What Does a Cloud Virtual Desktop Look Like?

Cloud Virtual Desktop

As an IT Managed Service Provider, we often encounter situations where it's appropriate for a company to use a virtual environment. You might think that this is complicated or difficult to use, but it's not.

Once you sign in to the virtual desktop with your password, the screen will look like it always does with all the applications and setup that you're used to.

The virtual desktop virtualizes what’s on your computer. When you use a virtual desktop, all of your icons, wallpaper, folders, toolbars, etc. are stored remotely on a server rather than on your computing device. This is because virtualization software houses them separately on a remote server.

What Are The Benefits of Using a Virtual Desktop?

• Staff Can Be Productive From Anywhere: A real plus for using a cloud virtual desktop is that, with your passcode, your computing environment can be accessed from any computing device. So, when you're away from the office, all you need is a computer and to sign in to your virtual environment. You can access your desktop with devices such as desktop, laptops, mobile devices and thin clients.A virtual desktop environment lets your staff access applications and documents from multiple devices like workstations, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. This increases productivity because your employees can access the data they need from anywhere.If employees are in another building, city, or another state, or halfway around the world, a virtualized desktop lets them be productive in any environment.Virtual environments also reduce the downtime required to manually install new software or download software updates. This increases the productivity of all your employees.
• Longer Lasting Devices: Using a virtual environment can extend the life of your computing devices. You’ll use a thin client computing device that’s connected to a network.This is different from a computer (or fat client) that houses memory, storage and computing power to run applications. A thin client acts as the virtual desktop and uses networked servers for computing power.
• Greater Efficiency & Flexibility: Virtual desktop solutions consolidate resources for greater efficiency. You can run the same environment on tablets as you would on high-end desktops. This provides the required environment for all users uniformly.If an employee’s device is defective, they can log in from another device and keep working because the data isn’t stored locally.And a virtual desktop environment offers flexibility for administrators; they can adjust variables like memory allocation and storage on the fly.
• Increased Security: Virtual desktops also provide greater security because you won’t have to transport a laptop device that contains confidential company data and can be stolen or lost. Data and images are stored safely in a data center.Your data is backed up centrally and regularly to the virtual environment; this provides data integrity. Your virtual desktop will back up files and scan for viruses on your client devices.And, because data is centralized in a cloud virtual desktop, this reduces the chances of staff downloading or sharing viruses. If backup procedures are in place and followed correctly, the risk of losing files is reduced.
• Less IT Support Required: Desktop virtualization also can streamline the management of software assets. Since everything is centrally managed and stored in your virtual desktop, you won’t have to worry about patch applications and updates.Admins use centralized management software to maintain devices in the network. This means application deployment, upgrades and virus prevention can be done from one location rather than doing so on individual workstations or computers.Because everything is hosted in the data center, admins only have to install drivers, patches and applications once; and every user benefits from the update.It also takes less time to provision new desktops which can decrease your management and support requirements. With virtualization, desktops can use the same image, including operating systems and applications.And thin client desktops can be replaced in mere minutes instead of hours. This decreases organizational and support costs.
• Lower Costs: Cloud virtual desktops help to decrease desktop management and support costs. Everything is hosted in a data center, so you won’t need a vast collection of PCs in your office. Businesses are switching to virtual desktops to reduce IT labor expenses.Because you're using thin clients that don’t contain moving parts like CD-ROMS or fans, they're cheaper to buy and maintain. They also require less energy than your typical PC or tablet.Managed Service Providers like Infiniwiz provide cloud virtual desktops as a hosted managed service. Hosted virtual desktops are offered on a per-user, per-month subscription model. This provides the added benefit of transferring IT infrastructure costs from a capital expense to an operating expense. It also includes the software used to manage the virtual desktops on the server side.

If you have any questions about cloud virtual desktops, contact the experts at Infiniwiz.

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