Gartner forecasts that DaaS will show rapid growth through 2023, growing to $2.6 billion with a compound annual growth rate of 58.8%.
Desktop as a Service (DaaS) brings the cloud to your desktop! or your desktop to the cloud?
DaaS has emerged as a lifesaver in today’s work scenario, with remote work demands increasing among employees and businesses emphasizing data security.
With DaaS, there’s no need to carry around a cumbersome desktop PC as all you need are your login credentials, wherein all security measures are already applied.
The mass adoption of virtualization has acted as a critical driver of many of the most transformative tech trends, including remote and hybrid work models.
Desktop as a Service (DaaS) is a desktop virtualization solution where virtual desktops or applications are hosted on the provider’s cloud servers and can directly be accessed by the end-users on their devices.
Desktop as a Service has been crucial in driving several transformative tech trends, including remote and hybrid work models.
As companies witnessed a pandemic-stricken downtrend, DaaS quickly devised a solution to making healthy remote working possible. Simply put, companies stormed through the pandemic with virtual desktops.
Table of Contents
Meet the Top 8 Desktop as a Service Providers Dominating the Market
Here, you’ll discover in-depth evaluations of our top Desktop as a Service provider, covering different benefits and drawbacks.
Here is a list of the eight most highly rated DaaS providers in 2022:
1. Ace Cloud Hosting
Ace Cloud Hosting is an award-winning cloud service provider that offers a wide range of solutions, including Desktop as a Service (DaaS), Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), Workspace as a Service (WaaS), Hosted Desktops, GPU as a Service (GPUaaS), and much more.
The company’s tailored solutions to unique business needs have earned its recognition as Expert’s Choice 2021 and Supreme Software 2021 by Finances Online.
Why Having Ace Cloud Hosting as Your DaaS Provider Can Benefit Your Business?
Hardware-agnostic For Cost Efficiency:
Ace Cloud Hosting DaaS is hardware-agnostic, wherein it can convert any existing device into an endpoint device with the necessary applications. So, there’s no need to invest in new hardware, resulting in significant IT cost savings. Also, you can leverage instant provisioning, local drive access, and storage options to minimize costs further.
Flexible Desktop Environment For Your Distributed Team:
The solution is designed to configure any type of device according to the virtual work environment a company needs, making it easier for distributed teams to work seamlessly. With Ace Cloud Hosting DaaS, users can work from anywhere on any device while being productive.
Secure Virtual Work Environment:
The solution boasts enterprise-grade security features such as single sign-on, multi-factor authentication, and user role permissions to keep your virtual work environment as secure as possible. The platform also utilizes 256-bit data encryption during transmissions, ensuring that your company data remains protected.
Combination Of Best Performance With Best Pricing:
Ace Cloud Hosting’s virtual desktops are hosted on high-performance computing servers, eliminating the complexities of managing on-premises server setups. Its pay-as-you-go subscription model is affordable for early-stage startups and SMEs, with packages starting at $30 per user per month.
Want to be a DaaS-Powered Organization that Supports Anywhere Workforce?
2. VMware Horizon Cloud
VMware’s Horizon Cloud Desktop as a Service provider allows the client to choose between Microsoft and IBM as cloud infrastructure providers.
Users can purchase or license their customized Microsoft Azure plan via VMware or opt for IBM cloud with a subscription.
Why Having VMware Horizon Cloud As Your DaaS Provider Can Benefit Your Business?
Unified Management For Streamlined Tasks:
With VMware Horizon Cloud, you can manage all your virtual workspaces from a single pane, regardless of their number, simplifying management tasks, especially app delivery.
Secure Remote Workspace For Out-of-Office Employees:
VMware Horizon Cloud provides virtual desktops and apps to securely distribute to your out-of-office employees. With this solution, you can manage the files, documents, and resources they have access to in their workspaces.
Maximum Flexibility For Deployment Options:
VMware Horizon Cloud offers maximum flexibility in the deployment of virtual desktops. Your organization can choose between desktop and apps, have it in a hosted infrastructure, or access it through Microsoft Azure.
Subscription-based Model For Flexibility:
VMware offers a per-user subscription plan where a user is provided with a dedicated desktop and a per-session usage plan wherein one concurrent session is shared among multiple users.
However, it is essential to note that using some advanced platform functions requires add-on storage, which costs $124 per terabyte. This poses a challenge for businesses that need to scale up their storage capacity, as the added cost could impact their budget.
3. Citrix Virtual Desktops and Apps
Launched in August 2019, Citrix offers a feature-rich and simplified version of the earlier Virtual Apps and Desktop. Microsoft Windows is the default operating system, implying that Citrix comes with the entire suite of Microsoft’s productivity apps, the licensing cost of which is included in Citrix’s fee. However, it does allow users to use their own licenses. Citrix DaaS offers its users a monthly and annual plan for up to five years.
Why Having Citrix as Your DaaS Provider Can Benefit Your Business?
Top-Notch Simplicity for End-Users:
Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops offer a simple and consistent user experience, regardless of the device or screen size. It’s an automated client configuration that provides users with the best connection path without changing settings.
Excellent Graphics Performance For Heavy Workloads:
This platform has excellent graphics acceleration support for Intel, AMD, and NVIDIA GPUs. Employees with heavy graphics task can perform their tasks seamlessly without performance and quality issues.
Virtualized Communications For Centralized Cooperation:
Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops can virtualize Cisco Jabber and Avaya One-X, which provides a centralized platform for collaboration, allowing team members to connect and communicate seamlessly.
Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops don’t include image and font caching, advanced compression, optimization, or QoS support for the Windows Print Provider, leading to slower printing speeds and decreased overall performance for employees who rely heavily on printing.
Organizations that require high-quality printing capabilities may need to invest in additional solutions or workarounds to address this issue, potentially impacting their budget.
Also Read: What Is Citrix Receiver? Everything You Need to Know
4. Amazon Workspaces
Amazon Workspaces provides its customers with Linux and Windows to choose from and storage and hardware capabilities per their computing needs. Customers can use the licensed version of the operating system for a fee or use their pre-existing subscriptions to avail themselves of Amazon Workspaces.
Why Having Amazon WorkSpaces as Your DaaS Provider Can Benefit Your Business?
Effortless Cloud Desktop Provisioning:
With Amazon WorkSpaces, you can overcome maintenance roadblocks and focus on scaling your workforce, no matter where they are. You can abstract countless administrative tasks and enjoy simplified cloud desktop lifecycle management.
Cost-Efficient Solution With Multiple Pricing Tiers:
Amazon WorkSpaces offers multiple pricing tiers to meet your most flexible requirements. With five bundles available, including performance, power, graphics, value, and standard services, you can choose the one that best suits your needs.
Active Directory Integration For Seamless User Management:
Amazon WorkSpaces allows you to connect to your existing Active Directory, which makes it easy to allow and modify user access rights from a central interface, and roll it out throughout the organization with ease
One downside to consider with Amazon is that they charge for additional technical support, with prices starting at $29 per month.
5. Azure Virtual Desktop
Microsoft launched a new Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) in 2018, replacing its earlier remote desktop service. The new, feature-rich version runs both Windows 7 and Windows 10 in addition to an abundance of third-party applications and Office 365 ProPlus. AVD is hosted on Microsoft’s Azure and offers a host of pricing options based on the services a customer selects.
Why Having Azure as Your DaaS Provider Can Benefit Your Business?
Infinitely Continuous Backup and Data Capacity
With Amazon WorkSpaces, your data is continuously backed up and securely stored in the cloud. Moreover, Amazon WorkSpaces offers unlimited data capacity, giving you the freedom to store as much data as you need without worrying about running out of space.
256-Bit AES Encryption for Robust Security
Amazon WorkSpaces is committed to providing its clients with a secure cloud desktop service by utilizing 256-bit AES encryption, one of the most robust encryption methods available.
Efficient Data Capacity Management
Amazon WorkSpaces also provides efficient data capacity management, giving you full control over your cloud desktop resources. With flexible pricing tiers and hourly or monthly billing options, you can choose the bundle that best suits your needs and budget.
However, the Azure services platform can be complex and overwhelming for users who are not familiar with it. As a result, there may be a significant learning curve for those new to the platform, which could require additional time and resources to overcome. Some users may need to invest in additional support or training to make the most of Azure’s services.
6. V2 Cloud
V2 Cloud is a reputed Desktop as a Service provider that offers you a scalable cloud workspace with a high-performing desktop infrastructure in speed, which earns it our best pick for simplicity.
As a fully integrated solution, V2 delivers speed and simplicity—so your workforce can perform from anywhere. Businesses get the simplest cloud desktops that are compatible with Windows applications.
Why Having V2 Cloud as Your DaaS Provider Can Benefit Your Business?
Hassle-Free Remote Management:
V2 Cloud makes managing virtual desktops over remote connections easy. Administrators have full access to managing cloud desktops, allowing for easy installation of remote applications.
User-Friendly Virtual Desktops:
V2 Cloud provides businesses with user-friendly virtual desktops that are easy to use. These cloud desktops can be accessed through web browsers and offer bidirectional copy-paste functions and printing. The platform also includes built-in HTTPS encryption and two-step authentication to protect network security and data.
Ransomware Data Protection:
V2 Cloud helps businesses protect their data and desktops against Ransomware attacks. The platform ensures that all communications within cloud desktops are encrypted and enables automatic daily backups for desktops. These features ensure that data can be quickly recovered in the event of cybersecurity attacks.
However, if you need High Performance Computing (HPC), the platform’s performance capabilities may not be sufficient for complex computing tasks that require significant processing power. Businesses with high-performance computing requirements may need to explore alternative solutions to meet their needs.
7. Evolve IP
Evolve IP delivers cloud desktop solutions that give businesses a simple and secure platform to work on any application. They also give IT end-to-end visibility and management for streamlined security and compliance.
Why Having EvolveIP as Your DaaS Provider Can Benefit Your Business?
Managed infrastructure for reduced IT budgets:
Evolve IP VDI provides a DaaS solution for companies looking to cut IT budgets while still maintaining a robust virtual desktop infrastructure. With Evolve IP as a DaaS provider, businesses can maintain full control over their virtual desktop environment while leaving the management tasks to their experts.
Customizable VDI Solutions:
Although infrastructure management is handled by Evolve IP, businesses can still customize the VDI solution to their preference. Therefore, your IT can configure how the solution delivers applications, desktops, and storage spaces to end-users and provides a seamless experience to employees.
Flexible application Options:
Evolve IP allows businesses to provide their mobile employees with the Windows version of their choice. Companies can also provide their employees with Microsoft Office (Standard or Enterprise) or Evolved Office applications.
8. Nutanix
Nutanix delivers simplicity in its fully managed cloud service solutions that facilitate ongoing integration and digital workspace delivery. Users can access Windows or Linux apps via any browser, such as Chrome, Safari, and Internet Explorer. This not only gives a faster speed to market and also removes the complexities involved in virtual desktops and virtual apps.
While Nutanix offers a robust and efficient infrastructure for virtual desktops, there may be better fits for organizations with unique requirements. The converged infrastructure and simplified deployment process may limit the level of customization and flexibility that some businesses require.
Why Having Nutanix As Your DaaS Provider Can Benefit Your Business?
Infrastructure Integration
Nutanix VDI boasts a consolidated appliance that integrates storage resources and computing servers into a single robust infrastructure. By leveraging modern technologies, it provides an industry-leading converged infrastructure that can easily handle intense virtual workloads.
Effortless Deployment And Management
With Nutanix, the deployment process is a breeze. The solution is designed to eliminate the complexities of isolated infrastructure silos for virtual desktops, enabling faster implementation and time-to-value. Within a few hours, the solution can be up and running without the need for complex network integration or storage configurations.
High-Performance And Seamless End-User Experience
Nutanix offers a consistent end-user experience by overcoming the hurdles of traditional storage infrastructure. It provides enterprise-class features such as shadow clones, deduplication, tunable redundancy, and compression to deliver high performance and satisfy the needs of even the most arduous virtual desktop end-user.
Features To Look Into DaaS Providers
Choosing the best Desktop as a Service (DaaS) provider means relying on the services of a third-party infrastructure that best fits your business model, needs, and, most importantly, security. So, to choose the right provider, start by assessing your business’s priorities and unique requirements.
For instance, security should be your biggest concern if you are in an industry with sensitive data compliance.
Accordingly, choose a provider that guarantees the highest security standards in its offerings. On the other hand, if your business is focused more on accessibility and compatibility so that applications can run simultaneously on multiple platforms, app virtualization should be your priority.
Accordingly, look for a provider that offers the most application virtualization.
When these business-critical processes are outsourced to a reliable DaaS provider, you can address your core business needs with more ease, increased efficiency, and greater peace of mind. Another critical aspect of opting for DaaS is significant cost reduction. Without the need for a local hardware setup or an in-house IT team, the operational cost of your business decreases significantly.
The right DaaS provider comes with the promise of more than just making your business easier to manage. It helps you take advantage of managed services, low costs, and more time to prioritize your business interests intelligently.
Like most things in life, when it comes to DaaS, the utmost comfort comes from the truest fit.
Choosing A Desktop as a Service (DaaS) Provider
Choosing a Managed service provider is the most challenging part of the overall virtualization transformation process. The service provider you select impacts various elements, varying from performance stability to customization.
Migrating your workload to the cloud requires extensive research and planning; one needs to consider the extraordinary security, scalability, deployment conditions, and more before making a decision.
Here are the factors to consider before choosing a Desktop as a Service provider:
What kind of Desktop and App Management do they provide?
You should know whether Desktop as a Service Provider offers entirely managed virtual desktops with pre-installed applications. The provider should manage the desktop installation, scaling, upgrading, and maintenance.
If providers offer virtual desktops hosted on their cloud servers, you can quickly reduce your office infra and hardware like bulky servers and LAN cabling. Ideally, the provider takes all the technical burden off your shoulders so that you can focus on your work without worrying about technical difficulties.
But you need to know what kind of burden they remove from your IT shoulders. DaaS is a managed service, so any provider can take away the significant IT overheads, but those who remove the endpoint management burden are the right choice for you.
Virtual desktops are created in a high-end secure environment. However, they do need an endpoint to operate so that the environment can be isolated from the endpoint environment. The providers should remotely update these virtual desktops to keep a check on additional hardware and software controls.
Look out for:
- Admin Console
- Solution Integration
- OS Compatibility
- Cloud Infrastructure Selection
What security policies do Desktop as a Service (DaaS) providers use?
Data is an asset for a firm, and keeping it safe takes a business to DaaS. 60% of enterprises deploy cloud technology to store confidential data.
Therefore, you must ensure providers keep your information safe in data centers with 24×7 CCTV surveillance and security guards. They offer high-security features like 256-bit TLS encrypted end-user connection, dual-factor authentication, enterprise-grade antivirus protection, high availability of physical and network firewalls, and many more.
Moreover, they provide GPO controls (user group policy support, computer group policy support) and complete deletion of the user/VDI data on customer requests or contract termination.
Know what security standards you need in your infrastructure
What are the levels of support they offer to their clients?
This is an essential point to note.
Major DaaS providers offer 24×7 IT support via phone, chat, and email but at an additional cost. So, ensure you get a provider like Ace Cloud Hosting offering round-the-clock support at no extra cost.
In case of any technical glitches, Ace Cloud Hosting resolves your issues in significantly less time and provides you complete support even during the night hours. Providers maintain server uptime of 99.99%, so your team does not have to sit idle.
Ideally, there must be three kinds of support provided:
- Pre-Sales Support
- Project Implementation Support
- Post-Implementation & Ongoing Support
Read More: How Does DaaS Support Firms in the Changing World of IT?
Do they provide High-Performance Computing?
Companies need high-performance desktops so, their desired team can work on critical tasks without interruption.
Providers offer virtual desktops with the least latency possible so that developers and designers who use heavy applications can work lag-free. High configurations provide increased speed and uninterrupted networks, which helps employees deliver increased productivity.
Providers also virtualize the applications hosted on their cloud servers so that you don’t need to install them on multiple high-end desktops.
- Perform massive amounts of computing in a short time
- Balance parallel workloads
Do they offer BCDR?
BCDR refers to business continuity and disaster recovery. It means you can continue business even in earthquakes or floods. But how?
Depending on their services, providers offer DRaaS (Disaster Recovery as a Service) included or excluded from their DaaS plans. Here, providers replicate your data in multiple data centers kept at different locations.
Therefore, even if a catastrophe hits one place, you can use the backed-up data in other data centers to continue your business. Reputable providers have a regular monthly based data backup schedule. In case of mishaps or data loss, providers restore the data in the least possible time without the need for your involvement.
- Instant backup manages and modifies user access rights from a single interface and rolls it
- Data replication
Is on-demand scaling supported?
Desktop as a Service providers offer you the scalability of virtual desktops. If you want to scale up or down the resources according to the requirement, providers will do that instantly. You don’t have to replace your end device to meet your needs.
Moreover, if your workforce increases or decreases, providers can quickly raise or reduce the number of virtual desktops.
Proper desktop optimization also helps you save costs, as no desktop is billable if it’s not in use.
Do they have Proof of Concept and Consultation?
The right provider always provides you with something unique, and one of those things can come in the form of proof-of-concept sessions. These help you know and understand what can best fulfill your business requirements.
The sessions offer much-needed hands-on experience before opting for a subscription plan.
Do they enable application Integration?
Today’s workforce demands excellent performance with security. That comes with properly integrating your virtual desktops with applications that serve different industries, such as Information Technology, Law, Development, and Education.
For instance: The information technology and services industry requires Azure Data Studio, Visual Studio Code, Postgre SQL, Mongo DB, GitHub, and more. DaaS can simplify it by offering access to these applications within minutes under HPC servers.
Read More: Industry-specific VDI Solutions
Go For The Best DaaS Provider
ACE Desktop as a Service is an all-in-one cloud computing solution that integrates with Citrix Platform and sustains both on-premises and cloud-based implementations. Our virtual desktops and applications are designed with incredible cloud features such as high-performance computing, enterprise-grade security, and minimal overhead costs.
ACE virtual desktops have an incredibly low total cost of ownership (TCO), making them appropriate for any enterprise.
- Address the mobility and performance issues of VDI
- Reduce costs and enhance user experience to meet integrated digital needs
- Work seamlessly on thin clients without worrying about performance
- Offers high uptime of 99.99%, scalability, high-performance desktops, and quick provisioning of virtual desktops
All the maintenance and installation of applications or server settings are done from our end without your involvement. We have various pay-as-you-go DaaS pricing plans, that help clients pay monthly or yearly.
If you want to know more about how Desktop as a Service (DaaS) supports your business in the long run, consult our experts, who will guide you through every step.
FAQs Related to Desktop as a Service Provider
What is DaaS, and how does it work?
Desktop as a Service, or DaaS, is a cloud computing delivery that offers managed virtual desktops from the cloud and provisions legacy applications on any device. ACE is one of the top DaaS providers that comes with high-end security, pay as you go model, and simplified IT infrastructure for your firm. Ace DaaS makes it easy to scale up or down on demand. It’s easy to manage and simplifies many of the IT admin tasks of desktop solutions.
Is Amazon a DaaS workspace?
Yes, Amazon is a DaaS workspace that allows businesses to create persistent and non-persistent workstations without many hassles.
What is VDI vs. DaaS?
DaaS is the subset of VDI that comes as a managed solution where desktops are hosted on the cloud, and the DaaS provider is the one looking after the whole IT infrastructure. To know more differences, read this blog VDI vs. DaaS: Which is better for your business?
How do I choose the best DaaS provider?
Before choosing a DaaS provider, you need to comprehend your organizational goals and see how a Desktop as a Service is an IT asset. When selecting a DaaS provider from the top players in the market, ensure to know about their security, scalability, centralization, expenditure, and more, and then make the right choice.
How much does Citrix DaaS cost?
Citrix cost is different as per the cloud deployments, so it’s cloud flexibility and cost management for your desktop environment.
