Resources for Comparing VDI & DaaS Solutions

There are several business trends right now that are contributing the the increasing popularity of desktop virtualization:

• An growing corporate emphasis on cloud-focused strategies
• The drive toward digital transformation
• Increasingly mobile and remote workforces
• The demand for tighter data security and compliance

If you’ve decided that virtual desktops are a good solution for your organization but don’t know exactly how to select a vendor, we’ve compiled several resources to help guide you. These assets will help you plan your project, decide between in-house VDI and outsourced desktop as a service (DaaS), evaluate individual vendors and more.

What to Know Before you Begin

Before you start comparing solutions you need to have an understanding of your needs. While your exact requirements will likely evolve as you work with your chosen provider or VDI expert, you need a baseline to begin your discovery.

If you’re still trying to figure out exactly what information you need, start with these overview resources:

Virtual Desktop Playbook

No matter whether you build VDI in house or choose DaaS and no matter what provider you select, you need to be prepared to address the 10 key areas explored in this playbook. The guide also includes key questions to ask yourself and your team so you can better outline how you’ll tackle each challenge (or if it’s even important to you).

4 Considerations When Choosing a DaaS Provider

There is a lot of information out there on considerations when building VDI in-house, but there is less info available if you’re more interested in the outsourced DaaS option. This guide breaks down key considerations for outsourcing your virtual desktops into four major buckets: Infrastructure, Features, Support and Cost. With DaaS you have less maintenance and responsibility, but you want to choose a provider that will meet your needs and expectations.

Tools for Comparing Solutions

When it comes to virtual desktop solution evaluation, there are several stages to the process. First you have to decide if you’re more comfortable with in-house VDI or using an experienced DaaS provider. Then you need a way to document your needs and compare of the offerings of different providers against that criteria. The following resources will give you handy tools and worksheets to work through the process.

Worksheet: In-House VDI or Outsourced DaaS

This worksheet (scroll to the bottom of the webpage for a downloadable PDF version) is helpful when you’re in the early stages of deciding on the best virtualization approach. It’s a high level overview of what it would take to build VDI yourself internally. If you answer “Yes” to most the questions then you might be well poised to take on the initiative in-house. If most of the answers are “No” you could save time, hassle and resources by going with a DaaS provider.

DaaS Provider Evaluation Checklist

This checklist comes in handy as you move further along into the solution evaluation and comparison process. Whether you’re evaluating DaaS or some form of platform or infrastructure solution, this checklist outlines the major components of a virtual desktop environment and has spaces for you to fill in your individual requirements. You can complete a checklist for each solution under consideration and then do an easy side-by-side comparison.

We’ve already filled in one with Dizzion’s capabilities to save you time!

And if you’re curious, here’s how Dizzion stacks up against common complaints about big providers like Citrix and Amazon.

Desktop as a Service RFP

The final stage of the process is making a decision. For many organizations, that involves an RFP process. This RFP template is designed to help you specifically gather information about virtual desktop solutions. Of course, you can customize it to your specific needs and to match your RFP format and process.

Even if a formal RFP isn’t part of your buying procedure, this document has good questions and considerations for when you’re deep into the purchasing phase of selecting a solution.

Want to learn more about Dizzion’s DaaS solution? Request a demo!