Remote and hybrid work have become common in the industry ecosystem, and the enterprises struggle to allocate resources, time, and money to fulfill the managerial requirements. The biggest challenge they face is ensuring business continuity with a workforce that is distributed globally. VDI is that tool!
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) technology is gaining popularity day by day. Industry leaders & CEOs are now opening up to the many VDI deployment benefits.
Know Which Model is better for you
VDI comes with two implementation options– Cloud vs. On premise VDI deployment. To understand which one is more beneficial for your business, we at Ace Cloud Hosting reached out to Jeff Pitsch, who has been working in SBC/EUC for the past 20 years, and asked him to elaborate on the topic. “VDI Deployment: On premise or Cloud.”
Here’s what he had to say:
“On premise and cloud has become a point of argument for firms with different needs, but it has become almost a war between the two viewpoints. There seem to be many people who look at this as black and white. You can do one or the other. I could go through and list down all the advantages and disadvantages and try to push one over the other. But there’s the reality check; it is not black and white. It is only grey. There will be some companies going entirely on premise, entirely cloud, or, in my opinion, most cases end up in a hybrid model.
For the most part, smaller companies will typically be either VDI on premise or cloud, but as the company size grows, you will see more and more hybrid. Why?
The major reason behind the choice for hybrid cloud infrastructure is business needs. Simply, deploying only one model, whether cloud or on prem VDI, can’t satisfy the requirements. The decision of on premise vs. cloud should be based on use cases and business needs. You may end up in a hybrid approach for that use case.
Many people will argue that the cloud is too expensive for small-medium firms. I am not a fan of this argument because it implies cost as the only critical factor. You are doing your company a disfavor if you decide based on price and cost only. Cost is always a part of the calculation, but there are many times that the benefits outweigh the costs.
I know of more than a few companies deploying over 10,000 desktops on various clouds and having desktops in their data centers. This was well before the pandemic. They have their reasons, and to them, the benefits were far greater than the cost, and let us be honest, that must be a hefty bill.
I would ask you to keep an open mind and have sound judgment when deciding which to use. Before the pandemic, I remember many companies saying, ‘we will not be going to the cloud, so do not even bother talking about it.’ As mentioned, ‘never say never’- if not all, 81% of companies are now in the cloud due to pandemic. I am not saying they should have been planning on moving to the cloud, but ignoring it when required will only damage their business in the long run.
Keep yourself up to date on new and existing technologies, even if you aren’t currently planning on using them. If something does come up where you need to move quickly to that technology, you will be in a much better position to take advantage of it.”
What’s Better- Cloud VDI Or on Premise VDI
Many enterprises struggle to understand the virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) types— VDI on premise vs. Cloud VDI. If you are struggling for the same, you surely need to know which one suits your budget, security, and personalization requirements the most. It totally depends on what type of usage your business has, especially when your workforce needs to work on GPU-intensive applications.
Cloud VDI solutions differ from on prem VDI in various features. On premise VDI hosts the data in-house, keeping the IT environment. In contrast, in the cloud environment, the third-party provider hosts all data on their servers. They manage it for you while enabling you to leverage virtual technology without the need for a huge capital expenditure.
Cloud VDI utilizes low spec devices to provision virtual desktops without the installation of servers. This cloud-based model gives instant access to the users where the enterprises pay for the resources they use. Moreover, enterprises can scale up or down depending on their growth and requirements.
Deployment
On premise VDI: While the big firms have big budgets to deploy massive resources within an enterprise-like infrastructure. Thus, an enterprise maintains the solution and handles all its associated processes to ensure its efficiency. However, the on prem infrastructure gets challenging to manage for startups and mid-level companies.
Cloud VDI: Enterprises, especially startups and mid-level ones, benefit by implementing VDI on the cloud for their firm. While it doesn’t require servers and resources to deploy cloud infrastructure, and firms get it as a managed solution from the chosen service provider. Data is hosted in the service provider’s cloud servers, and enterprises get on-demand access anytime from any location.
Cost
On premise VDI: In the case of on premise VDI deployment, the enterprise bears the costs of the server, hardware and maintenance, and data centers.
Cloud VDI: In cloud VDI, the question of cost is what many firms struggle with. The cloud infrastructure is cost-effective as the firms you need to pay only for what you use with no upfront costs. The expense alters up or down, counting on how much resources are consumed.
Also Read: Hosted VDI Cost Calculation: Factors impacting your VDI Pricing
Security
On premise VDI: In an on prem VDI environment, firms with sensitive data, (think law firms, for instance) retain data in their own environment so that they have complete control over their data. However, when data is stored in-house, it gets difficult to fit them into the budget.
Cloud VDI: Security remains the priority for every firm when deploying IT infrastructure. Cyberattacks increase by 40% globally in 2021 (Source: CIO&Leader).
Many IT leaders fear that cloud will open doors to security and compliance issues. But, transitioning to cloud VDI can dramatically reduce the risk of data loss. From cloud security to advanced endpoint measures, keep the data protected under unfavorable conditions as well, no matter where the workforce is and on which devices they operate.
VDI Cloud Vs. On Premise: Choosing A Workspace That Works for You
While the firms debate the benefits and drawbacks of the VDI deployment types, the future says the VDI tool counts on the cloud. No doubt, the points mentioned above showcase why the transition to the cloud can sign off IT bottlenecks. After all, moving to the cloud is a critical transition. And it’s crucial to get it right.
Thankfully, with ACE, you can move to the cloud at your own pace. Moving to the virtual desktop solution can unlock your organization to a new world of agility, performance security, and cost-efficiency, no matter where you are in your digital journey.
Connect with us at 855-906-2884 to know more about the benefits of Hosted VDI & VDI.
About the Author
Jeff Pitsch is an Independent EUC Evangelist. His top skills are in Virtualization, Cloud Computing & End User Computing. Based in Alto, Michigan, United States, he likes to blog at JeffPitsch.com & loves writing and editing content. He also loves to speak & deliver messages to the audience with his speech. He has been attached to server-based computing (SBC) & end-user computing (EUC) for more than 20 years. He believes that personal relationships make the EUC community great, so you can chat or talk about whatever you like anytime. You can reach him at [email protected]
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