For businesses to remain competitive in our global economy, it is essential that they keep abreast of new and innovative technologies that enhance or improve the efficiency of their current business processes. They must be willing to adapt to a constantly changing marketplace by adopting solutions that enable them to better meet the needs of their clients as well as keep their employees satisfied and motivated. The failure to keep up with technological advances can put businesses at a competitive disadvantage, which may enable their business rivals to get ahead.
One of the technology solutions that has been gaining in popularity in recent times is the use of cloud-based software and applications. With the cloud, the relevant applications are hosted at remote data centers and delivered to businesses as services across the internet. These data centers are managed by third-party experts who assume the responsibility for the setup and management of the cloud tools and applications. Up from $227 billion in 2019, revenue from cloud services is projected to increase by 17% to $266 billion in 2020 as businesses increasingly transition to the cloud.
Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) is one of the popular cloud services that has increased in popularity and adoption over the past several years. With DaaS, the cloud service provider develops a virtual desktop infrastructure that is delivered to the end-user devices from the remote data center; there are no applications stored locally on end-user devices. Compared to locally sited and hosted desktop applications, DaaS offers several significant benefits to business owners. Discussed below are five of the reasons why DaaS is a more suitable option for business owners than locally hosted desktop software and applications.
1) LOWER OPERATING COSTS
There are many costs associated with setting up a physical desktop infrastructure for a business. Some of these costs include hardware and software costs, setup costs, and maintenance costs. There are also costs associated with hiring people with the right skill sets to set up and maintain desktop applications and processes. Furthermore, desktop applications need regular upgrades for optimal functioning; this can also be a costly process. As a result, the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for physical desktop infrastructure can be high and cost-prohibitive. If not addressed, the high TCO can also eat into the profit margins of businesses.
DaaS is considerably cheaper than locally hosted desktop infrastructure. Since DaaS is cloud-based, there is no need to purchase additional software or applications as these are delivered from the cloud. Additional hardware may not also be needed as the applications can be supplied to the users’ personal devices. Furthermore, the cloud service provider supplies the expertise needed to support the desktop applications saving business owners the need as well as the expense. In return for the services provided by the cloud service providers, business owners are charged a fixed regular fee.
2) ENHANCED SECURITY
Over the past several years there has been a significant increase in cybercrime and cyberattacks as business activities are increasingly transacted online. The strategies necessary to secure business networks and devices are usually complex, time-intensive, and unfamiliar to most business owners. The failure to implement the necessary cybersecurity strategies puts the businesses at risk of cyberattacks which can lead to data loss as well as other negative consequences.
With DaaS, business owners no longer have to worry about cybersecurity as this responsibility is assumed by the cloud service provider. The cloud provider ensures that the necessary security controls are in place to protect the devices within the network. The responsibility for hiring people with the relevant cybersecurity skills also falls on the cloud service provider. Furthermore, the service provider stays up to date with current cyberthreats and ensures that the devices are regularly updated in response to these threats.
3) IMPROVED BUSINESS CONTINUITY
Having a disaster recovery plan is essential for business continuity. In the event of a disaster such as a major power outage, tornado, flood, or other such events, there is the risk of data loss and interruption of normal business processes. Without a disaster recovery strategy, businesses may be unable to restore lost data and resume normal operations in a timely fashion. The longer it takes to restore business processes, the greater the negative consequences on the impacted businesses.
DaaS enables businesses to have an effective disaster recovery plan. Since data and applications are maintained in the cloud, there is no risk of data loss or significant interruption of business processes. The applications can be easily restored to end-user devices so that they can resume their normal job duties. In addition, DaaS allows for geo-redundancy whereby data is backed up at multiple data centers at different physical locations. As such, damage sustained to one datacenter does not disrupt business operations as services are migrated to the other datacenters.
4) IMPROVED MOBILITY
With DaaS, employees have greater latitude in carrying out their tasks as they are no longer restricted to specific physical locations such as an office. Work can be initiated at one physical location using a specific device; this can be resumed at another location using another device. Since the desktop tools are cloud-based, they are easily downloaded to any device at any location so long as there is a functioning internet. The increased mobility of employees in performing their job duties can lead to an increase in their satisfaction and motivation.
5) INCREASED FLEXIBILITY
One of the most significant advantages of DaaS is that it is inherently scalable. Since DaaS is cloud-based, business owners can readily scale up and implement their desktop infrastructure as needed in response to the growth of their businesses. There is minimal additional expenditure needed when scaling up with DaaS. This is in contrast to locally hosted desktop applications which typically require a significant amount of effort and cost when scaling up.
WHY Otava IS RIGHT FOR YOU
At Otava, we know all about DaaS. We are a cloud service provider well versed in setting up a DaaS infrastructure for businesses. We have skilled experts on hand who are ready to work with you to ascertain your business needs, and then develop a DaaS solution uniquely tailored to meet those needs. For more information about our services, and to get started, contact us.
