February 7, 2023

By: Varun Mehta, Program Director - DWPS C&I, LTIMindtree

Expediting legacy modernization post-pandemic to cater to hybrid/remote workspace has made it imperative for enterprises to virtualize their environment for enhanced business value and agility. This involves a re-alignment of technology to business needs, cost, and security enabling better experience, scalability, and productivity.

Herein lies the opportunity for a seamless movement from physical deskside infrastructure to virtualization technologies such as Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) and Desktop as a Service (DaaS) for enterprise aligned to organization requirements. Both the technologies may seem similar since both allow access to virtual desktops. The key difference between VDI and DaaS, however, lies in the ownership and management.

What is VDI?

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure technology uses virtual machines to provide and manage virtual desktops. It enables hosting desktop environments on a centralized server and deploys them to end-users on demand. VDI for an enterprise is primarily managed internally on an organization’s on-premises data center, with deployment and updates managed in-house.

E.g., Some of the key VDI for enterprise software brokers include VMware, Citrix, and IBM Cloud, etc.

What is DaaS?

Desktop as a Service for enterprise, is a form of VDI that is hosted in the cloud and managed by a third-party cloud provider. It is also known as ‘hosted desktop services,’ which remotely delivers cloud PC or virtual desktops and applications to the users. DaaS for an enterprise is as an effective alternative to on-premises VDI, wherein the service provider provides all the backend infrastructure, including backup, storage, update, and maintenance. When compared to VDI, which needs upfront capital for the solution license, and to build and manage the infrastructure, virtual applications, and user security.

E.g., some of the key DaaS for enterprise providers include AWS WorkSpaces, Microsoft Windows Virtual Desktop, and Citrix DaaS, etc.

Pros and Cons of VDI and DaaS for Enterprises

Which is the Best Fit for your Enterprise?

Typically, either of VDI or DaaS should be selected for an enterprise based on their specific requirements, differentiating capability of desktop virtualization, cloud infrastructure, hosting, and support quality aligned to the enterprise business.

At a high level, VDI fits those enterprises that:

• Have a limited employee base as the organization wherein, desktops can be pooled across multiple user groups
• Focus is on a single tenant model with users in limited locations
• Have an expert in-house IT support system for administration and management of VDIs
• Own a considerably large storage infrastructure and servers with high computing capabilities
• Need in-house data storage and complete control on operations
• Already have invested in CAPEX and want to save on OPEX using per user-based license cost model
• Require high levels of data security and control within the organization
• Work in highly regulated industries such as banking or insurance

DaaS fits those enterprises that:

• Have a large employee base/users to share desktops without much customization
• Focus is on multi-tenant model with users across the globe
• Don’t have an expert in-house IT support team for administration and management
• Good option for Startups looking for cost-effective solutions or enterprises with seasonal demand spikes
• Need faster deployment and easy operations
• Don’t want to spend on CAPEX but are fine with OPEX using subscription-based cost model
• Requires easier/internet-based control over its virtual infrastructure
• Work in a non-regulatory industry such as manufacturing or retail

In summary, both VDI and DaaS are good choices for enterprises that support a global workforce and remote working arrangements, however selecting one over another would largely depend on the specific business needs, nature of operations, availability of support resources, agility, and cost considerations.

Next Steps?

LTIMindtree is a global provider of the most comprehensive DaaS and VDI solutions aligned to specific business environments. We enable IT and Service providers to deploy and manage secure business application and desktop delivery solutions, providing users with instant access to resources, applications on any device, network, or cloud. With proven and ready-to-use frameworks and capability, LTIMindtree provides end-to-end virtualization as per your organization need, starting from assessment to deployment and finally, run and maintain VDI/DaaS environments as a best fit for specific use cases and environment.

Below are recent LTIMindtree Virtualization implementations:

Implementation of Citrix Solution for a leading Investment Company

Implementation of Horizon View Solution for a leading Insurance Company

Both VDI and DaaS provide a robust platform for enterprises which enable on-demand and any-where remote access along with security, continuity aligned to the specific financial needs. We, at LTIMindtree, bring our value expertise and experience in bringing the best solution to the customer by validating the pre-requisites, assessing the dependencies, and completing the readiness assessments which are the key to a successful VDI or DaaS implementation.

LTIMindtree provides end-to-end DaaS/VDI as a service including infrastructure assessment, workload estimation, dependencies, phase-wise migration, and operational strategy, as per your specific environment and business requirements. Feel free to Contact us to know more.