Desktops in the cloud

In the previous Industry Insights I have written for this series, I have left a bit of a cliff-hanger leading into the next idea or thought. The last Industry Insight on VDI versus traditional thin client computing was no different. I mentioned the possibility of housing a desktop in the cloud and if the current market is ready for it. So, is housing a desktop in the cloud a good idea or a bad idea? Let's find out.

Looking at putting a desktop environment into the cloud is not for all companies.

Scott Orton is co-founder and sales director of Triple4.

Having a server environment in the cloud or in a data centre seems like a good idea; it makes for ease of access, more simple disaster recovery and allows a business to grow on demand, more easily than when hosted on-premise. Would these benefits stretch to the desktop environment as well? It certainly sounds like a good idea to be able to add new desktops on demand, whenever new users join an organisation. No need to worry about users' data getting lost when a laptop or desktop gets stolen, because the data is safely stored in the cloud, and there's also the ability to have a complete agile IT environment and company strategy.

But, before it sounds too good to be true, as usual, there are some drawbacks and things to consider. Looking at putting a desktop environment into the cloud is not for all companies. Imagine a company has mainly office-bound users, and it subscribes to a desktop environment in the cloud. All desktop machines would be housed in a data centre somewhere, with access from the Internet. If the Internet goes down for whatever reason, the company will have an entire office with unproductive users who cannot connect to their work environment.

Also, despite the desktop being in the cloud, a thin client device or notebook is still needed to connect to this desktop, so additional cost consideration is needed.

Saying this, though, it is not impossible to house desktops in the cloud for an office-bound environment. It is vitally important to have a good quality, high-speed redundant Internet connection to ensure that downtime is reduced and user experience is kept sound.

The most attractive proposition for a desktop in the cloud is for organisations that have many mobile users and want to keep business-critical data safe, but don't want the expense of housing the equipment and virtual environment themselves. Using a virtual desktop in the cloud seems ideal in this situation, because access to a work machine is available from anywhere an Internet connection is available; the data is safely stored in a data centre; and if the correct mix is chosen, the desktop environment can be on the same network as the server environment, which would offer high-speed connections between the company's desktops and servers.

The main downside to any desktop in the cloud solution is the frustration that occurs when Internet connectivity gets a bit wobbly and the user experience is affected, or there is an inability to work at all.

Remember, in a traditional work environment, even if the Internet connection is unavailable, users can work locally on their own workstation. When the desktops are housed in the cloud, users may not be able to work at all.

Some VDI vendors offer offline desktop capability, where desktops can work when no Internet connectivity is available, and the desktops simply synchronise when Internet is available again. Once more, this sounds all good, but in practice, with the speed of Internet connectivity locally, it's not always an option.

So, what am I really getting at here?

I think VDI may just be ready for the cloud with the technologies that it is based on. It is best suited for organisations with a mobile workforce, and a few key guidelines should be stuck to when looking at investing in the technology:

* The VDI provider that is chosen must supply the best-of-breed technology that is out there to provide a good class of service.
* Just because the company's data is in the cloud, it does not mean it is safe; ensure a sound back-up strategy is still adhered to.
* Ensure Internet connectivity is of good quality, as the service relies on it.
* Make sure the desktops that are cloud based can be supported efficiently, or that the company's support staff/outsourcer can support the environment efficiently.

To summarise the various Industry Insights that I have written is quite a challenge, as I have thrown about some nice conflicting information and arguments for the virtual desktop technology that is available.

The bottom line when looking at this modern technology is to do a good amount of research and marry that research to your own business. Don't invest in the technology just because it is the 'in thing'; make sure it is the right fit for your environment and that it truly does add value.