Need of Cloud-based Desktop Solution During Covid-19
September 3, 2021
Many things have changed since the coronavirus outbreak – this applies to families, individuals, and businesses. Therefore, working from home has been taxing for employees and managers on a professional and personal level. This has led businesses to adopt technology transformation and cloud-based desktops.
Microsoft says that they have experienced two years’ worth of online transformation in two months only. Similarly, Gartner predicted that cloud spending by businesses would grow by approximately 18% this year.
All these numbers prove that we are progressing towards digital transformation and cloud desktops much more quickly than anticipated. For this reason, this post will discover why you need cloud-based desktop solutions during the pandemic.
How Are Cloud-Based Desktops Helping During COVID-19?
In these challenging times, businesses are trying to reduce overheads and improve demand. However, this originates from your team’s ability to work without disruption and utmost efficiency. Cloud-based hosted virtual desktops help achieve this level of operational efficiency during COVID-19.
1. Risk Mitigation
Cloud-based desktops eliminate the requirement for physical office units or your computers or data centers. This means that the crucial business infrastructure, applications, and data can be accessed anytime with an internet connection from different locations.
With this type of setup, your IT team doesn’t need to keep checking the company’s data center, monitor networks, or improve server efficiency. It reduces the risk of theft, risk of contracting COVID-19 disease and improves continuity.
2. Remote Work
Before the pandemic, a minimal percentage of businesses were allowing remote working – that too partially, for example, offering work from home to an employee willing to stay in his hometown for two more days.
The rest of the businesses didn’t have any remote working culture. All these businesses never built the complete architecture for remote working.
When the COVID-19 virus locked us in our homes, these businesses struggled to make ends meet. With cloud-based desktop solutions, employees gained the ability to function remotely. This includes accessing a desktop containing apps and data relevant to the office.
Businesses didn’t need to set up an architecture; they received a pre-designed infrastructure for seamless management.
3. Support To Front Line Workers
The pandemic is most crucial for first responders, including emergency and health workers. Cloud-based desktop solutions are designed to help first responders in every possible manner. Whether these employees need data anywhere, run applications, or extract specific files, they have everything at their disposal. The use of powerful cloud algorithms and seamless remote working solutions empower healthcare workers.
Why We May Keep Needing Cloud Solutions In During and After COVID-19?
For every business using the cloud or adopting cloud-based desktops, the need for this technology may not subside even after the pandemic. DaaS’s power to sustain your business under different circumstances is the reason for its increasing adoption. Let’s see how it works:
1. Future-Proof Working
The first reason businesses will keep needing cloud-based desktops is their ability to offer future-proof working.
In several unimaginable situations, cloud desktops help you resume working.
For example, you would be able to resume working after a weather-related disaster, such as a flood. And you would also be able to resume working after disruptions like COVID-19.
The COVID-19 has invalidated continuity plans created by several organizations. These contingency plans are expected to help you recover from disruptions like the pandemic. However, when the COVID-19 disease spread increased, we realized the flaws in our contingency plans.
Truly, cloud-based desktops solutions are a means to adapt to dynamic market requirements and evolving customer behavior. From supply chain issues to sick staff, cloud desktops ensure business continuity in multiple situations.
2. Rapid Growth
The overall increase in cloud-based desktop adoption has opened doors to new opportunities and growth verticals. This is because, with the cloud, businesses have the power to innovate and inspire. It is not because of one technology but because of the ability to embrace cultural shifts.
Cloud-based working helps embrace other disruptions, dynamic user behaviors, and market demand modifications. You can adapt to crises according to emotional, environmental needs.
3. Remote Work – New Normal
Gartner says that more than 70% of CFOs plan to shift on-site or full-time employees to permanent remote workers. We are beyond the stage where offices might return to complete in-house working after the pandemic. Remote working is here to stay, and it is essentially the new normal.
If you look at it, remote working culture reduces your budget overheads and optimizes your capital expenses.
It is hard to believe, but here are some reasons why cloud desktops support remote working:
- Your remote workers are more engaged and happier. A study says that work-from-home employees are 22% more satisfied with your organization. Therefore, they tend to work with the company for longer.
- There are COVID-19 concerns still, and it is not going away soon. Offering your employees a chance to stay safe and work from home provides relief and a healthy working environment.
4. Quick Setup
Cloud-based desktops have no upfront installation costs or setup charges. The setup involves migrating to the cloud and using existing desktops to access cloud-based desktops.
The provider will migrate and deploy your desktops on the cloud, after which you would be able to remotely access data and apps.
5. Control And Personalization
On the cloud, you can fully control your desktop configurations and access control. This means being able to configure every desktop based on the needs of different types of users.
6. Advanced Security
Cloud-based desktop solutions are secure and in control. This is because your employees are only accessing a virtual copy of your desktops. So, if you and your employees are opening a desktop on a smartphone, laptop, or tab, you are not storing data on this device. Therefore, any cyberattack, theft, or system crash happening on the end devices doesn’t put your desktops at risk.
Other security measures include:
- Two-factor authentication
- TLS 1.3 and 256-bit encryption
- Intrusion Detection and Prevention Control
Conclusion
At the onset of the pandemic, every business suffered in some way or another. Some struggled to continue working, and others stumbled on the cash flow. The only solution
is to use technology that mitigates remote working issues in one way or another. Cloud-based desktop solutions offer technology aptness for business continuity, security, growth, and personalization. Find out how this is possible from the above discussion and move towards cloud desktop adoption.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bhavleen Kaur is a content writer at Ace Cloud Hosting- a leading Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) solution provider. She specializes in writing about VDI, DaaS, cloud technology, cloud-based desktop & likes to know about upcoming technology and trends. In her free time, you can find her reading novels or watching movies.
