The digital workplace has evolved, which is why Hosted Virtual Desktop (HVD) solutions are becoming essential for modern businesses. As we navigate through 2025, the global Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) market is expected to grow significantly, increasing from USD 6,385 million in 2024 to USD 18,470.97 million by 2032. This growth represents a strong compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.2% during the forecast period.
In this article…
Hosted Virtual Desktop (HVD) Overview
Hosted Virtual Desktop (HVD) is a cloud-hosted desktop environment offered by third-party providers, which is executed over a Virtual Machine. Although HVD stores business apps and data in the cloud server instead of a local PC, users get an experience similar to that of physical PCs.
What sets it apart are its range of features and varying levels of flexibility when hosted on the cloud. HVD delivers higher flexibility and freedom to access data on a central server provided by a hosted virtual desktop provider.
In a conventional PC, all the physical interface is situated on-premises. In a hosted virtual desktop, one can accomplish all the tasks as data is available on a central server hosted on a Virtual Machine provided by the hosted virtual desktop provider.
This revolutionary approach transforms how businesses manage IT infrastructure, enhance security, and enable flexible work arrangements.
Experience secure, scalable, and flexible desktop access from any device—without the IT headaches. Try Hosted VDI risk-free.
How Does Hosted Virtual Desktop (HVD) Work?
The Technical Architecture
HVD operates through a sophisticated multi-layered architecture:
1. Virtualization Layer: At the core, HVD utilizes hypervisor technology to create multiple virtual machines (VMs) on physical servers. Each VM operates as an independent desktop environment with allocated CPU, memory, and storage resources.
2. Connection Broker: The connection broker serves as the traffic controller, authenticating users, managing sessions, and directing users to available virtual desktops. It ensures load balancing and optimal resource allocation across the server infrastructure.
3. Remote Display Protocol: Advanced protocols like Microsoft RDP, Citrix HDX, or VMware Blast Extreme transmit the desktop experience over the network. These protocols optimize bandwidth usage while maintaining high-quality visual performance.
4. Storage Infrastructure: Centralized storage systems house user profiles, applications, and data. Modern HVD solutions employ technologies like persistent and non-persistent desktops, allowing for both personalized and standardized computing environments.
Real-World Example: Marketing Team’s Daily Workflow
To illustrate how HVD works in practice, let’s follow Sarah, a marketing manager at a global advertising agency:
Morning Setup: Sarah opens her laptop at home and launches the company’s HVD client. The Connection Broker authenticates her credentials against Active Directory and checks her location and device security status.
Resource Allocation: Based on Sarah’s role profile, the Virtualization Layer allocates her a Windows 11 virtual desktop with 8GB RAM, 4 vCPUs, and access to Adobe Creative Suite. Since she’s working on a video campaign, the system also provisions GPU resources from the shared NVIDIA vGPU pool.
Seamless Access: The Remote Display Protocol (Citrix HDX in this case) establishes a secure connection. Sarah sees her familiar desktop environment with all her personalized settings, recent files, and applications exactly as she left them yesterday.
Throughout the Day: As Sarah switches between editing videos in Premiere Pro, collaborating on presentations, and attending virtual meetings, the Storage Infrastructure ensures her work is continuously saved to centralized storage. When she moves from her home office to a coffee shop, she simply reconnects from her tablet without losing any work or context.
Dynamic Scaling: During a resource-intensive video rendering task, the system automatically allocates additional CPU cores and GPU memory. When the task is complete, these resources are released back to the shared pool for other users.
The User Experience Journey
- Authentication: Users log in through a secure web portal or dedicated client application.
- Desktop Allocation: The system assigns or creates a virtual desktop instance.
- Session Establishment: A secure connection is established between the user’s device and the virtual desktop.
- Real-time Interaction: All computing happens on the server, with only screen updates and user inputs transmitted over the network.
- Session Management: Resources are dynamically allocated based on workload demands.
Benefits of Hosted Virtual Desktop
The rise of remote work in various industries has created a strong demand for agile and flexible work environments.
Today’s workforce expects to be able to work full-time from anywhere, at any time. HVD helps businesses leverage the power of the cloud to address challenges in remote workplaces.
Some of the benefits of HVD include:
1. Hassle-free Maintenance
Maintenance of any infrastructure within an organization requires a dedicated team, especially when it is responsible for handling critical data.
The dedicated team is responsible for updating, maintaining, and supporting hosted virtual desktops; the maintenance burden falls on the HVD service provider.
At the same time, your employee enjoys on-demand access without having to perform patches and security upgrades.
2. Enhanced Security
Security is one of the major concerns employees and organizational leaders face when working from home. HVD Cloud Computing services provide a secure and reliable environment for users to access their applications and data from any device with an internet connection.
The key feature of HVD is that the virtual desktop environment is hosted on a cloud server rather than on the user’s device.
By using HVD, users can access their desktops and applications from anywhere while still enjoying the same level of security and performance they would get if they were using a traditional desktop environment.
HVD also helps to reduce the risk of data loss or theft by isolating the data on the cloud rather than storing it on endpoint devices.
Enhanced User Experience
User experience matters the most when introducing new technology within the organization. HVD provides users with a customizable environment that can be tailored to meet their specific business needs. Users can add or remove applications, change settings, and personalize their desktop environment to suit their needs.
One key advantage of HVD is that it provides a consistent user experience across all devices. This means that users can access their desktop environment and applications from any device and still enjoy the same performance and functionality they would get if they were using a traditional desktop environment.
Lower Your CapEx
Hosted Virtual Desktops are designed to deliver high-performance computing capabilities to users, regardless of their device. All processing and computing tasks are performed in the cloud rather than on the endpoint device.
This means that even low-spec devices can access HVD, as they do not need powerful processors, large amounts of memory, or dedicated graphics cards. Instead, they only require a stable internet connection and a primary web browser to connect to the HVD environment.
It significantly impacts a firm’s budget, eliminating the need to purchase expensive hardware or upgrade existing devices to meet the performance requirements of modern applications. Instead, firms can opt for low-cost endpoint devices, such as thin clients or Chromebooks, which are typically much cheaper than traditional desktops or laptops.
Higher Flexibility
Hosted virtual desktops (HVDs) have transformed the way we work by enabling remote work environments that are flexible and efficient.
HVDs allow employees to securely access their work desktops, applications, data, and settings from anywhere with an internet connection, eliminating the need for VPNs to remotely access business resources.
Recommended Reading: Is Citrix a VPN?
How Much Does Hosted VDI Cost?
Hosted desktop plans & pricing are flexible, depending on your business requirements; you need to pay for the service you are using. The pricing can be scaled based on the number of cloud desktops you require & the types of applications or desktop services (DaaS) your firm needs.
Look for a hosted desktop provider that offers higher bandwidth, at least 30 days of free backup, user-level app access, access to local drives, round-the-clock support, updates, and maintenance.
If you are a company or an individual looking for a complete hosted desktop solution, Ace Cloud Hosting provides pay-as-you-use HVD pricing plans with data encryption to ensure robust security & round-the-clock troubleshooting. For more information, please contact our experts.
Ditch expensive hardware upgrades. With HVD from Ace Cloud Hosting, access powerful desktops from anywhere—on a budget.
Hosted Virtual Desktop (HVD) vs Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
Both HVD & VDI are types of desktop virtualization that provide a digital working environment for small to medium businesses. The basic difference lies in terms of their working & usage. In Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, the local IT team manages the virtual desktop as the central server is located in the on-premises data center.
On the other hand, the hosted virtual desktops are hosted in a third-party service provider’s IT infrastructure. HVD serves as a cloud-based service that provides applications & software to end-user devices such as laptops, smartphones, and tablets.
1.Business Continuity
Apart from being a remote workforce enabler, business continuity is one of the most important factors an employer looks for before finalizing any solution for the entire organization. Both VDI and HVD are designed to support business operations around the clock.
However, VDI can be a bit vulnerable if installed in an “On-premises setup”. Any natural calamity, such as earthquakes or floods, can disrupt the servers and damage the storage centers. This will result in huge data loss as well as capital loss.
On the other hand, HVD is a bit more resilient solution. HVD service providers offer DRaaS (Disaster Recovery as a Service) in which the data is copied into multiple data centers at different locations. Therefore, even if a single server is somehow disturbed, your work will not be hampered.
2. Infrastructure
Hosted virtual desktops are hosted on the cloud service provider’s servers. As HVD is a part of managed services, the service providers will be taking care of the infrastructure, including maintenance, bug fixes, updates, additions, and removal of users. The organization does not spend an extra penny on establishing a dedicated IT team.
VDI hosts the desktop operating systems on remote servers located inside the data center, and the in-house team manages them. Setting up an in-house team can put a dent in an organization’s future planning, especially when the company is newly built.
3. Cost
It is a fully managed service that lowers upfront and operational costs. Initially, managed services may seem a little costly as multiple licenses need to be purchased. However, in the longer run, the TCO of an organization will eventually improve, and within a year or 2, the whole HVD cost will be recovered.
Additionally, the IT infrastructure team will force VDI users to bear additional expenses to manage and upgrade the IT infrastructure. Moreover, HVD suppliers have a certain level of expertise when managing a dedicated system. It will also incur a capital cost as continuous air conditioning will be required for server rooms.
4. Scalability
HVD operates in a single cloud-based environment. However, both solutions are the same in terms of scalability. The major difference comes when we talk about management. In HVD, management is handled by third-party providers. Therefore, it’s easier to customize and scale.
The situation is quite different in VDI. When managing the infrastructure yourself, there’s a possibility of human error.
You must allocate storage, memory, and CPU to scale up or down the VDI environment. This will be time-consuming, and organizations will lose focus on operations rather than building their brands.
Top HVD Service Providers
1. Ace Cloud Hosting
Ace Cloud Hosting is an award-winning provider with 15+ years in cloud services, delivers enterprise-grade VDI solutions built for today’s remote workforce.
They offer various VDI solutions, including Desktop as a Service, Azure Virtual Desktops, Managed Citrix Desktops, Linux Virtual Desktops, and more, tailored to your business needs. Their fully managed HVD platform keeps your teams productive and your data protected while we handle patches, upgrades, and uptime around the clock.
2. Microsoft
Microsoft is one of the most trusted names in cloud computing. It offers Azure Virtual Desktop to help businesses deliver seamless virtual desktop experiences to their teams.
Supporting Windows, Apple, and Android devices, Azure Virtual Desktop adapts effortlessly to diverse work environments. It empowers organizations with flexibility, scalability, and robust security essential for efficient, secure operations in today’s fast-paced digital landscape.
Citrix is a top provider of cloud-based desktop solutions, enabling businesses to access virtual desktops and applications from anywhere, at any time, and on any device. It serves over 16 million cloud users who require the flexibility, scalability, and security necessary to operate efficiently in a remote work environment.
Read More – Top Cloud Desktop Providers in 2025
Ace Cloud Hosting: Your Go-To Partner for Hosted Virtual Desktops
Transitioning your desktops to the cloud eliminates the need for constant PC upgrades and hardware issues. Your team can effortlessly access their workspace from any device, wherever they are, with smooth, lag-free performance. And since your data never lives on local machines, losing a laptop doesn’t mean risking sensitive information; everything stays safely encrypted in the top-tier data centers.
Ace Cloud Hosting keeps your desktops fast, safe, and ready for anything. After 15 years of experience in the cloud industry, we move your team to the cloud without compromising security and performance. We handle every update behind the scenes, lock down each workspace, and watch over your system around the clock. Start your free VDI trial today!
