For your end customers considering the adoption of Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS), the cloud can be daunting. As with any new technology, it is essential to understand the value and have a full picture. By understanding how to navigate these objections and harnessing the power of Azure Virtual Desktop and complementary tools like Microsoft Intune, you can strengthen your DaaS offering for your end customers and increase your ability to sell.
Cost Concerns
Concerns about cost and pricing are common when considering the use of DaaS in Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD). Without proper mechanisms to optimize your virtual desktop infrastructure, it can be challenging to align costs with your budget. This is especially prevalent as Azure’s pricing model is consumption-based. The longer resources like virtual machines are run, the higher the costs will be.
To address this, consider the following question: If your end users only work an average of 40-50 hours (about 2 days) per week, why run virtual desktops nonstop? It’s like leaving the lights on in a house 24/7 when you only need them for a few hours per day. Nerdio offers a solution. With our software, we provide various metrics to help you determine the optimal scaling of your desktop infrastructure in Azure. Using scaling logic and multi-trigger auto-scaling, we monitor CPU/RAM usage and user sessions in your AVD host pools, optimizing your environments based on actual needs rather than just anticipated needs.
Data Security Worries
Many organizations fear moving their data from on-premises infrastructure due to increasing data breaches. Moreover, the responsibility for network security typically falls on a few individuals within an organization, making it a daunting task. Additionally, the cost of endpoint protection software and disk encryption tools can be high. As well as, the labor involved in installing and maintaining these endpoints. It’s common to wonder if there’s a better way, especially when faced with issues like laptops not checking into endpoint protection tools or dealing with lost devices.
Azure Virtual Desktop offers a solution for all these concerns by eliminating the complexities of maintaining and securing data on numerous endpoints. By centralizing data within Azure, organizations can focus on protecting sensitive data in the cloud, rather than dealing with endpoint management. If a user becomes a security risk or a device is lost or stolen, simply locking the user account can secure the environment. Furthermore, it’s important to consider that Microsoft has a team of 3,500+ experts dedicated to protecting the Azure cloud, which can help alleviate some of these concerns. Altogether, AVD removes difficulties and centralizes your data in the cloud providing a secure, safe solution.
Concerns About the Reliability and Speed of DaaS
In the past, there have been concerns, particularly with Remote Desktop Services (RDS), about the lack of support for a true native desktop OS (Operating System), like Windows 10/11, resulting in a significant decline in end-user experience. These concerns are completely valid. Essential software applications like Teams, Zoom, and OneDrive do not have proper support or perform well on a server OS.
For many companies, this is a deal-breaker, and regardless of the benefits offered by a DaaS solution, the virtual desktop proposal is unlikely to succeed. That’s why Azure Virtual Desktop is so powerful. It eliminates the limitations of RDS and others because Windows 10/11 is the foundation of the DaaS experience. It supports various desktop applications and can be integrated with Microsoft Intune for even more powerful application management that provides your customers with great employee experiences.
Shifting Server Workloads
SMBs must grasp the benefits of moving server workloads to Azure cloud: better performance, lower costs, and improved collaboration through easy data and file movement. Azure provides agile scalability for evolving business needs. Consider the user’s desktop experience after migrating files and applications to Azure. Reliability, speed, and cost concerns arise when files travel through VPNs to the client’s PC. Azure Virtual Desktop solves this by coexisting server and desktop compute in the same Azure region. Both desktops and servers reside virtually in Azure, delivering significant performance improvements. Intra-network traffic, like file share access and authentication, stays within the region. Azure only sends a small amount of pixel data to remote devices.
Addressing Concerns about Vendor Lock-In with DaaS Providers
Many DaaS providers enforce rigid licensing and pricing structures that can lead to concerns about vendor lock-in. They often require long-term contracts, and expensive support plans, and offer limited flexibility in terms of infrastructure and supported platforms. This monolithic approach contrasts with the flexibility offered by Azure Virtual Desktop.
Licensing Azure Virtual Desktop users can be as simple as leveraging existing M365 SKUs that organizations have already adopted, such as M365 Business Premium or M365 E3 plans. There’s no need for long-term commitments or enterprise support obligations. Everything can be built and maintained in the cloud. Allowing you to take advantage of Azure’s scalability by easily adjusting resources based on business needs.
Conclusion
It is crucial to be aware of and address common objections raised by SMBs related to DaaS. Understanding these objections empowers you and your team to navigate them effectively. This all ensures a smooth transition to DaaS and more recurring revenue for you.
By addressing concerns related to cost and pricing, data security, end-user experience, shifting server workloads, and potential vendor lock-in, SMBs can unlock the benefits of AVD and leverage Microsoft Intune for simplified device management, enhanced security, and flexible remote work strategies, ultimately maximizing their technology investments.