Desktop Virtualization: Key Players and How to Choose the Right Provider

Concept image of virtualized desktop

Desktop virtualization is a critical technology that has dramatically changed the way in which businesses and institutions operate across the globe. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the desktop virtualization technology market has seen explosive growth due to the need for simplified IT management and a secure workspace to enable a distributed workforce. 

Industry analysts foresee the demand for desktop virtualization continuing its strong upward trajectory. Spiceworks reports that 50% of all corporate workloads are predicted to run in the cloud by 2023, up from 40% in 2021. While Gartner anticipates that by 2024, 80% of on-premise virtual desktops will shift to DaaS (Desktop as a Service). 

Today, a large number of desktop virtualization providers offer services to thousands of client companies, jockeying for market positions by improving the user interface, offering more competitive pricing, and adding in-demand features such as disaster recovery, bring-your-own-device capabilities, and advanced backup or storage options. 

While determining which technology solution is a good fit seems relatively simple, the complexity of the task soon reveals itself once the sheer number of approaches and solutions available becomes apparent. This blog will take a deep dive into the two major desktop virtualization solutions, discuss questions you should ask when considering providers, and compare popular virtualization technologies available today. 

VDI and DaaS

VDI

The two major desktop virtualization solutions are VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) and DaaS (Desktop as a Service). Typically, the term VDI refers to an internally based computer system that houses operating systems, software, applications, and other technologies in a central data center. All employees, contractors, customers, and other stakeholders access the company’s IT infrastructure through internal WAN, connecting on virtual desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones, or other devices.

This type of solution allows centralized management, maintenance, and troubleshooting for the business’s IT staff instead of needing to work on every end device. This saves IT resources, which are in short supply, and helps companies run their computing systems much more efficiently.

In today’s remote work environment, VDI can be a reliable and secure solution that allows disparate employees to share resources, communicate, and access critical company data from any location. However, building one can take a significant amount of resources as the infrastructure for such a data center can be complex and expensive.

DaaS

DaaS works similarly to VDI, but it typically refers to an external service provider that offers the virtual desktop solution to multiple customers in the cloud. Like VDI, all operating systems, software, applications, storage, and data are centrally stored. However, instead of residing in an on-premise data center, the system sits in cloud-based data centers, usually in geographically diverse locations.

The DaaS partner, in turn, handles all the management and maintenance of the virtual desktop system for its clients. The vendor is responsible for staying on top of the latest developments and ensuring that governance and security remain reliable and of a high quality.

That said, specific use cases may require that IT staff make additional modifications or integrations in order to ensure that the DaaS system can meet all of the needs of a particular company or organization.

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The Pros and Cons of Each

Functionally, VDI and DaaS operate very much alike. One big difference between the two, though, is who is responsible for the management, implementation, and day-to-day maintenance tasks, as well as how resources are allocated.

The main advantage of VDI is maintaining internal control of the data center and the virtual desktop solution. Your organization determines the priorities and chooses when and how updates and patches are handled without waiting for a third-party vendor to deliver. However, the cost of setting up an internal data center, managing software licenses, and keeping up with technological advances can be significant. In addition, an internal IT team will be required to handle the ongoing maintenance and network latency and performance can be an issue.

Using DaaS service providers can allow companies to tap into a wealth of experience and expertise at a low-entry price. In addition, features can be customized to deliver the services that your company specifically needs. Many disadvantages result if an incompatible or inexperienced DaaS partner is selected, and companies may feel a loss of control of a virtual desktop solution if it is managed by a third party.

Further, if an organization has a complex application for the DaaS solution, additional modifications may be required in order to ensure that the system is fully operational. This can compound the costs of integration, customization, and ongoing maintenance.

Another important distinction between VDI and DaaS is the scalability and cost implications. With VDI, scalability is limited. The infrastructure is built around meeting peak demand. The cost of that infrastructure does not decrease if demand does. In contrast, with DaaS your infrastructure cost reflects demand, you only pay for what you use. This provides huge cost savings for organizations that experience vast fluctuations. In higher ed environments in particular, where usage dramatically changes throughout the year, DaaS provides the flexibility and cost savings colleges and universities need.

Choosing the Right Provider 

While many service providers are available to provide cloud desktop solutions, be sure to find one with a proven track record and the expertise you need for your particular business needs. Talk with existing customers about their experiences, particularly regarding how problems were resolved. Meet the individuals who will actually be working with your team to ensure a good fit. Before embarking on a relationship, be sure to understand what your organization’s specific needs look like. How many individuals require complete access vs. occasional access? Which features are important to your organization? Does every employee need every feature? Do you need unlimited access or would a metered approach be more cost-effective? The more you understand your own business’s needs, the better you’ll be able to tailor your solution to maximize your return on investment.

Virtual Desktop Provider Comparison

IT leaders looking for a solution to securely deliver software, data, and apps anywhere, at any time, and on any device will find no shortage of options. This comparative chart will help by highlighting some key differences among common technologies.

Apporto
VMware Horizon
Citrix
AVD
Azure Lab Service
AppStream
Workspaces
DIY
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Hardware Investment
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
On-going Maintenance Agreement
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
Expensive Admins
No
Yes
Yes
Maybe1
Maybe1
Maybe1
Maybe1
CAL Licenses
No2
No
Yes
No
No
Included
Included
VDA Licenses
No
Yes
Yes
Included
Included
No
No
Cost of GPU Support
$$
$$$$$
$$$$$
$$
$$
$$
$$
Scaling Ease
1
5
5
33
1
33
1
Complex Stack
No
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
Browser Access
Yes
Yes4
Yes4
Yes4
Yes4
Yes
Yes4
Deliver Windows Desktops
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Deliver MacOS Desktops
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
No
Deliver Linux Desktops
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Deliver Physical Desktops
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
TCO
$
$$$$$
$$$$$
$$$$$
$$$$$
$$$
$$$
Download Full Comparison
Higher Ed Features
Faculty Analytics
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
No
Scheduling
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
No
No
Interactive Chat
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
No
Virtual Classroom
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
No
Faculty Presentation Mode
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
No
2-Way LMS Integrations
Yes
Partial5
Partial5
Partial5
Partial5
No
No

1. Upskilling existing employees may be possible depending on technical aptitude.

2. Your Microsoft Agreement may already have a provision for CALs.

3. Manually increasing capacity is straightforward, however, implementing auto-scaling techniques is more complex.

4. Browser-based access is available, however, the vendor recommends the use of the local client to increase performance and functionality.

Why Partner With Apporto?

Since being founded in 2014, Apporto has emerged as the leading provider of secure virtual desktops, virtual computer labs, and modular cyber labs. Feature-packed and affordable, Apporto’s fully managed service is lightyears ahead of traditional DIY on-premise VDI solutions. Cloud-native and agile, Apporto gives customers a superior user experience without the heavy lifting and expense normally required by VDI. This frees up your IT team to focus on strategic projects and business objectives rather than continually updating and maintaining a complex stack of technology. Contact us today at apporto.com to start the conversation or to schedule a live demo.

Understanding the TCO for On-Campus Computer Labs

Computer Lab

The role of IT is a complex one and often involves overseeing many different parts of an institution’s operations, including developing a campus computing strategy. While determining which technology solution is a good fit seems relatively simple, the complexity of the task soon reveals itself once the sheer number of approaches and solutions available becomes apparent.

One solution that has been a mainstay in the higher education ecosystem for decades is the physical computer lab. Throughout this blog, we’ll examine the obvious and not-so-obvious costs of computer lab ownership and demonstrate how to accurately calculate the TCO of physical computer labs using a simple formula. 

Initial Investment

Most campus computing solutions start with an up-front investment. For some solutions this is hardware, for others, it’s software or licensing, and sometimes it’s all three.

For campus labs, there is the physical hardware purchase of computers, monitors, keyboards, and mice (we’ll assume furniture and networking equipment is already in place). Depending on the intended use of the machines, there may be a range of costs based on the individual specifications required. Talking with schools across the country, we’ve determined the average package per computer will cost $1,500.00.

On the surface, one could assume the investment figure would then come down to a simple formula of cost multiplied by the number of machines needed. However, there’s a lot more to consider:

  • Cost and timing of a hardware refresh cycle: New technologies roll out at a rapid rate, making the shelf life of a computer extremely short. Determine how often and at what percentage your institution will replace (refresh) the computers found across campus. The majority of schools typically aim for 20%-25% of their fleet every year. This can represent a sizable line item in any IT’s budget.
  • Computer management costs: Are you using a tool from Microsoft, such as Intune, where your existing campus agreement already entitles you to licenses? Or are you investing in an alternative product such as KACE, where an additional investment of about $2.50 per device will be needed?
  • Personnel costs: Does your IT department have the headcount required to take on the management tasks associated with offering physical computer labs across campus?

The cost of offering and maintaining physical computer labs goes far beyond just the initial purchase of the computers, however. Let’s take a look at the obvious and not-so-obvious costs that follow the initial investment phase.

Ongoing Costs

After the initial investment has been made, IT needs to weigh the ongoing costs of updating and maintaining the lab spaces, and as noted before, refreshing the associated hardware on a regular basis. What licensing costs need to be renewed each year? Are there any certification courses and exams your IT staff will need to complete annually? What about the average break/fix budget for the physical hardware assets?

Soft Costs

One of the most frequent mistakes IT leaders make when considering a new solution is underestimating the cost of human capital to manage and maintain the new solution. However, this is easy to incorporate and should be part of any TCO calculation.

For the solution of physical computer labs, there are three primary areas of human cost to review and estimate: 

  1. The time it takes to create the gold image that will be used to clone the rest of the computers across campus. 
  2. The time and effort required to swap hardware components during the annual refresh cycle. 
  3. The time needed to diagnose and effect repairs of failed equipment. Each of these activities will require one or more staff members to complete, and each staff member has an associated cost in salary plus benefits.

Virtual Computer Lab ROI Calculator

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ROI, Return on investment, Business and financial concept.

Hidden Costs

Thankfully, there aren’t a lot of hidden costs associated with computer lab implementations, but there is one that should be weighed: student dissatisfaction affecting retention.

Picture this: two high school friends graduate and head off to different schools to complete their undergraduate degrees. When back at home for a holiday, they share experiences and compare notes about the respective schools they’re attending. The first notes how they spend a lot of time walking around campus going from building to building in search of the correct computer lab to do homework and course assignments.

The second freshman is having a vastly different experience because their campus offers virtual labs in the cloud, and in some cases, direct access from BYOD laptops. They can work from the dorm, student lounge, and even the local coffee shop.

It’s possible that after hearing how easy his friend’s school makes learning on the go, the first student may feel dissatisfied with his circumstances and might even consider transferring. Granted it’s a hard metric to quantify, but it could happen and could negatively impact the success of your campus.

TCO Example

Now that you know what to consider when evaluating the cost of offering physical computer labs across campus, let’s crunch some numbers. 

We invite all readers to use this example and formulas to create their own calculations around the operation (or installation) of a computer lab solution on your campus. For our example, we’re assuming 500 computers across campus are already in place, and our school will do an annual refresh of 25%.

Variable
Example Cost
Cost per computer/computer package
$1500.00
Number of computers (refresh)
125
Break/fix budget
$30,000.00
Staff salary
$45,000
Staff benefits cost
25% of Salary
Number of FTE
2
Time spent on gold images
4 weeks each
Time spent on deployment
1 week each
Time spend on break/fix (annual average)
1 week each
Lab management software licensing
$0 (included with Microsoft agreement)

Hardware Calculation:

Computer cost x count of computers + break/fit budget

$1500.00 x 125 = $187,000.00 + $30,000.00 = $217,000.00

Staff Cost Calculation:

Salary + Benefits / 2000 for hourly rate

$45,000.00 + $11,250.00 / 2000 = $28.00/hour

Hourly rate x number of staff x total time

$28.00 x 2 x 222 hours = $12,432.00

Annual Total = $229,432.00

Based on the above example, the cost of maintaining physical computer labs across campus will have a TCO of well over $200,000.00 annually. This does not factor in the potential loss of students due to their dissatisfaction with being restricted to certain lab spaces to use specific academic software.

Why Consider Apporto

Purpose-built for higher ed, Apporto’s virtual computer labs are different. We offer colleges and universities a variety of purpose-built features, anywhere anytime access, and true digital equity, using our clientless connection via popular web browsers.

Our affordable and low-cost pricing model makes determining TCO a breeze. Our calculation couldn’t be simpler: Number of concurrent users x size (performance profile). For example, 100 user seats would cost $80,000.00 on average

In addition, Apporto offers a fully managed service that takes care of all the infrastructure, backup and recovery, monitoring, and maintenance so that your IT staff can concentrate on the strategic tasks and projects that can continue to elevate the rankings of your campus.

Hardware
Break/Fix
Management
Soft Costs
Hidden Costs
Campus Labs
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Apporto
No
No
No
Minimal
No

Virtual Computer Labs: 2-year Impact Assessment Conducted by IIT

The Office of Technology Services at The Illinois Institute of Technology has completed a two-year assessment of its transformation from physical infrastructure to Apporto’s virtual computer lab.​ Read their findings here.
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Illinois Institute of Technology