Author: Mike Herrmann With organizations looking for new ways to cut costs and increase productivity, the use of cloud computing has grown. The most common form of cloud computing is for vendors making their software available via the internet, also known as Softwareas-a-Service, (SaaS). 8 Reasons to Outsource Your Desktop to the Cloud INTRODUCTION: To remain competitive in today s business environment, organizations must focus on finding new ways to be better and faster than their competition. To accomplish this, organizations have frequently turned to technology to help run their operations more efficiently and effectively. As information technology has become increasingly critical to organizations, it has also become much more complicated, costly and timeintense to manage. As a result, many businesses spend more time focusing on managing their IT infrastructure than their core business. With organizations looking for new ways to cut costs and increase productivity, the use of cloud computing has grown. The most common form of cloud computing allows vendors to make their software available via the Internet, also known as Software-as-a-Service, (SaaS). By paying a subscription fee, end-users can access company software and data online. The SaaS model has many benefits to the business community which can also be translated to desktop management. This concept has been around for more than a decade, but is now gaining popularity because of user acceptance of SaaS as hosted virtual desktop. Like SaaS, a hosted desktop allows users to access their desktops online through a subscription service. The service provider hosts all of the client s applications on servers at a remote data center; end-users access the software and data via Internet connections. The hosting provider purchases and maintains the necessary technologies, and is responsible for implementing the controls. The provider also handles the day-to-day management, information security, data backup and recovery of client information. Therefore, the client is able to quickly, efficiently and affordably create a virtual IT department. Page 1 1 2013
2013 Industry analysts agree there are significant upsides to implementing virtual desktop solutions and anticipate a significant increase in adoption rates for small and midsize businesses. IDC concludes, Centralized Virtual Desktop deployments can dramatically streamline management, increase security and support the increasing consumerization trends of bringing your own device (BYOD). It is important to spend time planning the deployment and identifying which users it is right for and which users it is not right for. Myths and Realities of Centralized Virtual Desktop Adoption, September, 2012. In August 2012, Techaisle, a global SMB ICT Market Research and Industry Analyst organization reported the key drivers of virtual desktop adoption include cost reduction, better secure data and infrastructure, improved ability of applications and access to applications from anywhere, on any device. Their new primary research of 1,200 SMBs in the U.S. predicts the U.S. SMB virtual desktop market expenditures could grow from the current $132 million to $430 million in 2015 (businesses with 100 499 employees represent the largest growth segment). Techaisle expects midmarket virtual desktop penetration to grow rapidly to 12 percent by 2015, and the number of virtual desktop seats to grow at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate of 45 percent to 2.7 million. IDC concludes Centralized Virtual Desktop deployments can dramatically streamline management, increase security, and support the increasing consumerization trends of bringing your own device (BYOD). Although these growth projections are impressive, there is still a widespread lack of awareness in the market. Virtual desktops were formerly reserved for large enterprises with the staff and budget to support the technology. Therefore, many small and midsize businesses didn t consider this method of support. Hardware and technology have changed, allowing small and midsize businesses to capitalize. As the immense benefits of virtual desktops are highly publicized, the adoption rate by small and midsize businesses will continue to accelerate. Virtual hosted desktop delivers results small and midsize businesses seek, including cost reduction, secure data and infrastructure, and BYOD solutions. Business data is accessible to applications from any remote device. Information stored on a central server, rather than on an easily lost or stolen laptop or mobile device, minimizes security issues. Another benefit for small and midsize businesses is virtual hosted desktops enable the use of older legacy hardware as virtual machines. 2 Page 2
2013 More small and midsize businesses now realize the potential benefits of virtualization. They may still see migration costs and learning curves as reasons for delay. However, the financial bottom line and ROI on hardware savings and less tangible benefits of improved security and better IT staff utilization will prove the investment to be worth the expense and time. THE EIGHT REASONS WHY ORGANIZATIONS SHOULD STEP INTO THE CLOUD 1. Accessibility In today s age of mobility, employees work from hotels, multiple offices and home. Remote access is no longer a want, but a need. Virtual offices are now reality. Employees can securely access their desktop and company information from anywhere with an Internet connection. The Cloud provides access to all your licensed applications and data, and enables end-users to interact with others from any Internet-connected workstation. Employees continue to demand access to corporate resources from smartphones, tablets and other consumer-owned devices; businesses directly benefit from these gains in productivity. A hosted virtual desktop solution helps businesses take advantage of this surge in BYOD and still maintain tight network security. EIGHT REASONS WHY ORGANIZATIONS SHOULD TAKE THE STEP INTO THE CLOUD 1. Accessibility 2. Maintenance 3. Backup and disaster recovery 4. Security 5. Minimal IT staff 6. Cost 7. Flexibility 8. Compliance Hosted virtual desktop also helps businesses reduce overhead costs, office-space requirements and support environment-friendly business solutions by allowing employees to telecommute. Network activity can be monitored by the organization, even when an employee is away from the physical office. 2. Maintenance Maintaining hardware, multiple software packages and upgrades is one of the biggest challenges for IT staff. It s much easier to repair and deploy applications from a central server than on individual devices. Choosing a service provider to maintain your hosted virtual desktop environment and applications allows you to easily schedule and track maintenance projects. Your provider should be able to perform maintenance and upgrades without interrupting other employees. Essentially, the provider becomes an extension of your IT staff. 3 Page 3
2013 In 2012, Techaisle, a global SMB ICT Market Research and Industry Analyst organization, reported that the key drivers of virtual desktop adoption include cost reduction, secure data & infrastructure, improved availability of applications and access to applications from anywhere and on any device (BYOD). 3. Backup and disaster recovery Disasters come in man-made and natural forms such as fires, hurricanes, floods and power outages, and can happen to any business. IT departments need to ensure their organization s mission-critical data is backed-up and easily recovered a timeintense process. Employees often store vital operations data such as correspondence, intellectual property, corporate records and other documents on their desktop or laptop. All of this data must be backed-up in case of corruption, hard disk crash, user error or malicious destruction. Data must also be protected based on laws which govern email archiving and other compliance regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley or HIPAA. 4. Security Information security is no longer an option; it s an imperative. Hosted virtual desktop enables you to address complex data privacy and other security requirements more easily and cost effectively than you could on your own. As your virtual IT department, the service provider monitors your IT infrastructure 24 hours a day to prevent hackers, viruses and other malicious intruders from compromising your data. For security purposes, you can easily control which users have permission to access each application and database within your system. Additionally, with your data stored in a secure off-site data center and not on personal computers, there is less of a chance your company data will be stolen if an employee leaves the organization. 5. Minimal IT staff With the hosted virtual desktop approach, businesses can minimize support and management costs. The service provider runs your computing infrastructure, eliminating the need to hire an in-house IT staff to manage servers or grow an existing IT department. This can also allow your IT team to focus on more strategic initiatives. 4 Page 4
2013 Hosted virtual desktop is the perfect solution for temporary workers for seasonal businesses. Desktop user accounts can be easily disabled or locked as needed. This provides the ability to maintain a pool of readily available contract or temporary accounts which can be assigned and reassigned as temporary workers come on board or leave the organization. The more widely dispersed your workforce, the more pressure placed on your IT staff to support the devices of your remote employees. A hosted virtual desktop service helps minimize the hands-on requirements of supporting their devices. 6. Cost Sophisticated technology comes at a price. By using the hosted virtual desktop approach, the service provider takes over much of your computer infrastructure, eliminating the need to make capital expenditures for servers and other costly computer equipment. Operational costs become significantly lower and access to best-in-class technologies is more affordable. Hosted virtual desktop s predictable monthly subscription fee allows you to reliably budget for your IT expenses and eliminate costly surprises. Additionally, with all your applications and data hosted off-site, your hardware requirements are reduced and older legacy hardware can still be used as virtual machines. This means upgrades would no longer be necessary or delayed, extending the life of current investments. 7. Flexibility The ability to be flexible is critical. As you hire new employees, integrate multiple locations or add operations, new accounts can be set-up rapidly through the service provider. You don t need to add servers or software for new locations just connect to the applications provided by the hosting provider. Hosted virtual desktop is the perfect solution for interns and seasonal businesses. You can manage user accounts and disable or lock them as needed, maintaining a pool of contract accounts and reassigning them when temporary workers are employed. 8. Compliance As industry and government regulations increase, compliance must be taken seriously, which is often a difficult task for an inhouse IT department to undertake. If the hosted virtual desktop service provider s data center is SSAE 16, SOC 2 compliant, your IT department can focus their efforts elsewhere. 5 Page 5
2013 Service providers are not all created equal and making a change to a hosted virtual desktop service model should not be taken lightly. It is important to thoroughly evaluate service providers to ensure the selection meets your organization s business requirements and will become a true partner and help grow your company SSAE 16, SOC 2 compliance is the highest level of certification a data center can achieve for physical security, as confirmed by a third-party audit. When it comes to protecting your business data and applications, and ensuring business continuity, hosted virtual desktop is an insurance policy that your systems are being effectively taken care of giving management peace-of-mind that solid internal controls and processes are in place. SELECTING A HOSTING SOLUTIONS PROVIDER Once you ve determined a hosted virtual desktop service makes sense for your organization, finding the right IT solutions provider is the next step. All service providers are not created equal and switching to a hosted virtual desktop service model should not be taken lightly. It is important to thoroughly evaluate service providers to ensure the selection meets your organization s business requirements and will become a true partner which helps grow your company. The key factors to evaluate when selecting a hosted solutions provider are: Experience Ask how long they have offered hosted solutions and how long they have been in business. Experience counts. It s important to select a stable hosting partner with a long history and solid track record. Only time spent with the system and delivery model, sorting through and documenting issues and fixes can guarantee the same problems won t crop up during delivery of your applications and data access. Customization Will an off-the-shelf model work for your business or do you need a custom solution which integrates your unique applications? Will your provider allow your developers to build new software and integrate new applications? Data Portability Will you be able to move your IT applications and data to another provider in the future or are you locked-in with proprietary software and unable to migrate if and when desired? 6 Page 6
2013 Network Connectivity Can the provider offer private and secure network connections for fixed locations, and secure remote access for mobile and remote workers? This is not required for hosted virtual desktops but will certainly provide improved reliability and security for the desktop and other needs. Compliance Make sure the service provider data center is SSAE 16, SOC 2 compliant to verify proper internal controls and processes are in place to deliver high-quality services. In most cases, if your service provider is compliant with industry standards, your business is also compliant. Security How secure is the provider s data center? What security services do they offer to protect your data while in transit from the data center to end-user devices and while at rest within the data center? Do they have security experts who monitor your data on a 24/7 basis? Data Protection Ask how often their systems are backed up, what technologies and procedures are used and how data is stored. It is important to make sure the hosting provider takes the necessary measures to back-up your data and ensure easy recovery. Disaster Recovery Review the provider s disaster recovery protection plan for your systems, applications and data. Customer Support How does your provider support your administrative functions? Do they provide a portal which enables you to effectively manage IT applications and endusers? Is a support team available and ready to help you resolve issues? End-User Support How can the provider help you support end-users with routine technical challenges? Will they provide end-user help desk support? 7 Page 7
2013 To learn more about how Prime Telecom can help your organization Email: sales@primetelecommunications.com Call: 1-847-329-8600 Visit: CONCLUSION Hosted virtual desktop is the perfect option for small and midsized organizations to quickly and cost-effectively enhance the way they manage IT. However, finding the right partner to serve as your virtual IT department is essential. Hosted virtual desktop is a central, consistent platform for managing multiple locations and supporting a mobile workforce. It also provides the availability, scalability, security, redundancy and end-user support required for success in today s competitive business climate. Prime Cloud Workspace Prime Cloud Workspace delivers a custom Cloud environment, allowing you to control business applications and secure data for all your employees, from anywhere on any device with an Internet or private connection. Prime Cloud Workspace is a managed hosted virtual desktop solution hosted in a data center. All applications and data on this subscription-based model are integrated on central virtual servers. The workspace can be custom for your business while you maintain complete control of security policies and directory permissions. 8 Page 8