How Virtual Workspace Can Drive Your Business Forward?

According to The State of the Digital Workspace 2023, 32.3% of surveyed organizations cited that  infrastructure complexity hinders their cloud migration.  

As more and more organizations embrace the benefits of cloud computing, some are still hesitant to make a move. They worry that their current infrastructure isn’t equipped to handle the demands of the cloud or that their data won’t be secure. However, these concerns don’t have to be roadblocks to your digital transformation.  

Whether transitioning to a multi-, hybrid-, or cloud-based infrastructure, the right virtual workspace solution can help you navigate your journey to the cloud. A virtual workspace is a working environment where users can work together using tools that foster communication and collaboration. Here, the users can collaborate and access work data from a centralized interface on any device without hampering the security.   

Key Elements: Building Blocks For A Dynamic Virtual Workspace 

Building an effective virtual workspace requires a deep understanding of its key components. These building blocks must work in sync to deliver a smooth and seamless user experience that meets the needs of both employees and IT teams. Therefore, three elements must be present in a virtual workspace: 

Unified And Centralized Workspace 

What is a unified workspace for you? It involves centralizing apps, desktops, and data, wherein users work collaboratively on projects and documents simultaneously. Users can easily access the documents, data, and tools they need from a centralized interface that works seamlessly across any device. A unified workspace simplifies access, streamlines workflows, and enables cross-team collaboration. 

• Single Sign-on: Allows users to log in once and access all their applications and data without entering multiple usernames and passwords 
• Application Virtualization: Allows IT Teams to deliver any application securely to any device without installing or updating each device 
• Data Centralization: Enables real-time collaboration and ensures that data is backed up and recoverable in case of a disaster from a central interface 
• Role-based Access Control: Enables administrators to define access permissions based on users’ roles and responsibilities, hence ensuring that sensitive data is only accessible to authorized users 
• Mobile Device Management: Enables administrators to manage and secure mobile devices used for work purposes, including enforcing security policies, wiping devices remotely, and managing app deployments 

Security Features 

A virtual workspace has a range of security features designed to keep data protected while providing employees the access they need to be productive. A virtual workspace improves security by providing IT teams a centralized control over each access point.  

• End-to-End Encryption: Encrypts all data transmitted and stored within a virtual workspace, implying that authorized users with the appropriate decryption keys can only access it 

• Multi-factor Authentication: Authenticate users with multiple methods, such as a password and a fingerprint scan, before they can access the system 
• Role-based Access Control: Restricts access to data and applications within a virtual workspace based on a user’s role, ensuring that only those with a legitimate need to access specific resources can do so 
• Firewall Protection: Prevents unauthorized access from outside the system 
• Data Backup And Recovery: Ensures data replication and restoration during a data loss or system failure 

Automation 

An essential element of a virtual workspace is automation which leverages AI technologies like machine learning to streamline and automate repetitive tasks. Using micro-apps allows users to save time and effort in their workflows, allowing them to focus on more critical tasks. Automation can also reduce the risk of errors and inconsistencies by ensuring that tasks are performed consistently and accurately. 

Here are some key areas where IT uses automation in virtual workspaces: 

• Application deployment and updates: Deploy and update applications in virtual workspaces, reducing the time and effort required for IT teams to manage these processes 
• Security management: Monitor and manage security within virtual workspaces, including identifying and mitigating security threats, managing access control, and ensuring compliance with regulations and policies 
• Resource allocation: Allocate resources, such as storage and processing power, based on the needs of virtual workspaces and ensure that resources are utilized efficiently 
• User management: Manage user accounts, including creating and deleting accounts, resetting passwords, and updating permissions 
• Reporting and analytics: Generate reports and analytics on virtual workspace usage, helping organizations to identify trends, optimize workflows, and make data-driven decisions 

Minimize Risk Points in the Virtual Workspace: The Role Of Secure & Contextualized Access Control 

The contextualized access approach considers the “who, what, where, when, and why” data is accessed, enabling your IT to deliver a consistent user experience across different virtual work environments, including the internet and SaaS apps. With centralized access, you can reduce the complexity of your infrastructure, simplify management, and enforce consistent policies across all users and applications. 

Here’s how can virtual workspace help your organization securely balance user and IT needs: 

1. Implement Single-sign-on (SSO) and Multifactor Authentication (MFA) 

With the virtual workspace’s contextual access, users can sign in once and access all their applications with increased control and visibility over user access. Whether your applications are hosted on-premises or on the cloud, MFA and SSO enhance the security posture. Moreover, IT teams can enforce stronger security measures such as multifactor authentication and end-to-end monitoring to control user access and mitigate the risk of unauthorized access or data breaches caused by weak or reused passwords. 

2. Provide Granular-level Visibility with Detailed Access Logs 

Granular access in the workspace allows you to gain detailed visibility into what’s traversing their network via applications to monitor and analyze user behavior and detect potential security threats.   

IT teams can identify unusual activity or anomalies and respond proactively to prevent security incidents, critical in today’s environment, where insider threats are becoming more common. Organizations can detect and prevent malicious user behavior by analyzing access logs before it causes significant harm. You’ll be able to monitor user activity in real-time, spot potential threats, and take quick action to mitigate risks to have a secure virtual workspace. 

 3. Deliver A Personalized Experience and Centralized Control

Controlling your users’ access and activity enables simplified yet secure access. With Single Sign-On (SSO), users only need to enter their credentials once to access all the applications they need. Meanwhile, IT can restrict cut, copy paste activities to the applications and data — ensuring data remains inside the virtual workspace. And to further prevent network breaches, redirecting dangerous web links in emails, documents, and CRM systems to a secure browser, and sandbox eliminates malware that can destroy the network. 

Don’t Compromise On Reliability And Performance: Monitor Virtual Workspace 24*7 

Today’s sophisticated virtual workspace solutions are designed to accommodate heavy applications and data across your network, cloud, and locations. Whether you deploy applications on private, public, or hybrid cloud, organizations can ensure a consistent and reliable user experience to support, manage and securely deliver graphic-intensive applications— even from remote locations. 

• Balance Load Across Cloud 

A robust virtual workspace should be able to add or remove users to accommodate fluctuations in traffic. Even if one server goes down, loads can be readily re-balanced and re-routed to a separate secure medium. And in case of a DDoS or DNS attack, IT can prioritize the traffic and redirect as needed, ensuring your team has uninterrupted remote access to corporate applications in the virtual workspace.

Read more: Remote Access Best Practices To Keep Your Data Secure 

•  Deliver Reliable Access With 24*7 Monitoring 

By monitoring the virtual workspace, IT gains valuable insights into the performance and usage of applications to proactively identify and address any issues before they become major problems. Virtual workspace monitoring provides valuable data on CPU resources, enabling IT to make data-driven decisions about resource allocation and scaling.   

Some key metrics to monitor include CPU usage, CPU wait times on the host for a specific desktop, IOPS, disk latency of the virtual desktop, and framebuffer utilization. This helps ensure end-users have access to the applications whenever needed, improving productivity and efficiency across the organization. 

Want to know more about virtual desktop monitoring? Read here: How VDI monitoring works? 

Use Cases: Who Benefits the Most from a Virtual Workspace? 

•  Hybrid Workforce:  

A virtual workspace can be a game changer for the hybrid workforce. With more people working some days from home and others in the office, ensuring everyone has the same experience is a challenge. A virtual workspace ensures that employees get the same interface on different devices. They can collaborate seamlessly on projects and documents at home or in the office. Advanced security features like single sign-on access control and analytics ensure a safe and secure work environment. 

•  Remote Workers:  

Employees who work remotely often face challenges like accessing the right documents, tools, and data. A virtual workspace helps these employees stay productive by giving them a centralized location to access everything they need. Additionally, when it comes to security, a virtual workspace can be a game-changer for remote teams. For instance, IT or BPO employees can benefit from a secured cloud workspace that complies with data privacy regulations like PCI DSS. 

•  Mobile workers:  

The population of mobile workers in the United States is forecast to increase from 78.5 million in 2020 to 93.5 million by 2024. Workers on the go, such as inbound sales or delivery agents, need to stay connected and productive while keeping security in mind.  

With a virtual workspace, employees, regardless of where they are, can securely log in and continue working from wherever they are without compromising their sensitive information. So, whether traveling or at home, you can work safely and efficiently with a virtual workspace at your fingertips. 

•  Healthcare employees: 

Every second counts when it comes to providing top-notch medical care. That’s why first responders, healthcare workers, and doctors must have real-time and secure access to their patient’s data, no matter where they are. Luckily, a virtual workspace makes this possible!  

With the virtual workspace, medical professionals can access patient data securely and quickly, allowing them to make informed decisions on the spot. Plus, with all data automatically encrypted, medical personnel can rest easy knowing that patient privacy is always enforced. 

Get Ready with Consistent, Scalable, & Secure Virtual Workspace Solutions 

Ace virtual workspace offerings such as Desktop as a service (DaaS) is a comprehensive managed solution that brings you the benefits of virtual desktops wherein deployment, implementation, migration, and security are our responsibility. Moreover, it seamlessly integrates with hybrid cloud environments and popular hyper-converged infrastructures (HCI) solutions, empowering IT teams to simplify workload deployment and enhance flexibility. 

See ACE virtual workspaces in action. Take a demo and see how it can optimize application performance, improve user experiences, and increase employee productivity.