How to Choose Between Hosted Applications, VDI or DaaS

Author: Ryan Beauchamp, Solution Architect, CDW Canada

With the number of remote work solutions available thesedays, there's more availability of information than ever before. We get asked whatthe best solution is for remote workers every day. The pandemic has created asurge of requests for remote workspaces as so many organizations have senttheir staff home. This shift, however, has shown organizations that remoteworkers can be as productive as they would be in-office, and because of this,the solutions they initially put in place as temporary remote work solutionsare becoming long-term solutions and the core to an organization's success.

Now that remote work is no longer seen as temporary, manyorganizations are asking the question of which solution is the right one forthe long term?. When answering that question, there are a number of factorsthat to consider to ensure the end solution meets both organization andcoworker needs and wants, and is also cost-effective and high performing. Thesefactors are:

• Do we need desktops or applications?
• What performance do we need?
• Where is our data located?
• Do we want to buy hardware or use the cloud?
• Do we invest in software/hardware or buy a service?
• How do we secure and protect our data when usersare at home?

Hosted Applications

Hosted applications have been around for a long time andshould still be on every organization's radar. It is also important to notethat you do not always need a complete virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI)configuration to allow remote users to access a few applications that need tobe run close to the backend systems.

Additionally, hosted applications are also the leader whenit comes to densification of users. The amount of infrastructure needed to runpublished applications for 200 users is almost 50% less. I am reminded of anold saying, Don't use a sledgehammer when a scalpel will do. Consider whatyour need is and whether publishing applications are the right fit.

Virtual DesktopInfrastructure (VDI)

Recently there has been a growing shift toward VDI over thanhosted applications. This trend is great if you are looking to refresh your PCsand laptop fleet, standardize and streamline users' windows experience, increasevelocity in application updates or just increase the security posture of yourorganization, as VDI allows you to ensure complete security over your data.

The past five years have brought drastic improvements to VDIand how we manage these virtualized desktops. VDI is the right choice when youwant give users a consistent user experience, both internally and externally. Itwill strengthen your security, increase productivity and reduce strain on yourdesktop management provisioning. The tools within VDI also give administratorsthe ability to separate the Windows OS from the applications, which can changehow your teams manage application versions and windows patches separately.

Desktop as a Service(DaaS)

The newcomer on the block is Desktop as a Service (DaaS). Withthe global pandemic this year we saw companies rapidly adopting new work fromhome strategies, and DaaS was on the front lines to provide these solutions. Everypublic cloud vendor includes a DaaS now, with the two most notable being Azureand AWS. The benefit of DaaS is that the services are quick and easy to deploy,do not require large infrastructure design and can be easily managed through aweb portal. You also do not need to worry about performance of the systembecause this is guaranteed by the provider.

This all sounds good right? So why wouldn't everyorganization go with this solution? The reason is simple - latency. Traditionalapplications work on a front-end and back-end design, by moving to a DaaS solutionyour front-end application clients will be pushed to the cloud, and dependingon where your application back-end is hosted, your applications could sufferperformance degradation due to the data round trip latency. When evaluatingDaaS you will need to be highly critical about what applications will be onyour desktop, how your users will access resources and where those resourcesare located. You will also want to ensure that you have proper security controlsin place and that all your corporate policies will work with this service.

No matter what remote work solution you are looking at, thefirst question you should ask yourself is what type of user experience you arelooking for. User experience in the world of end user computing is paramount,because in order for your solution to be successful, you require user adoptionand satisfaction.

The CDW team has helped many clients transform to work from home powerhouses and have many successful deployments under their belts. If you want to learn more about what long term remote work solution will work best for you and your employees, visit cdw.ca/solutions or contact your CDW account team.