Graham Harris, Product Director for Cloud at Daisy Wholesale, discusses the newly Christened Age of Virtual Hosted Desktops, why the BYOD market will be blown wide open and why now is the perfect time for resellers to capitalise on cloud-based opportunities.
There was a time when mainframe computers sat at the centre of a network of PCs providing storage and applications to the office. As computer processing and storage capabilities improved, dependency moved away from the mainframe onto PCs, replacing the mainframe with a central server that was accessible by all PCs. But in a swift turn of events this trend has now reverted back to a centralised piece of intelligence. "From this central hub users can log-in and use the supercomputing resource in the core as their processing power, ultimately making the desktop redundant," stated Harris. "Welcome to the age of Virtual Hosted Desktops (VHD)."
Daisy Wholesale moved quickly to catch this trend and has introduced Hosted Desktop Services (HDS), the latest addition to its cloud portfolio. HDS enables users to access all of their programmes, business systems and shared files, securely on any device from any location. "Because the access runs over a hosted platform the user is free to work from pretty much anywhere and at any time, in the same way as they would from their desktop PCs," added Harris. "Using an individual log-in, users have the ability to move their activity seamlessly between devices. For example, they may be working on a tablet while on the move, but when they get home they may want to continue working on a laptop. This level of sophistication when it comes to flexible remote working will blow the BYOD market wide open."
VHD has hitherto not been a cheap or mainstream solution for resellers. In the main it was the larger companies that employed hosted desktops as a privately owned solution which came with a hefty price tag. But this new model brings hosted desktops to the masses, making it more accessible for the SME market, pointed out Harris. "In the past, the thought of BYOD has sent IT departments running for the hills and there is still a resistance to change," he added. "Multiple devices running different versions of software, all wanting access to business critical data, has presented them with support and security nightmares.
"With HDS, IT teams don't have to worry about the separation of work and personal content on devices. Because it is completely cloud-based it already provides clear separation between the two. It does not pull data onto the device itself, but onto the platform so it alleviates the fear of data falling into the wrong hands. By deploying virtual desktops, a business could move away from the strains of maintaining a complex IT infrastructure and potentially banish the use of tower PCs. As a result, they can reduce their investment demands and capex in the office, satisfy their employees' needs and still operate to full capacity."
Daisy Wholesale's HDS proposition offers packages that represent different tiers of functionality - Gold, Silver and Bronze. On top of these, resellers can choose to add storage and applications depending on the customer's requirements. "This is where resellers can start to build up the value," commented Harris. "Once built through the portal, resellers simply place the order and within minutes the end user will receive an email confirming their log-in details. A desktop can be deployed within 10 minutes. The level of automation available through the portal can help to improve margins and provide an overall improved service for both the reseller and their customers."
HDS enables non-IT oriented resellers to offer an IT solution to their customers. "This is a new opportunity for resellers to promote, and for end users to throw themselves into, especially given the slick ordering and provisioning portal," claimed Harris. "Not to be confused with Microsoft 365, which allows users to rent licenses, HDS provides the processing power too. Although 365 might be an attractive option for companies with an existing infrastructure, and can indeed be used inside HDS if preferred, it does not provide the engine room processes available from HDS."
According to Harris, virtual hosted desktop is the only option but the reality is that most businesses already have an infrastructure in place with hardware and software etc, and the idea of throwing it all out and losing that investment isn't an option. "However, the retirement of Microsoft's support for Windows XP will see some businesses come to a crossroads when choosing the direction of their IT infrastructure," Harris explained.
"Now is the time for these businesses to make the move to HDS. There is a prime opportunity for resellers to offer them a cloud-based solution that future proofs their communications at a predictable cost, while also providing resellers with great downstream revenues."