Virtual Desktop – Digital IT News

5 VDI and DaaS Alternatives to Citrix and Omnissa

Olivia Rowan — Thu, 10 Oct 2024 14:30:05 +0000

In recent years, the landscape of virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) and Desktop as a Service (DaaS) has been marked by significant shifts and disruptions, prompting organizations to reevaluate their current providers and solutions. For customers of Citrix and Omnissa, who have faced challenges adapting to these changes, the need for reliable and cost-effective alternatives has become more pressing.

As companies strive to optimize their operations and reduce the long-term costs associated with virtual desktop environments, exploring new options becomes imperative. This article will guide you through four viable VDI and DaaS alternatives that not only promise stability and less disruption but also aim to deliver enhanced performance and scalability, making them worthy of consideration for any organization looking to transition from their current setup.

We asked five companies – Parallels, Nerdio, Anunta, Cybele Software and Workspot- the same questions and here are their responses. Whether you’re grappling with service inconsistencies, seeking better cost management, or simply exploring state-of-the-art capabilities, these options stand out as practical solutions in a rapidly evolving digital workspace landscape.

Parallels

parallels.com

What product/s do you offer that would be alternatives to Citrix and Omnissa solutions including Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops or Omnissa Horizon 8?

At Parallels, we offer a range of solutions that serve as strong alternatives to Citrix and Omnissa. For flexible application and desktop delivery, we provide Parallels RAS and Parallels Secure Workspace. These solutions offer robust access to applications via VDI and have attracted many customers transitioning from Citrix due to their ease of use and cost-efficiency.

This year, we also introduced Parallels DaaS—a cloud-native alternative to Citrix and Omnissa solutions—and Parallels Browser Isolation, which enhances security by safeguarding remote access to SaaS applications. As secure access to applications and data becomes increasingly critical, this new offering is designed to meet those demands effectively.

And of course, many know us for Parallels Desktop, our virtualization solution that allows users to run multiple OSs on a single device – like Windows on Mac.

With our diverse product portfolio, we provide reliable and flexible alternatives to Citrix and Omnissa, catering to a wide range of use cases and ensuring that our solutions meet the evolving needs of organizations.

What advantages do your products offer compared to these Citrix and Omnissa products?

One of the key reasons customers choose Parallels solutions over Citrix or Omnissa is the almost elegant simplicity of the technology and the associated time to value. They like the ease of use, deployment, and management. For example, one of our channel partners XenTegra One recently said that “Administration is 10 times easier. If a client needs assistance, a call is set up and at most takes 20 minutes to show them the ins and outs. A couple of quick trainings and the IT admin is up to speed.”.

This is especially important given the current shortage of IT specialists. Companies can’t afford to wait months for IT professionals to get up to speed. With our solutions, IT admins can get on board fast, without costly and extensive technical ramp time.

That simplicity extends to our licensing model, as well, and we believe that’s a significant advantage compared to Citrix or Omnissa.

Our all-inclusive licensing model offers clear, predictable pricing with no hidden costs. Deployment and maintenance also tend to be more affordable compared to other solutions for reasons we have already discussed.

It’s also worth noting that we support a wide range of hypervisors and cloud providers, allowing customers to leverage existing infrastructure and minimize disruption to the existing environment.

Whether on-premises or in the cloud, our solutions cover everything under one license, with the flexibility to scale up or down as the organization grows.

How many desktops are currently running your product/s?

Although we cannot share specific numbers publicly, we can proudly say that our products are widely adopted and used by numerous satisfied customers globally.

Do you have particular vertical markets or use cases that are most appropriate for your product/s?

We sell almost entirely through channel partners who serve customers in a variety of industries that need reliable, secure, and scalable solutions for delivering virtual desktops and applications. From a market segment perspective, we enjoy genuine strength and pedigree among small to mid-sized businesses, mid-market organizations, state and local governments, and educational institutions. Within our commercial segments, we work extensively within the healthcare industry – with deep expertise in the Electronic Medical Records (EMR) space.

For example, Aspire Indiana switched from Citrix to our solution because they needed a more affordable and less complex option for their virtualization needs. With Parallels RAS, Aspire Indiana was able to deliver secure, remote access to EMR applications through an HTML5 gateway. Like many customers, they were impressed with the simplicity and user-friendly features of our solution. We’re implementing this same scenario for dozens of customers globally, including some of the biggest names in the industry.

Beyond healthcare, we also serve a number of notable financial services organizations, manufacturing customers, as well as clients in the retail and customer service industries. Again, the flexibility and ease of deployment of our solutions make them a great fit for organizations of all sizes and across various industries.

Are there any infrastructure limitations or specifics that new customers should be aware of to run your product/s?

Our products have been on the market for a long time and have evolved into mature solutions that offer exceptional flexibility and compatibility. They are designed to integrate seamlessly with a wide range of IT environments, ensuring they meet the diverse needs of any organization.

Take Parallels RAS as an example. Initially launched as “2X Application Server” in 2006, it has since evolved into a highly flexible solution that works closely with a wide array of popular technology partners and integrations. Just to list a few: It’s accessible across a variety of devices, giving users the flexibility to access resources via HTML5-compliant browsers or through the Parallels Client application, which supports platforms including Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS, Android, and ChromeOS. It also supports all major hypervisors, from Microsoft Hyper-V and VMware ESXi to hyperconverged infrastructures like Nutanix Acropolis and Scale Computing HC3. Whether on-premises, in the cloud (such as Microsoft Azure or Amazon Web Services), or through a hybrid approach, organizations can create a highly adaptable IT infrastructure based on their unique needs.

Furthermore, we actively gather and implement feedback and requests from our customers. Many features in our products have been directly shaped by customer input, ensuring our products continually evolve to meet real-world needs.

Are you offering any programs or incentives for channel partners that migrate their customers from Citrix or Omnissa to your product/s?

Definitely! We recently launched an attractive promotion offering rebates to partners who migrate customers from Citrix to Parallels. Right now, and until the end of November 2024, Parallels is offering customers one free year of Parallels RAS, Parallels Secure Workspace, or Parallels DaaS licensing as part of a three-year pre-purchased subscription with a suggested promotional standard retail price of USD 50,000 or greater. Plus, customers who enter into a three-year pre-purchased subscription with a suggested promotional standard retail price of USD 100,000 or greater can also benefit from deployment and migration assistance from their certified partners. These partners will get a rebate from Parallels for such assistance.

With this promotion, we aim to make the transition from Citrix to Parallels workspace solutions as seamless and beneficial as possible for both our partners and customers.

Apart from this promotion, we support our partners with a comprehensive partner program. There are several levels available, offering a range of benefits such as deal registration, visibility on our Partner Locator, free NFR licenses, financial support for marketing activities, free training and certification on all of our products, and many other advantages.

What is your licensing structure?

Our licensing structure is straightforward and transparent, with no hidden fees. All Parallels products come with an all-inclusive single license model, giving access to a full-featured set of capabilities. This means customers don’t have to purchase a premium license at a premium price just to get a single feature.

We offer both prepaid and postpaid concurrent user licensing models. The postpaid option is specifically targeted at service providers and ISVs.

Is there any additional information that customers considering their virtual desktop or DaaS options should know about your product/s?

One unique aspect of Parallels is our ability to offer a comprehensive platform of solutions not only for server and cloud, but also for the desktop. This enables us to cater to whatever the customer needs.

We’ve recently implemented a hub-and-spoke model, centralizing control through a robust control plane (the hub) that connects all Parallels products across endpoints, servers, and the cloud (the spokes). Parallels DaaS and Parallels Browser Isolation are the first two services in this model, launched earlier this year.

This milestone is a significant step toward our vision of a centralized hub for all Parallels products, streamlining operations for administrators, and ensuring a cohesive user experience. Customers and partners can confidently rely on Parallels to securely access a wide range of applications, including legacy, cloud, and desktop applications, all within our holistic platform of secure workspace solutions.

Our strategic Parallels platform empowers customers and partners to navigate the evolving end-user computing and security landscape with confidence.

2. Nerdio

getnerdio.com

What product(s) do you offer that would be alternatives to Citrix and Omnissa solutions, including Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops or Omnissa Horizon 8?

Nerdio Manager for Enterprise (NME) and Nerdio Manager for MSP (NMM) offer robust alternatives to Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops and Omnissa Horizon 8. Both products are designed to manage Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) environments, streamlining the deployment and management of virtual desktops and remote apps on Microsoft Azure. They provide a simplified, cost-effective, and flexible cloud-native approach.

What advantages do your products offer compared to these Citrix and Omnissa products?

Lower Cost: Nerdio products are optimized for cost savings by automating Azure resource management, ensuring you only pay for what you use.
Ease of Use: Both NME and NMM are known for their intuitive interfaces, which simplify the deployment, scaling, and management of virtual desktops compared to the complex architectures of Citrix and Omnissa.
Cloud-Native: Nerdio is built specifically for Microsoft Azure, leveraging native Azure technologies without the need for third-party brokers or controllers, unlike Citrix and Horizon.
Flexibility: With seamless integration into the Microsoft ecosystem, Nerdio products provide flexible, multi-tenant or hybrid-cloud environments, and can be deployed in a fraction of the time it takes with Citrix or Horizon.

How many desktops are currently running your product(s)?

Over three million Azure Virtual Desktops are under management between Nerdio Manager for Enterprise and Nerdio Manager for MSP across a wide range of industries globally. Nerdio continues to grow rapidly, with significant adoption among organizations looking to simplify their Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) management.

Do you have particular vertical markets or use cases that are most appropriate for your product(s)?

Healthcare, Financial Services, Government, Education, and Professional Services have seen significant benefits from Nerdio’s products. Remote work enablement, hybrid cloud infrastructure, compliance-heavy environments, and secure virtual desktop solutions for regulated industries are ideal use cases. Additionally, companies undergoing digital transformation and migrating from on-premise infrastructure find Nerdio particularly suitable.

Are there any infrastructure limitations or specifics that new customers should be aware of to run your product(s)?

Nerdio requires a Microsoft Azure infrastructure as it leverages native Azure services. While the product is optimized for Azure, customers should have sufficient cloud infrastructure in place to support virtual desktop deployment. New customers should be prepared for integrating their existing identity management (like Entra ID), security policies, and networking into Azure to fully leverage Nerdio’s capabilities.

Are you offering any programs or incentives for channel partners that migrate their customers from Citrix or Omnissa to your product(s)?

Yes, Nerdio offers incentive programs for channel partners, including special pricing, marketing support, and training to assist with customer migrations from Citrix or Omnissa solutions. These programs aim to empower partners with the tools needed for seamless migrations and successful onboarding of their customers.

Are there programs or incentives for end customers switching from Citrix or Omnissa to your product(s)?

Nerdio provides migration assistance programs and discounted pricing for end customers switching from Citrix or Omnissa. Additionally, customers may benefit from free migration tools and onboarding support to ensure a smooth transition from legacy systems.

What is your licensing structure?

Nerdio offers a per-user or per-customer/tenant licensing structure, depending on the product (NME or NMM). This licensing model is designed to be flexible, allowing customers to scale based on their actual usage and needs. Subscription-based pricing ensures that customers can optimize their cloud spend as they grow.

Is there any additional information that customers considering their virtual desktop or DaaS options should know about your product(s)?

Nerdio stands out due to its deep integration with Microsoft Azure, enabling native Azure Virtual Desktop management, robust automation features, and extensive cost optimization tools. Customers transitioning to Nerdio benefit from:

Fast deployment: 75% faster setup time than traditional solutions.
Comprehensive support: Dedicated customer success teams and technical experts ensure seamless implementation and scaling.
Innovation: Continuous product improvements, including new features around Microsoft Modern Work, ensure that customers are always operating on the latest technology.

3. Anunta

anuntatech.com

What product/s do you offer that would be alternatives to Citrix and Omnissa solutions including Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops or Omnissa Horizon 8?

Anunta works with the client to assess their business and tech infrastructure needs and recommend solutions that integrate seamlessly with products from our OEM partners. Our approach provides robust virtual desktop and application delivery services, serving as an effective alternative to popular virtual apps and desktops.

What advantages do your products offer compared to these Citrix and Omnissa products?

Anunta’s approach delivers business value via customized deployments, enhanced performance, and scalability. As platform agnostic, we offer flexibility and optimization based on specific business needs, ensuring a tailored experience that meets various operational requirements for our clients.

How many desktops are currently running your product/s?

At Anunta, we offer solutions across the Digital Workspace to positively impact the Digital Employee Experience (DEX). We specialize in supporting desktop infrastructure across on-prem and cloud (virtual, private, and public) environments. We offer solutions through our partnerships with leading OEMs. While our expertise is in new installations and migrations from one technology to another, several partners have recognized us for our support and maintenance (Day2) offerings.

Do you have particular vertical markets or use cases that are most appropriate for your product/s?

We cater to various industries, including BFSI, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Airline, Retail, and Education. Our solutions are particularly effective for organizations requiring secure, scalable, and efficient remote access for their teams.

Are there any infrastructure limitations or specifics that new customers should be aware of to run your product/s?

Customers should know that infrastructure requirements can vary based on the chosen OEM technology. We provide a thorough health assessment of the existing environment to ensure optimal performance.

Are you offering any programs or incentives for channel partners that migrate their customers from Citrix or Omnissa to your product/s?

We work with our OEM partners to design incentive programs to ease the decision-making process for clients to migrate from Citrix or Omnissa to other technologies.

Are there programs or incentives for end customers switching from Citrix or Omnissa to your product?

End customers migrating from Citrix or Omnissa can benefit from our tailored transition programs, which may include promotional pricing, deployment support, and dedicated consultation to ensure a seamless switch

What is your licensing structure?

Our licensing model is flexible and designed to meet diverse customer needs. Based on the selected OEM solutions and the customer’s usage requirements, specific details can be discussed.

Is there any additional information that customers considering their virtual desktop or DaaS options should know about your product/s?

We recommend that customers consider the importance of end user experience and support in their virtual desktop journey. Our team is dedicated to providing comprehensive support and guidance throughout the implementation process.

4. Cybele Software

cybelesoft.com

What product/s do you offer that would be alternatives to Citrix and Omnissa solutions including Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops or Omnissa Horizon 8?

Cybele Software offers Thinfinity Workspace as a robust alternative to Citrix and Omnissa Horizon 8. Thinfinity Workspace provides solutions for application virtualization, virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), and Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), making it a comprehensive alternative to Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops and Omnissa Horizon. Additionally, Thinfinity Cloud Manager enables seamless management of virtual desktops and applications across multiple cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, GCP, IONOS) and hypervisors (VMware, Hyper-V, Proxmox).

What advantages do your products offer compared to these Citrix and Omnissa products? Thinfinity Workspace provides several key advantages:

Simplified Deployment: Thinfinity offers cloud-native and multi-cloud deployment, without the complex infrastructure required by Citrix and Omnissa.
Cost-Effective: Thinfinity’s lightweight infrastructure reduces costs compared to Citrix and Omnissa, which often require substantial hardware investments and licensing fees.
Zero Trust Security: Thinfinity’s ZTNA model ensures secure access without the need for VPNs or inbound ports, streamlining security management compared to traditional solutions.
Cross-Platform Access: Thinfinity supports browser-based access across any device without the need for client installations, enhancing user experience and accessibility.
Automation and Scalability: Thinfinity Cloud Manager automates provisioning, scaling, and management of virtual desktops, offering improved flexibility and reduced operational overhead.

How many desktops are currently running your product/s?

Thinfinity solutions have been deployed in over 5000 organizations worldwide, supporting hundreds of thousands of virtual desktops across various industries. The platform continues to grow, scaling to meet the demands of enterprises, educational institutions, and government entities.

Do you have particular vertical markets or use cases that are most appropriate for your product/s?

Thinfinity Workspace is ideal for various industries, including:

Healthcare: Secure access to electronic health records and specialized applications.
Education: Virtual classrooms and remote access to campus resources for students and faculty.
Engineering and Design: GPU-accelerated software for CAD and graphic design.
Finance: Secure desktop access for financial applications with strict compliance needs.
Government and Legal: Secure application delivery and remote desktop access for confidential documentation.
Oil and Gas: Remote access to specialized simulation software, geospatial data, and compliance-focused applications for managing exploration and drilling operations. This often involves intensive graphics processing, secure data transfer, and access to OT (Operational Technology) networks for monitoring and controlling physical processes, like drilling equipment and pipelines.
OT Networks: Thinfinity’s solutions integrate with OT networks, providing secure remote access to critical industrial systems, ensuring compliance, performance, and security for sectors like manufacturing, utilities, and energy where remote monitoring and real-time control are paramount.
Independent Software Vendors (ISVs): ISVs can leverage Thinfinity to transform legacy Windows-based applications into modern, SaaS offerings without rewriting the software. By virtualizing and delivering these applications directly through the browser, ISVs can offer their clients cloud-based access, improving scalability, reducing deployment complexity, and modernizing their software delivery.

Are there any infrastructure limitations or specifics that new customers should be aware of to run your product/s?

Thinfinity is a cloud-agnostic solution, meaning it can be deployed across on-premises, hybrid, and cloud environments, including AWS, Azure, GCP, IONOS, and other major hypervisors like VMware, Hyper-V, and Proxmox. Thinfinity’s lightweight architecture is optimized for efficiency, typically requiring up to 50% less infrastructure than traditional solutions such as Horizon 8. This makes Thinfinity an attractive alternative, offering scalability with lower hardware demands, reducing operational costs, and simplifying deployment across diverse environments. With its flexible deployment options, Thinfinity can adapt to varying customer infrastructure needs, from small-scale operations to enterprise-level deployments.

Are you offering any programs or incentives for channel partners that migrate their customers from Citrix or Omnissa to your product/s?

Yes, we offer partner incentive programs that reward channel partners for migrating their clients from Citrix or Omnissa to Thinfinity solutions. These programs often include discounted licensing for the first year, training resources, and marketing support to ease the transition and accelerate adoption.

Are there programs or incentives for end customers switching from Citrix or Omnissa to your product?

Yes, for end customers, Thinfinity provides migration assistance, discounted licensing for, and free consulting services to ensure a smooth transition from Citrix or Omnissa platforms. Additionally, we offer a free trial to allow organizations to evaluate Thinfinity before making a final decision.

What is your licensing structure?

Thinfinity’s licensing structure is flexible, offering both subscription-based and perpetual licensing models depending on the organization’s needs. Licensing can be purchased per concurrent user, per named user, or based on usage, making it adaptable for businesses of all sizes. Pricing tiers are also available for cloud, hybrid, and on-premises deployments.

Is there any additional information that customers considering their virtual desktop or DaaS options should know about your product/s?

Thinfinity Workspace is designed to be future-proof and highly flexible, supporting deployment options on-premises, hybrid, or fully as-a-service. Built with a cloud-native architecture, it offers multi-cloud support and automation via Infrastructure as Code (IaC), enabling organizations to standardize VDI across cloud platforms and on-premises environments. Thinfinity helps businesses achieve cloud cost reduction and control through automation, optimizing resource usage and minimizing operational overhead.

One of its key advantages is avoiding vendor lock-in, allowing businesses the freedom to choose between cloud providers such as AWS, Azure, GCP, IONOS, or major hypervisors like VMware, Hyper-V, and Proxmox. Thinfinity’s Zero Trust Security framework ensures secure, reliable access, while its automation capabilities significantly reduce manual management, delivering a seamless experience for IT teams and end users alike. Whether organizations are transitioning to DaaS or need advanced application virtualization, Thinfinity provides a scalable, cost-effective solution that can adapt to any deployment model.

5. Workspot

https://www.workspot.com/

1. What product/s do you offer that would be alternatives to Citrix and Omnissa solutions including Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops or Omnissa Horizon 8?

Workspot offers a unified digital workplace for the secure delivery of virtual apps, virtual desktops, and web apps from VMs located within on-premises data centers or any combination of the AWS, Azure, or Google clouds.

2. What advantages do your products offer compared to these Citrix and Omnissa products?

The Workspot unified digital workplace allows customers to deliver a secure browser, virtual apps and desktops from a unified cloud-native platform. The platform also provides IT unified observability to optimize user digital experience (DEX), lower cost, and increase security.

3. How many desktops are currently running your product/s?

As a private company, we do not disclose our user count.

4. Do you have particular vertical markets or use cases that are most appropriate for your product/s?

The use cases we see commonly include 3D CAD designers, software developers, contractors, call centers, and remote employees. Popular vertical markets include (but not limited to) financial services, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, higher education, and architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) employ our solutions.

5. Are there any infrastructure limitations or specifics that new customers should be aware of to run your product/s?

Workspot enables the user to leverage an endpoint device of their choice, including Windows, Macs, iOS, Android, Linux and a web client.
Workspot also enables companies to deliver their virtual desktops and apps from their on-premises data center and/or any cloud, e.g., Azure, AWS or GCP.

6. Are you offering any programs or incentives for channel partners that migrate their customers from Citrix or Omnissa to your product/s?

Yes, Workspot has a program that enables a customer to take their first use case live in 45 days. If the customer migrates to the cloud, there are significant incentives from the IaaS provider.

7. Are there programs or incentives for end customers switching from Citrix or Omnissa to your product?

The biggest reason customers are looking to switch is due to the higher costs of both their server and desktop virtualization platforms. Workspot enables its customers to switch within their existing budget, and in many cases saves between 57%-65% in total cost of ownership.

8. Is there any additional information that customers considering their virtual desktop or DaaS options should know about your product/s?

Workspot’s platform was engineered for simplicity. Many customers are surprised at the speed at which they migrate onto a future-proof platform, and the ease of overall single-console management and operation thereafter.

Promotion Rebates for Partners Migrating Customers from Citrix to Parallels

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McMaster University 1st in the World to Access 3D Design Software

Taylor Graham — Fri, 03 Dec 2021 03:31:05 +0000

IGEL, provider of the next-gen edge OS for cloud workspaces, announced that McMaster University in Canada has refreshed its entire desktop estate in its Faculty of Engineering standardizing on powerful IGEL UD3 multimedia endpoints running IGEL OS.

Replacing end-of life thin client terminals from Devon IT and Dell Wyse, IGEL offered the configuration, stability, security and usability the IT team was looking for, with IGEL Universal Management Suite (UMS) providing the critical management capability to control a large number of devices in five buildings. IGEL UD3 endpoints connect to VMware Horizon and support the Blast Extreme Protocol for graphics display – crucial given the widespread use of 3D computer aided design software within the faculty.

Founded in 1887, McMaster University is a public research university based on a 300-acre campus in Hamilton, Ontario – the waterfall capital of Canada. Ranked at 69 in The Times Higher Education World University Rankings, it is home to more than 31,000 students and is an award-winning employer with over 6,000 staff including around 1,000 full-time faculty members.

McMaster University is a pioneer in the use of VDI

With 1,000 students in the first year alone, the Faculty of Engineering is one of the largest faculties at the university and has been a long-term user of virtual desktop infrastructure.

VDI was originally deployed in 2009 when a CAD$48 million six-story glass Engineering Technology Building was constructed which is eco-friendly and energy efficient. To meet LEED gold certification requirements, VDI combined with thin clients solved the challenge of what desktops to install in the main computer lab given noisy, power-hungry PC workstations which generate a lot of heat were not an option.

Michael Curwin, IT manager at McMaster University’s Faculty of Engineering, explains, “The HVAC systems would have had to been totally redesigned costing literally millions if we’d used traditional desktops. Clearly that wasn’t realistic plus when you’ve got 55 students in a room, workstations are far too loud and it’s impossible to teach. Also, our endpoints required a big spec to run processor intensive CAD software from AutoDesk and other ISVs which all first-year students have to learn how to use.”

The IT project team first considered using laptops and Apple iMacs during the proof of concept,. These were rejected in favour of investing in VDI as all the necessary computing power, cooling and EUC management overhead could then be centralized at its datacenter on campus.

Twelve years ago, VDI as a technology was on the cusp of shifting from a hardware to software-centric architecture. Curwin says, “Many people didn’t think you could run CAD over it properly because of latency and jitter with the graphics when you take a 3D object and start spinning it around. With the support of our IT partners, we got everything working so well that 25 higher education institutions in Canada came to see how we did it.”

Today, the new IGEL UD3 endpoints connect to VMware Horizon running on 20 dedicated virtualized IBM servers, each with two 30 GB graphics cards. NVIDIA virtual GPU technology load-balances this graphics processing power to enhance the user experience of every student connected to the network. A vSAN cluster comprising 160 hard drives also helps speed up the read/write process and data storage.

Elliptical shaped computer lab aids effective teaching

Given the success of VDI over the years, IGEL UD3 endpoints have been installed throughout the five Engineering Faculty buildings with administrative staff using them as well as students. But it is in the main computer lab where VDI and thin clients have really come to the fore.

The lab has an innovative elliptical shaped design – the first in North America – which lets lecturers stand in the middle of the room while students are seated around the edge of the ellipse looking in. After a presentation, they can then ‘spin around’ in their chairs and work accessing VDI-delivered applications using a IGEL UD3 endpoint connected to a monitor, keyboard and mouse positioned behind. This allows lecturers to stand at their shoulders and provide close guidance as necessary.

Furthermore, when not physically in the lab, 500 VDI licences purchased by the university enable students to log in using any browser-based device like smartphone, Chromebook or iPad to access a virtual Windows 10 desktop and applications like Ansys, MatLab, YouTube and Microsoft Office. This means they don’t have to buy expensive high-end computers to study and can work from anywhere at any time which has been hugely important during the coronavirus pandemic.

Curwin adds, “As it turned out, we were pandemic prepared and able to support students to do CAD design 24/7. And as we now move to a hybrid learning future – where some students work from home and others are on campus – we have the infrastructure in place to enable this easily.”

The advantages of using IGEL UD3 endpoints are numerous. Over and above the power and heat consumption benefits, endpoint security is improved and there is a huge amortized cost gain as these solid-state devices last three times as long as a PC or laptop. This results in better use of finite budgets and less IT into landfill. And there are additional ‘soft’ benefits, too. Controlling endpoints is quicker, easier and done remotely, including shadowing, using IGEL UMS with devices ‘locked down’ and auto-configurable if accidently unplugged.

Curwin says, “As much as you can make IT sexy, this is it. The investment in VDI has really paid off in terms of day-to-day management but also student recruitment. A year after the computer lab opened, the then provost visited and asked first year students what they thought of it. Unsolicited an undergraduate said that it was one of the reasons why she came to McMaster University to study which was a beautiful moment for us.”

Ken Shipman, IGEL’s regional sales manager in Canada, says, “McMaster University has become a huge evangelist about the value and benefits of VDI. They have a high-performance state-of-the-art system for students which – combined with easy to manage and reliable endpoints from IGEL – shows just what a compelling solution it is for academia.”

Image licensed by freepik.com

IGEL Brings EUC Professionals Together for the Digital DISRUPT Unite Cloud Workspaces Experience, February 25, 2021

How Traditional VDI “Lock-In” Stalls Business Growth

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I Want to Work From Home, or I Quit: Meeting New Employee Expectations

Val King — Wed, 30 Jun 2021 12:36:44 +0000

After a year of Work from Home, how employees want to work has changed. 65% of employees want to remain remote workers. Another 33% prefer a hybrid model, working from home a few days a week according to a new survey out by Flexjobs, gathering opinions of over 2,100 remote workers.

The two main reasons behind the sentiment were clear.

84% do not want to commute to work. Employees prefer the commute from the bedroom to the home office, the dining room table, or wherever they call the “home office.”

75% are enjoying the cost savings, or pay raise, depending on your perspective, that comes with staying home to work. Less money spent eating out, less spent on fuel, bus/train fare, lunch, less on wardrobe, etc.

58% of this group now consider the “benefit” of working from home so crucial that they would

look for a new job instead of returning to a pre-COVID office environment.

Of course, that is easier to say than to do, but the message is worth considering.

Employees have discovered that they can be effective in their roles working from home, among other perks, and no longer see enough benefit in being at the office. The financial and quality of life improvements that come with living in PJ bottoms and bunny slippers all day and still being able to get stuff done are just too compelling.

Working from Home Isn’t Perfect

Working from home is not perfect; it comes with some challenges identified in the survey.

Employees voiced a common concern with working from home, not being able to unplug from work.

While the short commute from the bedroom appreciated, the inability to separate the place work gets done from the home space introduces challenges for 35% of those surveyed.

Experiencing distractions while working from home, at 28%, was another element employees surveyed found challenging.

It is not hard to imagine what some of those distractions might be, especially for employees who cannot create a dedicated quiet space for work at home. Children attending school via distance learning, pets, and spouses working from home all come to mind with some of the challenges these can present.

From the employer’s perspective, beyond evaluating new ideas like downsizing or eliminating the office, this survey points out new stresses on organizations with a remote workforce.

The Technical Challenge at Home

28% of those surveyed said that one negative aspect of working from home deals with added technical problems.

The survey finding makes logical sense. There are more technology components involved in delivering a successful work experience when working from home. Many of these new elements are not the responsibility of the company IT department. Responsibility for supporting everything within the home network falls to the employee and maybe a tech-savvy relative.

Expanding beyond the corporate network to home networks, IT problems are more varied, making them more challenging. The types and brands of home IT equipment are more varied while the travel distance to support employees has increased. Outside of the office, employees can lose the benefit of unofficial IT support offered by those sitting nearby

In short, there is more to manage, less visibility, more variation, more distance, and no additional IT people to help. A perfect recipe for the surveyed response given by employees reporting that dealing with technical problems is one reason not to work from home.

Remote workers are harder to physically get to for IT personnel when something needs to be fixed or replaced in person than working in the same building as the IT team. It turns out there is still a commute of sorts; it just moved to IT department field techs traveling to employee’s homes or a nearby Starbucks to render assistance when remote support is not an option.

Many companies have taken the policy that it is the employees’ role to own support for their own home IT equipment which seems reasonable. In reality, these policies get tested when an employee working on a critical project has a problem with their home network preventing them from being productive.

While officially IT does not support home networks, the reality is it is an unofficial necessity in some cases to enable employees to work productively.

These elements contribute to the pain felt by employees when technical challenges occur and the increased wait times while the issues get resolved.

How Virtual Desktops Help

Virtual desktops continue to be an effective option to deliver an excellent PC-like experience for work from home employees while simplifying IT management efforts, reducing resolution times, and eliminating the need for staffing increases to meet increasing IT support demands.

There are some unique paths some companies have put in place to embrace the capabilities of virtual desktops and the simplification these environments can provide.

One financial services firm provides new employees with a menu of IT equipment to select from based on their role as part of the new employee onboarding process. The equipment chosen off the menu is pre-provisioned, asset tagged, etc., by a vendor-partner and delivered to the new employee’s home.

Equipment replacement, upgrades, etc., are all managed by the vendor, giving the IT department time to focus on other areas. With this model, IT can maintain standards and maintain appropriate training to deliver adequate support. Employees feel better about the experience because they get to have a hand in selecting the tools they will use to do their work. IT can reduce the complexity a bit and provide a better, more productive end-user experience.

Other innovative companies we work with have extra equipment (mice, monitors, computers, etc.) stored central to their remote employees, allowing them to replace damaged equipment and maintain productivity. At the same time, IT handles the logistics of servicing dead equipment. Hoteling at one of the office locations is an option if there is a problem with the home environment that will take an extended time to fix.

Virtual desktops deliver the applications employees need, and the pre-configured, hot-swap hardware makes management and logistics easy. With these systems in place, IT Support costs have maintained or decreased their pre-COVID levels while maintaining or improving the employee’s ability to work.

An engineering firm uses virtual desktops to protect intellectual property and expand their staffing options with VDI outside of their office locations to take advantage of more diverse pools of talent that do not want to move to cities with office locations.

Employees like working from home on their terms. While benefits more than outweigh the drawbacks for a large portion of the working population, there are ways to minimize the potential impact of some of the potential disadvantages considerably.

Technologies like VDI allow employees to work remotely and be productive with a better end-user experience than a legacy VPN connection can provide. The improved management and delivery capabilities will enable IT to support a diverse set of endpoints, including PCs, Macs, Chromebooks, iOS, and Android devices, in its evolution over the last 25 years.

This technology allows employees who can work from home to work from home and meet all security, intellectual property, governance, and compliance requirements and standards.

Great employees are hard to find and can be harder to keep, but the decision of where an employee should work post-COVID does not have to be a potential show stopper. IT can be equipped with a VDI experience to meet these use cases and protect the valuable talent that makes companies successful.

Source: https://www.statista.com/chart/24714/survey-on-pandemic-remote-work-us/

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