Desktop as a Service (DaaS) is growing exponentially. Worldwide, the DaaS market is expected to swell from $4.9 billion in 2022 to $18.7 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 21% over the next decade, according to a 2023 report by Custom Market Insights. Companies of all sizes and across all industries are adopting DaaS solutions for multiple reasons, including enhanced flexibility and ease of use, superior security, lower capital expenditures, and instant scalability.
What Is Desktop as a Service (DaaS)?
Desktop as a Service (DaaS) is a cloud-based solution that moves a company’s servers, desktops, applications, and files to a cloud service provider’s private cloud. With DaaS, a Windows desktop is streamed over the internet to users, who can securely log on and access all of their applications and files from any device and from any location.
Flexibility and Ease of Use
The pandemic accelerated the adoption of cloud-based technologies and DaaS in particular. With hybrid and/or remote work environments becoming the rule rather than the exception, many companies realized they needed more flexibility from their IT. DaaS provides that flexibility by allowing employees to work on one device in one location and pick up exactly where they left off on another device elsewhere. Users don’t need to worry that they left the latest file on their other computer or that different devices won’t have the same applications. By allowing workers to seamlessly perform all functions whether they are working in the office, at home, or on the go, DaaS enables companies to manage hybrid or remote work policies without sacrificing productivity. Further, since users access their familiar Windows desktop that looks and functions exactly as it did before the transition, companies and their users can quickly adapt to DaaS with no learning curve or training.
Security
The sky-high cost of cyber breaches and the growing sophistication of cybercriminals increased the emphasis on data security at companies of all sizes and industries. With the widescale transition to flexible workplaces adding vulnerabilities by increasing potential entry points into a firm’s network, many companies have turned to DaaS for its enhanced security. Company leaders know that with flexible work environments, their security must stretch beyond the walls of their office to wherever employees are working. With DaaS, all connections take place within the cloud provider’s secure private cloud, regardless of a user’s location, device, or application.
Further, in today’s world, it is cost-prohibitive for most small and midsized businesses to do everything they need to secure their systems on their own. By working with a high-quality cloud service provider, businesses benefit from a team of professionals with expertise in the multiple facets of cybersecurity, including anti-virus, anti-malware, secure DNS, 24x7x365 monitoring, software, and security patch updates, secure backup and recovery services, security audits, strong password policies and multi-factor authentication (MFA), and security education and training for client staff.
Decreased Capital Expenditures
DaaS allows companies to significantly curtail their capital IT expenditures. With their systems, applications, and files hosted on the cloud provider’s secure servers, companies no longer need to invest in and maintain costly servers, which must be replaced every 7 to 10 years. Further, DaaS’s unique characteristics make it particularly effective at supporting a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy. Allowing employees to use their own devices – which they are often most comfortable with – eliminates or reduces the need for companies to invest in computers and other devices. As personal computers have an average life of 3 to 8 years, companies can realize significant savings over time with BYOD.
Scalability
Rather than purchasing and maintaining their own equipment, companies pay a per-user monthly rate to the DaaS provider for the services they use. Therefore, companies are never stuck paying for services that they no longer need, which allows for instant scalability. When adding to headcount, companies no longer need to purchase incremental hardware and assume the risk of those investments. They simply ask the cloud provider to add another user to the system.
Tabush Group is a leading provider of managed services and secure cloud-based IT solutions. To learn about how Boxtop, our DaaS solution, can make your firm’s operations more efficient and secure, contact us.