Cloud Desktops - Never Buy Another Server Again!

By: Mimi Ho (Services Manager)

I've said it before, but like it or not the Cloud is going to change the way we do business in the next 2 years. There are a number of differing Cloud Products, but one of the more interesting is the concept of the "Cloud Desktop".

Cloud (or Hosted) Desktops essentially emulate the traditional function of the desktop computer, and move this into the Cloud. What is left on your desk at work becomes simply a "thin terminal" by which you dial into your hosted desktop computer. This means, you are no longer reliant on local PC hardware, as all the processing is done on the hosted desktop. Because Cloud Desktop's offer all the capabilities which you would get from your local IT environment (such as Exchange, any Business Applications etc.) you also have no requirement for owning and operating local server infrastructure.

So what does this mean for the business owner? Put simply, it means all your IT costs are charged to you on a per user, per month basis. And the benefits of the cloud are compelling:

• Less stress - by removing the headaches of maintaining dedicated onsite equipment, staff can focus on business activity as opposed to dealing with changing backups, slow computers and time consuming IT fixes
• More Reliable - The Cloud environment is fully managed and redundant meaning you are not reliant on single piece of hardware as you may in a local IT environment. The systems are also generally monitored 24x7
• You save money - You remove your IT Support Costs and 3 year cycle of replacing all your old equipment
• You pay only for what you use - no more wastage on overpowered servers/workstations
• Access from anywhere - means more productive staff and improved responsiveness for your customers; Your staff get access to your new cloud solution from anywhere with an internet connection

R & G was one of the first Hosted Desktop providers in Brisbane, and we now provide Hosted Desktops to national organiastions and publicly listed companies. This has given us a unique insight into the power of the Cloud, as you essentially remove the costs (and headaches) of owning and running your local IT equipment.

So what are the downsides that people won't tell you? Well, your Hosted Desktop will not be accessible if you do not have internet connectivity so you need a system that mitigates this risk. Provider selection is extremely important as you need to make sure your systems are running on a Cloud platform that has been built to best practice standards. Also, unless you do a proper assessment on your requirements you may find that your desktop now runs slower than your local PC (remember now to access your desktop you will be travelling over the internet), and it definately does not suit everyone. For more information, you are welcome to speak to us and we will give you a candid assessment on whether you would benefit from transitioning to a Hosted Desktop Model.

On a cost basis alone, Hosted Desktop products are winning the war against the PC. It may only be a matter of time until we are saying good-bye to them completely!

Case Studies

IT Support Case Study "Starting out as a husband and wife team and growing to a 2 office business with 13 employees in just over 18 months certainly gave us a few headaches in relation to managing our IT requirements. We received no “service” from our previous IT Company" » Read More

Cloud Solution Case Study "Expanding a services business into new territories is never an easy thing, but R & G’s hosted desktop cloud computing solution let’s easily manage IT costs whilst having the ability to rapidly deploy new offices and equip staff literally anywhere." » Read More