You don’t need to waste productive time because your virtual desktop isn’t accessible. Most cloud service providers offer at least 99.99% uptime, which means minimal downtime in a month.
Summary
As offices resume, a substantial percentage of employees would still work from home, and many will be portable workers. Naturally, IT companies may require proper architecture to cater to the industry requirements.
Virtual Desktop Hosting allows engineers and other IT professionals to utilize a customized and efficient virtual environment. Thus, there’s no doubt Virtual Desktop Hosting is becoming the new norm in the IT industry.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Yuvraj Jain is a technology analyst at ACE Cloud Hosting, that has one of the best DaaS pricing in the industry. He is keen to write about the latest tech trends and is fond of exploring VDI technology, DaaS, hosted virtual desktop, and cloud hosting services. In his free time, he likes to read blogs and books related to life.
