Adam Lotz, director of product marketing, Citrix, joins Neha Pradhan Kulkarni to chat on why desktop-as-a-service is becoming a powerful option for IT teams to manage a hybrid workforce. They circle their conversations around the training and expertise needed for the organization’s IT staff to manage DaaS from their end.
In this edition of Tech Talk, Lotz shares how DaaS technology offers a low barrier to entry both financially and technically. He also talks about how small and midsize businesses can reduce the risk of managing server, storage, and network infrastructure with DaaS.
Key Takeaways on How To Power IT Teams With Desktop-as-a-Service:
- DaaS customers can start small and grow as needed with pay-as-you-go pricing.
- DaaS deployment and maintenance is centralized
- DaaS end users don’t have to worry about the safety of sensitive corporate information.
Here are the edited excerpts from our exclusive interview with Adam Lotz of Citrix:
1. What is desktop-as-a-service (DaaS) and how does it differ from a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI)?
Desktop-as-a-Service is a subscription based, cloud-hosted virtual apps and desktops solution that lets IT provision secure virtual desktops and deliver them to their workforce. DaaS simplifies IT by removing the burden of managing infrastructure and streamlining desktop support. Administrators typically configure a desktop image, define their authentication and access controls, and then leverage the DaaS platform scale to tens, hundreds, or even thousands of users, who securely connect to their desktop and resources via the web. In short, DaaS provides a cloud-hosted Windows or Linux desktop that users can connect to from anywhere, using any device.
“DaaS allows for secure remote access to software, apps, and data on virtual desktops hosted in the cloud, as opposed to a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) hosted on-premises. Rather than opting for on-premises VDI, an advanced cloud-centric DaaS solution ensures sensitive information is stored on a secure cloud server, which adds more layers of protection.â€
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2. Why is DaaS so important today and which enterprises can benefit from it?
With hybrid work here to stay, IT teams need a simple, secure and reliable way to provide employees with access to the resources they need to get work done, wherever it needs to happen. Many enterprises are invested heavily in virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) for security and management benefits, but scaling these environments rapidly can be complex, often requiring new datacenter investments and upgrades. DaaS brings many of the same centralization and security benefits of VDI, but adds new benefits such as improved scalability, reduced cost, and ease of deployment.Â
“DaaS can simplify IT for every enterprise. With DaaS, organizations can easily deploy secure remote desktops, allowing for safe and managed access to virtual software applications no matter where employees are working or what devices they are using.â€Â
Because all corporate data is stored securely in the cloud rather than on individual devices, users can work securely from anywhere, with any device, on any network, and IT can be confident their resources stay protected.
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3. Can you share insights on how small and medium businesses operationalize the DaaS model?
DaaS technologies offer a low barrier to entry, both financially and technically. Through monthly pay-as-you-go pricing, DaaS customers can start small and grow their deployments in the cloud as needed, without having to invest in expensive server hardware or hosting capacity. Just as important, DaaS deployment and maintenance is centralized, so a small IT staff can easily manage hundreds of desktops with tools for updates, helpdesk, and environment analytics at their fingertips.
“Effective SMB deployments implement DaaS along with bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies using a zero-trust security approach. In this model, end user devices are never connected directly to company resources, allowing for rapid onboarding of employees.â€Â
And the benefit of this is that IT can get out of the business of end-user device support and focus on management of mission critical apps and data in the cloud to give users a more consistent and secure experience.
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4. What are the short and long-term benefits that small and medium businesses can measure from desktop-as-a-service?
A big advantage of DaaS is that it streamlines desktop management and offers IT tools to ramp up or scale back their environment as needs change. SMBs using DaaS don’t have to worry about managing server, storage, and network infrastructure, or the hardware maintenance and image management associated with a traditional desktop rollout.
“Of course, DaaS environments are not maintenance free. Applications require updates, secure corporate data is still a necessity, and users will still create helpdesk tickets. And while DaaS doesn’t remove the need for IT staff or a well-defined IT strategy, it does add new flexibility and removes much of the burden of client hardware support and datacenter maintenance.â€
If properly deployed, DaaS can also dramatically reduce risk – including security headaches caused by employees with compromised endpoints or devices that are lost or stolen. With DaaS, end users, along with IT security staff and compliance officers, don’t have to worry about the safety of sensitive corporate information, as all data is securely hosted in the cloud. This paves the way for secure BYOD and remote work scenarios. And because it doesn’t require IT to invest in additional hardware or replace existing on-premises resources, they can keep implementation costs down.
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5. Even though desktop-as-a-service is managed by the provider, the organization’s IT staff will be required to maintain functions and certain endpoints. What training and expertise are needed for the organization’s IT staff to manage DaaS from their end?
Managing a DaaS environment is a bit more complex than managing a small handful of desktops, but the benefits pay off dramatically as scale increases and deployments mature. DaaS providers should have tools to simplify not just initial deployment, but also the “day 90†or “day 180†management experience, when applications need to be updated or patches applied.Â
“In most cases, IT staff won’t have to become cloud or security experts to manage a DaaS deployment, and can even purchase hosting capacity along with DaaS capabilities from a single vendor.â€Â
6. While DaaS can provide greater security than traditional workstations, it is not immune to vulnerabilities. What checks DevOps and IT engineers shouldn’t miss when simplifying DaaS storage across the cloud?
I like to think of modern IT security as a changing view on trust. If we look back 10 to 15 years, IT leaders entrusted the security of all their data to a small handful of employees, who were carefully selected on the basis of their individual security expertise and skills. Â
“Today, that trust and vetting process is being extended not only to IT staff, but also to vendors who manage SaaS and DaaS deployments. And that’s a net win for business, because the vendors have specialized operations staff focused on securing environments in ways that SMBs, and even most midsize enterprises never could.â€Â
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7. With the rising adoption of desktop-as-a-service, which DaaS trends CIOs should follow in 2022 and beyond?
DaaS is the modern take on client-server computing which has brought business benefits through IT centralization for decades. With today’s technologies, DaaS desktops can be higher performing, more secure, and more affordable than traditional desktop deployments. Increased pressure for more flexible, hybrid work arrangements is leading to increased investment in DaaS because of its broad applicability.Â
“Use cases which used to be challenging such as engineering applications, 3D design, or interactive communications are now commonplace for global DaaS deployments. And you’ll see this expand in the year ahead as companies embrace DaaS solutions to increase productivity, expand their labor pool, and improve user satisfaction.â€
About Adam Lotz
In his almost 20 years at Citrix, Adam has held roles in engineering, product management, and product marketing across a half-dozen product lines. Focused today on Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, he helps customers drive their cloud initiatives and looks at how Citrix can provide a well-rounded IT experience for customers at any stage.
About CitrixOpens a new window
Citrix provides technology that empowers organizations to unlock their potential and deliver a better employee experience. Their goal is to give people the space to succeed & do their best work, wherever they are. Citrix’s platform brings intelligence, virtualization, workspace and app delivery, a zero-trust security approach, and data analytics together into a seamless experience that fosters innovation, resilience, and business continuity. From enabling sustainable remote work models to streamlining the journey to multi-cloud, Citrix helps securely deliver how work gets done today and in the future.
Tech Talk is an interview series that features notable CTOs and senior technology executives from around the world. Join us as we talk to these technology and IT leaders who share their insights and research on data, analytics, and emerging technologies. If you are a tech expert and wish to share your thoughts, write to [email protected]Opens a new window
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