Top Five Reasons To Adopt Virtual Desktop Solutions for Every Size Business

Virtual Desktop Solutions for Every size business

VDI involves facilitating access to a user desktop in a virtual machine (VM) that runs on a remote server. This technology stores desktop workloads in the VM so that users can interact with the OS through a remote display protocol.

All users need is a reliable network connection to access virtual desktops and applications from any device. Examples include smartphones, tablets, Thin Clients and Zero Clients. Now, customizable solutions like those which ClearCube offers deliver great user experience. Firstly, they allow IT to host and oversee VMs in the data center without any hassle. At the same time, they make sure that end users enjoy a PC-like experience. So, effective virtualization fulfills every possible use case in the workplace.

Here’s another example. Companies prefer a single vendor solution that comes with desktop to data center accountability. Our team developed the SmartVDI Host Platform to deliver just that by focusing on IT completeness. It supports our Blade PCs, Zero Clients and Sentral Console in virtualization and CVDI projects. All this helps you shift from a standard PC setup to the world of virtual desktops in the easiest possible way.

In fact, this is exactly what one should expect when moving to virtual desktop computing from a traditional desktop environment. It allows you to leverage the power of simplicity and manageability while managing graphics-intensive applications. All this takes place while ensuring a localized experience.

Let’s look at the latest edition of Technavio’s Global Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Market report. Research experts expect VDI to show promising growth across the global market. They also forecast its market to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 11% by 2020.  

Next, we shall examine why moving to virtualization is the best decision you can ever make for long-term IT success.

Effective Desktop Management

Managing multiple PCs is a complex and time-consuming process. Standard PC hardware also makes it difficult to modify desktop configurations based on end-user demands. This calls for change in the digital age. The reason is companies need on-demand real-time access to virtual desktops to support remote users and customers.

Why is this so? The truth is: VDI offers scalability and performance benefits for proactive desktop management which legacy systems cannot. Let’s consider an example.

Virtualization technology eliminates the need to depend on a Windows kernel to organize multi-user sessions. Every code which runs in Windows kernel mode has the same virtual address space. So, the kernel driver is not separated from the operating system or other drivers. What happens when the kernel-mode driver stops working or mistakenly writes to an incorrect virtual address? Users lose data that is secured in those drivers and the OS.

VDI mitigates these risks by allowing user sessions to draw on resources across multiple servers. This boosts scalability, stability and performance in places where productivity is always key. You can also repurpose and modernize existing desktops through the technology’s fast speed and shared storage features. Go for solutions that are custom-built for space savings and high density and support enterprise IT systems. They drive high performance, streamline data center footprint and exceed what standard PCs can do for you.

A centralized desktop management system enables you to easily monitor multiple desktops and control which applications are used and installed. This leads to two major benefits. Firstly, it helps adhere to company privacy policy. Secondly, IT can choose the right application delivery configurations for virtual desktops.

In a nutshell, you get to:

Reduce IT pain and costs as you can manage every workstation from a central location. This leaves you with more time to plan and prepare resources for other business strategies.

IT Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity

Planning ahead for disaster recovery and business continuity requires you to assess many factors in securing sensitive data. This is because technical and natural disasters can bring all operations to a complete halt. So, you should come up with a plan to achieve around-the-clock data and application availability in all cases.

In a distributed PC setting, system failures often lead to extended user downtime. What’s more, IT must analyze the source before they could troubleshoot and fix the issue. This is all the more problematic as downtime can expand into days or months, especially in remote areas.

So, the benefit of going the VDI route is that individual devices and PCs do not store data. Instead, powerful servers host the IT setup. They rapidly transfer workloads to a dedicated VM in case of application glitches and hardware failure or other disruptions. This not only isolates user data from desktops. IT can easily access and backup data that remains secure in a separate centrally managed location.

Cloud computing solutions are also useful business continuity tools for cloud-based virtual desktops and applications. They accurately scale up capacity in case of disasters. This reduces the time and resources which you would otherwise spend on replicating systems to offer ongoing business support. What’s more, these resources normally remain idle or are underutilized during regular operations.

All in all, VDI delivers near-zero downtime. It shifts users to virtual desktops which are never lost and can be easily accessed from disaster recovery sites.

Security

Companies need to stay agile and adopt a holistic approach to security. In essence, VDI adoption is on the rise as its solutions meet enterprise-level security mandates. Let’s look at an example.

As we know, this platform promotes centralized desktop management and builds a workplace revolving around regulatory compliance. Now, consider the security concerns of BYOD programs. The good thing is that they promote mobility. Even then, the risk of allowing staff to access data and applications through personal devices may lead to data breach attempts.

VDI delivers a unified point of desktop security. This is where IT has full visibility into places where internal sources may access data. As a whole, it enables you to act quickly by limiting access to network resources when needed. Endpoint technologies like Thin Clients and Zero Clients that support virtualized environments also offer comprehensive security. Thin Client solutions typically come with minimal software configurations, and the safest approach is to use the proprietary firmware that has an unpublished API. Also, Windows and Linux are two common software options you can consider. Both integrate high security because of the low attack surface and the nature of virtualized technology itself. Or, you can opt for a Zero Client that represents the most secure endpoint device as it has no OS or firmware.

You can also use monitoring tools that help IT departments analyze every component to attain visibility into all layers of the VDI stack and effectively secure virtual desktops. The ideal tool provides both granular and high-level views of an enterprise’s infrastructure, including access to important resources and network activity. This allows administrators to identify potential security vulnerabilities and threats before they materialize. The ability to track compliance and privacy issues ensures that a business meets applicable regulations and internal policies.

Promotes Efficiency and Productivity

You must constantly revamp IT systems quality to timely meet KPIs and facilitate users, especially those who work remotely. For example, integrate VDI into all flash storage solutions to roll out multiple desktops within a few minutes. This drives low latency and high-performance sessions at a minimum carbon footprint.

Your remote staff can also login from anywhere without having to deal with complex hardware connections and configurations. Virtual Display Manager is useful in this case. With it, IT can allocate multi-monitor systems to boost on-the-go user productivity as this solution supports remote connections. Users can scale the virtual display layouts to match their needs and this platform facilitates multiple physical monitors. The resulting benefits include increased efficiency and ease of remote support.

Resource Controls and Business Agility

It all comes down to how well you map resources to cater to different workloads. The question is: are you scaling resource capacity based on user needs?

VDI makes it easier to assign tasks to match resources. Streamlining resource controls allows you to adapt quickly to changing user demands, boost performance and achieve dynamic scalability. This improves process flows and delivers actionable insights on resource stacks for optimized allocation. In this way, the management can define and set better SOPs for high performance.

Also, easily integrate new users into the workplace by cloning desktops from the centralized server. IT teams can then quickly provision from the principal VM whenever extra desktops are needed. They can complete the process just in time for users to sign in and begin working instantly. This reduces the number of any spare machines you may need to prepare and provide desktops.

Closing Thoughts

Virtualization solutions promote modern data center developments with optimization standards that drive maximum productivity at a lower TCO. Get in touch with a ClearCube expert for more details on how you can benefit from desktop virtualization.