Table of Contents
- Summary
- Market Categories and Deployment Types
- Key Criteria Comparison
- GigaOm Radar
- Vendor Insights
- Analyst’s Take
- Methodology
- About GigaOm
- Copyright
1. Summary
Deploying a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) is a complex undertaking and one that seldom differentiates an organization. Outsourcing the VDI is a natural choice, with desktop as a service (DaaS) a common VDI deployment method. DaaS providers deploy and operate the access and management infrastructure for a multitenant VDI deployment. The desktops may run on a multitenant cloud platform or a single-tenant virtualization platform managed by the DaaS provider. As-a-service delivery means that usage and costs can vary based on monthly consumption. However, many large enterprises will expect an option for long-term fixed costs from their DaaS provider.
Deploying DaaS simplifies VDI management but can also complicate data access because the desktop may not be in the same data center—or even city—as the application data. DaaS adoption may be driven by businesses migrating applications and data to the cloud, and the selection of public-cloud platforms may guide the choice of DaaS provider. If applications and data are not moving to the cloud, options for DaaS locations close to existing data centers will be essential to maintain application performance.
An end user of a VDI desktop should not need to know or care whether the VDI infrastructure is managed in-house or consumed from a DaaS provider. The installed applications and configuration of desktop images remain a responsibility of the in-house IT department, which will judge the DaaS provider partly on how it simplifies those responsibilities. Operational simplicity, particularly around the operating system and application updates, is an immense potential value for DaaS customers.
How to Read this Report
This GigaOm report is one of a series of documents that helps IT organizations assess competing solutions in the context of well-defined features and criteria. For a fuller understanding, consider reviewing the following reports:
Key Criteria report: A detailed market sector analysis that assesses the impact that key product features and criteria have on top-line solution characteristics—such as scalability, performance, and TCO—that drive purchase decisions.
GigaOm Radar report: A forward-looking analysis that plots the relative value and progression of vendor solutions along multiple axes based on strategy and execution. The Radar report includes a breakdown of each vendor’s offering in the sector.
Solution Profile: An in-depth vendor analysis that builds on the framework developed in the Key Criteria and Radar reports to assess a company’s engagement within a technology sector. This analysis includes forward-looking guidance around both strategy and product.