Hosted Virtual Desktop is a form of desktop virtualization in which desktop environments are hosted on a central server. This technology allows for several desktop images to run within a virtual machine. The images are then delivered to the end-user via a network. The endpoints could be devices like PCs, tablets, smartphones, or thin client terminals.
Advantages of Virtual Desktop:
Centralized, simplified management: One of the biggest advantages is that everything is essentially managed in a central location. This means end-users are not required to hand over their devices and wait for updates to be installed. Instead, new versions of the OS or applications can simply be deployed to the central desktop image, which is in turn made available to all end-user devices.
Accessibility: One of the key end-user benefits is that employees can access their virtual desktop image using devices like laptops, smartphones, and mobiles. Also, due to the unique capabilities of VDI, end-users can access software solutions to which they may not have had access to in the past.
Flexibility: VDI can help enterprises become more agile. With VDI, businesses can quickly get access to new VMs for temp or seasonal employees, consultants, and for development and testing purposes.
Workforce mobility: This might, by far, be the most obvious advantage of deploying VDI. Given that the desktops in a VDI architecture are hosted virtually, end-users can access them from anywhere in the world, on pretty much any device, provided they have internet connectivity. This typically results in increased flexibility for both employees and businesses. For employees, this will mean increased morale and productivity. And, when VDI is coupled with technologies (such as VPNs) that allow access to local VDI networks from remote locations, businesses will also be able to employ a diverse workforce that is not restricted by location, thanks to virtualization technologies.
BYOD: Since virtual desktops are hosted on a central server in a remote location, the device that the end-user uses to connect to the network to access the virtual desktop is of no consequence. Thus, users can essentially use any device they like to access their virtual desktop. Given that the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend has seen a major uptick among organizations, it is expected that businesses, going forward, will only want more and more of their employees to use their personal devices to connect to the network (for at least one or a few applications).
Increased productivity: One rather overarching benefit of VDI is that it improves the productivity of your employees by offering an enhanced work experience with remote access to desktops, increased security, no downtime due to IT maintenance and upgrades, and more. Virtual desktops help your business operations become more agile, lean, and efficient, while employee efforts and abilities become more focused and flexible. You can ensure that your employees are able to maintain their productivity even in case of a disaster. This type of productivity is invaluable to any business over a period of time.
Cost efficiency: If the server setup is already present, VDI comes at a minimal cost. Plus, even if businesses need to foot an initial cost to deploy VDI, the long-term savings it offers are significant. In other words, VDI is a positive investment and can bring you substantial returns over time. This is because when you deploy virtualization technologies, you don’t need to spend as much on PC hardware. Licensing costs are also often lower using VDI because a single operating system or application license can often be shared across multiple virtual desktop sessions. Further, with a traditional set up, in the event that maintenance is required, it will take the IT team a significant amount of time to perform the necessary updates on every single machine. This time and effort output can be reduced to a minimum with VDI, which is managed from a central location.
Decreased security risks: The security benefits cannot be overstated. As organizations expand, maintaining digital security remains essential. After all, a single data breach or cyber attack can cost a business millions in damages and, more importantly, its reputation. Given this, preventive measures are certainly not optional. If you want to ensure the success of your business, employing the right preventive measures is crucial. The virtual environment plays an important part in making your IT infrastructure more secure. Since all the data is located in a central system, you can protect it better than you would be able to if it was spread across your employees’ devices. Thus, VDI helps you keep your data in the right hands. With this, you can reduce the risk of accidental data breaches and intentional cyber-attacks.
Better disaster recovery: Another important benefit of VDI is that it keeps your data safe and backed up at all times. Disaster recovery is an important aspect of IT management. Companies that don’t have a disaster recovery plan face critical disruptions when their data is lost and their business operations come to a halt. Virtualization is not the only step you should employ to prevent this risk, but it will help significantly because virtual desktop infrastructure that is centralized on servers can be recovered more quickly than conventional desktops, which would need to be rebuilt by hand and individually following a disaster.
Centralized troubleshooting: If your end-users experience any issues, VDI allows for remote troubleshooting solving the issue for all systems at once. Since IT departments are continuously on the lookout for ways to perform their operation with a leaner budget and less time, the centralized troubleshooting capability is key.
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