This article was originally published on the PlanetOne blog here.
There is plenty of convincing evidence that organizations are fully recognizing and acting upon the competitive advantages that come with cloud – cloud is not losing momentum and cloud has staying power. One segment of cloud services, in particular, is positioned to experience significant growth and that is the global virtual desktop market, which is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 11% through 2021 (Technavio).
When discussing the virtual desktop space, it’s important to first clarify the difference between Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) and Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS). As a general term, VDI simply refers to a category of technology where a desktop’s computing infrastructure sits on the user’s premises. DaaS, on the other hand, is a particular type of cloud computing that fits under the VDI umbrella. In the case of DaaS, virtualized desktops are provided by a cloud service provider via multi-tenant infrastructure that resides off-premises. While this technology has been part of the enterprise space for years, the mid-market and SMBs are now seeing that DaaS has pivotal benefits to their businesses. Why?
- Users have the flexibility of choosing the ideal time, place and device for their work
- DaaS helps protect confidential information while meeting privacy, compliance and risk management standards
- Workers get uninterrupted remote access to their desktops and apps during any sort of outage or disaster
- Businesses can reduce capital costs in equipment and extend their existing investments in client access hardware
- Businesses can attract and retain the best people regardless of geographic location
Alternative workplace strategies, such as those powered by virtual desktops, are transforming the way people and organizations do business.
Recently, Gartner released a report on IT Market Clock for Hybrid Infrastructure Services. In this report, Gartner found that colocation and managed hosting are nearing end of life, while DaaS, DRaaS and managed mobility services occupy the top-right quadrant and are poised for massive growth over the next two to five years, as illustrated here.
There is no doubt about it: the opportunity for DaaS is significant and sales partners aligned with DaaS-focused cloud providers are squarely positioned for success. As more and more businesses adopt DaaS we are bound to see a huge transformation in how business is conducted.
RapidScale has been a leader in the virtual desktop space since our company’s inception in 2008. We had the insight early on to realize the value proposition afforded by virtual desktops, and it’s been a pinnacle of our focus ever since. Earlier this year, in fact, we were recognized by Citrix as Top Innovator for Enablement and Growth in 2016. Do you have a customer you think may benefit from a virtualized desktop solution? Reach out to us here!
Written by Sommer Figone, Marketing Manager
Sommer Figone is based in Irvine, California and her role is focused on Channel marketing and supporting RapidScale’s vision of creating the best partner and client experience. Sommer has been with RapidScale for over four years.For more from her, follow along on LinkedIn and Twitter!
