Tech Talk: How To Map Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) Investments to Business Goals
“With a DaaS solution, workers can rest assured that they can get work done from anywhere with easy access to the same applications and data, no matter which device they are using.” In this Tech Talk, Rohit Badlaney, VP product management and strategy, IBM Cloud, shares how businesses can best ensure their DaaS investments are strategically mapped to their objectives.
Rohit Badlaney, VP product management and strategy, IBM Cloud, joins Neha Kulkarni to discuss why desktop-as-a-service is increasingly becoming an important tech investment for IT teams. Badlaney talks about the checks IT teams need to run before finding a DaaS package that fits their needs.
In this edition of Tech Talk, Badlaney explains how businesses can best ensure their DaaS investments are strategically mapped to their objectives. He also tips on training and expertise needed for IT teams to manage DaaS from their end.
Key Takeaways on Why DaaS Investments Matter:
- Gives users convenient and consistent access to applications and data across devices
- Removes the need for a business to ship a physical device to a new worker
- Businesses don’t need to upgrade their endpoint devices as frequently
Here are the edited excerpts from our exclusive interview with Rohit Badlaney, VP product management and strategy, IBM Cloud:
Rohit Badlaney, VP product management and strategy, IBM Cloud
SWNI: Can you tell us about your role in IBM Cloud and how has your journey brought you to desktop-as-a-service (DaaS)?
Rohit: I’m a long-time IBMer and have been with the company for over 20 years with roles across our software, systems and cloud portfolios. Throughout my time at IBM, I’ve used my computer engineering background as a member of the core product engineering team, had roles in client success and management roles running profit and loss. Today, I’m the chief product officer for IBM Cloud driving the strategy and product management organizations. All my different roles over the years have helped to prepare me for the work I’m doing today.
At IBM Cloud, we’re constantly looking for ways to innovate and provide our clients with the best solutions to maximize productivity as they move further on their hybrid cloud journeys. Especially with the rise of remote working during the pandemic, our clients found themselves needing to pack years’ worth of digital transformation into a matter of months. This brought desktop-as-a-service (DaaS) to the forefront of their minds as they strived to enable continuous productivity regardless of location. For this reason, we’re increasingly innovating on (DaaS) offerings that can give users convenient, and consistent access to applications and data across devices.
See More: Deskless Workers Want, and Deserve, Better Technology
SWNI: How does DaaS work and why is it increasingly becoming an important tech investment for IT teams?
Rohit: DaaS is a way of delivering complete virtual desktop environments to users including operating systems, applications, files and user preferences from the cloud. As employees and workplaces become more flexible, DaaS offerings can enable users to access their desktop environment from anywhere and from a wide variety of devices, including PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones. While the desktops run in virtual machines hosted on compute, storage and network infrastructure managed by the cloud provider, users can get an identical desktop experience regardless of which device they use.
“This technology is becoming increasingly relevant as remote work grows more popular, especially over the last two years. With employees working from various locations and using a wide variety of devices, organizations must provide a strong and consistent user experience to maximize remote and mobile productivity.”
With a DaaS solution, workers can rest assured that they can get work done from anywhere with easy access to the same applications and data, no matter which device they are using. This extends to contracted and temporary employees as well, as DaaS removes the need for a business to ship a physical device to a new worker. Instead, the user can be given direct access for the duration of their employment to the company’s applications and files, easing the onboarding process. When the user leaves the company, the organizations simply need to disable access.
SWNI: Security and compliance standards differ depending on the industry and organization, so what checks IT teams need to run before finding a DaaS package that fits their needs?
Rohit: Before deciding which DaaS package fits your enterprise’s specific needs, IT Teams must consider the type of security safeguards deployed by any DaaS provider. Specifically, they should evaluate capabilities such as data encryption methods, multi-factor authentication, and data resiliency – to name a few. Beyond this, they must also determine if their country has specific laws that require data to be left in-country even if the end user is located elsewhere. If so, it’s critical to ensure that the DaaS provider has the capabilities to store your data where it needs to be. In addition to that, your provider should have significant experience and expertise in DaaS.
“Setting up and managing the virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) environment for DaaS — including the virtualization layer, servers, storage, and networking — can often be a complex undertaking that uses up time and resources.”
Not to mention, maintaining compliance and passing audits is similarly very time consuming. To make this easier and to avoid introducing risks, choosing a proven provider with DaaS and VDI expertise is extremely important, so that they can reduce this burden for the company, not add to it.
See More: Tech Employees Are Not Going Back to Offices Anytime Soon: Here’s Why
SWNI: The initial investments are more cost-effective in DaaS than virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), however organizations may wonder if a subscription model could incur higher costs over a certain period. In your view, how can businesses best ensure their DaaS investments are strategically mapped to their objectives?
Rohit: I believe the first step is to understand your performance needs as a business over time to make sure that you’re investing in the right areas. For example, do you need high-powered vCPUs for sophisticated 3D animation? Would streamlined systems used mainly for productivity applications be useful for your organization or are they unnecessary?
“Once you know your organization’s application needs, you can better deploy the right mix of high- and low-powered virtual desktops – all while delivering the tools your workforce needs to succeed. Periodically, you should evaluate subscriptions to ensure you’re leveraging the most relevant capabilities for your business needs and putting resources in the right places.”
Additionally, with DaaS, businesses don’t need to upgrade their endpoint devices as frequently. For example, a DaaS desktop will run just as well on a four-year old device as a brand new one. This allows organizations to save on capital and allocate resources to other areas.
SWNI: Even though desktop-as-a-service is managed by the provider, the organization’s IT teams will be required to maintain functions and certain endpoints. What training and expertise are needed for the organization’s IT teams to manage DaaS from their end?
Rohit: While DaaS is managed by the provider, it’s important for IT teams to have a foundational understanding, so they can make relevant updates to maintain their DaaS infrastructure. Specifically, IT teams are generally responsible for maintaining the apps, data, software licensing, and managing user access as well as maintaining endpoint devices.
“The IT team has the best understanding of the businesses’ performance needs so they must ensure that their DaaS offering is helping to achieve these goals and, alternatively, they must be able to identify when it’s not.”
Often providers will have trainings you can engage in or webinars to provide tips and tricks on how to make relevant updates beyond what is managed by your provider.
See More: Transform Your Software Development Strategy: Three Steps to Avoid DevOps Pitfalls
SWNI: While DaaS can provide greater security than traditional workstations, it is not immune to vulnerabilities. What checks IT teams should not miss when simplifying DaaS storage across the cloud?
Rohit: Leveraging insights from your DaaS provider is paramount when simplifying storage across the cloud. While it’s important to have a proven organization that is focused on optimizing cloud desktop delivery as your DaaS provider, organizations should also ensure they are implementing additional security protocols.
For example, it’s critical to use multifactor authentication and leverage a service that is regularly patched and analyzed by a cybersecurity team. Security also needs to go beyond DaaS itself – users must ensure devices where DaaS is deployed are secured.
See More: How to Do Your SaaS Contracts Right & Get the Most Out of Them in 2022
SWNI: With the rising adoption of desktop-as-a-service, which DaaS trends will shape technology investments in 2022 and beyond?
Rohit: The influx of remote and hybrid work is not likely to slow down or go away completely. As a result, DaaS providers will continue to invest in high-functioning turnkey solutions for enterprises to ensure business continuity. The DaaS market is growing year-over-year and is projected to reach $17.8 Billion by 2029, according to a recent report.
“A goal of many technology providers is to simplify and optimize the usage of data for their clients, whether that’s through cloud-based infrastructure or another type of solution.”
With DaaS, we are working toward this goal, and this will continue to shape investments for years to come. We may even see DaaS become the dominant model for enterprises instead of traditional desktop models, with Gartner expecting DaaS to overtake VDI deployments by 2024. As organizations embrace a hybrid cloud approach and the cloud computing industry at large continues to grow, so too will the DaaS market.
Rohit Badlaney is the vice president, product management and strategy at IBM Cloud. He owns product management and go-to market execution for IBM public cloud portfolios. During the last 20 years at IBM, Rohit has held numerous other product roles in IBM systems, software and cloud divisions, most recently as vice president of IBM Z Hybrid Cloud (DevOps, AIOPS, Cloud Portfolios).
Before that he was director of the systems management and Ops Analytics business in IBM Z Software. Prior to that he has held several Mid Management and Technical Leadership roles in the IBM Software and Systems Groups.
About IBM
IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and business services provider, helping clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Nearly 3,800 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently, and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and business services deliver open and flexible options to our clients.
Tech Talk is an interview series that features notable CTOs and senior technology executives from around the world. Join us as we talk to these technology and IT leaders who share their insights and research on data, analytics, and emerging technologies. If you are a tech expert and wish to share your thoughts, write to neha.pradhan@swzd.com
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