Who Needs Desktop-as-a-Service: Top 7 Businesses that Embrace DaaS [Updated 2019]

The benefits of virtual desktop technologies are well-documented: remote access, shared resources leading to lower costs, easier management, and better data security. Now take all that and add to it the unique benefit of having someone else own and manage the underlying infrastructure, including servers, user desktops, hosted applications and networks, and you have DaaS(Desktop-as-a-Service).

SMB was the first sector to embrace DaaS after its launch, primarily because the technology allows cash-strapped businesses to forego huge capital outlays associated with purchasing and maintaining fleets of PCs and their requisite operating systems and related hardware/software.

In other words, businesses are looking towards digital solutions, such as DaaS, as key players in their growth and their ability to remain dexterous and powerful in an ever-changing and ever-growing digital workforce. Major cloud services, AWS and Azure, now have their own DaaS offerings.

Here's a rundown of seven business types that readily embrace DaaS:

1. Startups and Growth Businesses

Young and rapid-growth businesses tend to burn through a lot of cash as they invest heavily in R&D and customer acquisition initiatives. Many are cash negative and have little to invest in administrative overheads including the purchase of expensive servers to connect to remote locations. DaaS allows such businesses to use cloud-based solutions in their back-office the way they use cloud services such as Office 365, Salesforce's CRM or SAP's ERP. Furthermore, this allows the business to forego hiring extra staff to run their virtual desktop infrastructure, including servers and the software/services that run them.

2. Financial Firms

Unlike technology companies that hire dozens of systems engineers, financial firms, including money managers and private equity firms, are much more frugal with internal IT investments. Owning and managing expensive IT equipment not only slows them down but also nicks off precious basis points from the bottom line! Such firms require highly standardized IT environments that support unpredictable cycles and fast transitions. Using DaaS, financial firms can bring new hires on board much more quickly since they don't need to buy or configure new equipment. Employees can access the same DaaS platforms from their individual devices and freely access custom software including trading apps.

3. Property Management Companies

Realtors and property management companies tend to have operations in multiple cities or states. Being able to access data in a central repository from remote locations to update, add or remove properties is a big plus for such companies. DaaS makes this possible, not to mention that it makes it a breeze for the company to add seasonal workers and contractors.

4. Software Companies

Imagine having to juggle between multiple operating systems on a single computer. Couple that with the stressful deadlines and tons of project goals that need to be kept, it can be exhausting thinking about how much software companies and its employees must go through to successfully achieve their objectives. 

 DaaS makes this entire process streamlined. In essence, software developers can easily switch back and forth between various desktops. This helps improve organization and speed up development while also being cost-efficient by reducing the amount of hardware needed. 

5. Seasonal or Project-Based Businesses

Businesses in seasonal or highly cyclical markets usually prefer on-demand staffing. These include businesses running campaigns, testing and development teams or those running projects. The DaaS model allows such businesses to add or remove virtual desktops for their workers quickly as needed without the need for large inventories of hardware to handle peak needs. This ensures scalability without much sacrifice and allows seasonal businesses to operate at their peak performance. 

6. Companies that Embrace Working Remote

The consumerization wave of five years ago saw many companies allow their employees to bring along their personal tablets and smartphones and use them for work purposes. Key benefits of working remote include higher productivity, better employee satisfaction, and cost savings. Despite these attractions, many businesses report that security remains the biggest challenge for this model. These include:

• Accessing unsecured WiFi.
• Lost or stolen devices.
• People leaving the company.

DaaS can help mitigate security issues while still allowing companies that choose to let their employees work from home or in the office with a virtual desktop from their own devices.

7. Cannabis Companies

As a Cannabis Business, you’re going to be under heavy scrutiny while handling customer data. It’s critical to keep your data secure, however, most cannabis businesses aren’t equipped to do this themselves. Stores that sell cannabis are often running the risk of having their assets stolen, much like a hacker threatens to steal your information. DaaS is more than just giving convenience to new and developing business models, but it is also enhancing cyber-security as well. Having all of the business’ sensitive data on one local machine poses major security risks- especially when robberies in cannabis stores are commonplace. Most cannabis store owners use DaaS to continue operating even after valuable machinery is taken and allows safe storage of sensitive information without the risk of it getting leaked. 

The cloud-based nature of DaaS allows for security measures like 2-factor authentication and strong network security protocols to be in place. These prevent unwanted intrusions as well as keep the entire network secure as opposed to leaving it all to one machine. Even if one computer is bricked or compromised, an employee can just get right back to work on a different computer as if nothing was wrong. This is not only efficient but ensures that hackers cannot do lasting damage on security or workflow. 

DaaS provides many benefits to a wide array of businesses. It is a ubiquitous presence and often a key factor in many types of business and day-to-day office operations. Remote desktop software is a solid choice for organizations of all sizes and can improve business efficiency by providing an agile and scalable solution. Embracing DaaS should be seen as the next step as many businesses are looking towards its increased and continued usage throughout the coming years.