Strengthen Security and Fuel Business Growth with Cloud PCs and Workstations
Organizations are moving their operations to the public cloud at an increasing rate. As their physical IT systems approach the end of their service life, there is no better time to switch to cloud-native solutions that can meet current and future requirements. In particular, Cloud PC solutions are a strategic move for small, medium, and enterprise businesses alike that are interested in balancing IT security requirements with flexible computing power that drives productivity and business growth. Just as many enterprise applications have transformed from on-premises models to Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), virtual desktops are undergoing the same evolution. Today, the Modern Way to Work is via a PC or GPU workstation delivered as a cloud service.
In my recent livestream with Workspot Chief Product Officer, Jimmy Chang, I learned how the Workspot Enterprise Desktop Cloud platform works seamlessly with the public cloud to securely deploy, monitor, and manage Cloud PCs and workstations – completely transforming traditional end-user computing consisting of complex, on-premises PCs and virtual desktops into an always-available Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) solution that’s simple and more cost-effective.
In this article, I want to take a closer look at 5 reasons I found to be most compelling for moving your desktop workloads to the cloud.
Security: Organizations benefit from a layered approach to security. Public cloud vendors provide advanced security measures to protect your IT operations from the ongoing threat of hackers, ransomware, and other cybersecurity threats. When you adopt a Cloud PC solution, you get additional layers of protection. For example, sensitive data no longer resides on vulnerable endpoints - it stays safe in the cloud and is securely accessed via the Cloud PC.
Another major consideration is that, while security-rich operating system updates are nearly impossible to apply to every physical machine within an organization, keeping Cloud PCs and workstations updated with the latest security features is easy, because they are centralized in the cloud. Lastly, a DaaS solution will provide continuous, centralized monitoring of Cloud PC and workstation performance and end-user behavior across all cloud regions globally, keeping a close watch in real-time, and immediately alerting on anomalous behavior that could potentially indicate a brewing security problem. Jimmy referred to this as a security “layer cake,” and I think that sums it up perfectly! Taking advantage of these and more heightened security measures can dramatically help protect your organization and its IP from bad actors, threats, and other malicious attacks.
Scalability: Organizations of all sizes need every advantage to compete effectively. This requires new levels of agility and the ability to put compute resources to work on-demand to accommodate changing business conditions. Physical PCs and traditional VDI can’t meet the agility threshold required today, but Cloud PCs and workstations can, and they can free up the valuable time and resources that IT teams need to pursue new strategic projects. Moreover, the ease and speed of scaling the DaaS solution provides the flexibility IT teams need to navigate unpredictable business conditions and mitigate the impact of inevitable disruptions. In this way, Cloud PCs are the foundation of the evolving on-demand agile enterprise that can avoid or mitigate current and future challenges quickly, take advantage of arising business opportunities, and maintain a significant competitive advantage in their market.
Disaster Recovery: Cloud computing provides a variety of solutions to help you and your organization recover from a disaster far more quickly than ever before. Public cloud providers offer robust data back-up and infrastructure recovery solutions as a starting point. Cloud PCs and workstations take DR and business continuity to the next level, with a focus on keeping staff productive as soon as they are in a safe place to continue working. Inherently, Cloud PCs allow people to work from anywhere, but innovative BC/DR features—from “standby” Cloud PCs that can be activated with a single click, to cross-region and multi-cloud backups—to a succession of Cloud PCs that can be invoked in order of priority, depending on the type and severity of the outage, for an always-on experience that protects every aspect of your business. With these capabilities, IT and business operations can continue with little to no downtime or risk.
Cost-Savings: Transitioning your IT to the cloud can be a great way to reduce the total cost of doing business. With a cloud-native Cloud PC solution, not only do you leave behind complex, ongoing on-prem infrastructure and management costs, you can also transition to a predictable, consumption-based OpEx model that drastically simplifies IT budgets. The right Cloud PC solution helps you optimize and streamline your TCO. For example, end-user computing use cases vary widely in the way they consume compute resources. Some use cases benefit from a flat-rate cost structure; other use cases will be better cost-optimized through a pay-as-you-go cost structure. What’s great is that you have these choices, so you can fine-tune your cost-efficiency. Look for that flexibility in pricing models by use case - it’s a powerful option!
Innovation: Another benefit of adopting a Cloud PC solution is to finally be able to take advantage of the latest technology and process innovations that IT teams have wanted to try, but lacked the time and resources[1] to attempt. An innovative technology is one that leverages new software or hardware to improve your current operations. This includes experimentation with AI and machine learning that is also made possible through the cloud. After the experimental testing phase and depending on the results, IT could choose to incorporate the new technology into their operations - or shut down the portion of cloud infrastructure used and only be charged for the time that the infrastructure was operational.
Unlike Do-It-Yourself (DIY) VDI or hosted solutions, with Workspot, IT teams can deliver Cloud PCs and workstations to a variety of end-users in any cloud region globally—and manage it all from a single pane of glass. This means dramatically simplified deployment and ongoing management, and your first set of end-users are typically live in just a few days. If you’re familiar with complex legacy DIY VDI solutions, you know what an amazing achievement this is! And once you are up and running, Workspot takes care of the day-to-day operations, including monitoring, scalability, availability, upgrades, and support, freeing up time and resources for your IT team to focus on new strategic projects for the business.
There are many reasons that organizations should adopt Cloud PCs, including advanced security options, scalability and flexibility that enable greater operational efficiency, ways to streamline costs and lower IT spend, and the ability to leverage ground-breaking technologies that can provide new solutions to old problems and empower your own innovations. If you are looking to take your organization to new heights and greater expansion, the affordability, convenience, and flexibility of a Cloud PC solution is what you need to get you there!
