What is a VDI and 7 Reasons to Consider VDI for your Company

Imagine a computer that won’t break, won’t succumb to viruses, can be assembled in minutes, has everything your office needs, and comes with a price tag that won’t break the bank. That’s quite impossible, but we have the closest thing: a VDI, or virtual desktop infrastructure.

VDI is just a fancy way of saying, “We are running a virtual desktop on a powerful server, either right here in the office or someplace else, and you can access it from any computer.”

Is a virtual, or sometimes called “hosted,” desktop something your company should consider? It’s a great advantage to your company. Here are seven reasons why.

7 Reasons to Consider VDI for Your Company

1. Lower cost of licensing. It may shock you to know that even virtual Windows needs a license. Licensing a VDI Windows desktop is a little tricky—you may end up getting a free VDI license or paying for one. The main thing to understand is that this license will cost less than licensing each of your physical desktops.
2. Lower cost of hardware. If you are using a VDI, the applications run on the VDI server, not on your device. This allows older computers to extend their lifespan a bit more, saving the company on hardware upgrades. VDI can also run on thin clients, even if they are not running any OS of their own.
3. Flexibility. Your device is no longer an issue. VDIs can accept input from any basic device. Want to run your desktop on a tablet? Sure. On your phone? Why not—just squint real good. Ever wanted to run Windows software on your Mac? Here’s your ticket. Since everything is running on a server, all the initialization and all the requirements are handled by the server, not your device.
4. Centralized data and increased security. Since a server runs your VDI, all your data is saved in one location, making backup and redundancy less of an issue. You also get centralized security—security at the server level.
5. Outages kept to a minimum. Since the VDI is running on a server, network outages, software outages, and system outages are rare. When every system is monitored from a centralized location, it is easier to spot issues and cut them off at the root.
6. Quick end-user support. When a problem happens on one system, your IT team is already monitoring it. Issues are resolved quickly. If the issue is a big one and IT needs to investigate further to prevent it from happening again, the team just creates a new system with a few keystrokes. You get a new system in minutes while they look into the matter and stop the mishap from ever occurring again.
7. Future-proof. Servers are amazing, powerful machines that can run hundreds of VDIs without breaking a chip. System updates and even upgrades are done in batches. Testing of new software can be done without creating downtime for everyone.

Note that you can run a VDI from your very own server, or you can run a VDI through the cloud, saving you much more. The advantages for a business of using VDI—the cost, the security, the centralized management, and again the cost (because it’s worth mentioning twice)—are very hard to ignore. This technology is only getting better, and the benefits are getting clearer and clearer.

Boom Logic is your MSP of choice when it comes to VDI implementation. We have the skills and the tools necessary to make sure you get a seamless VDI experience. Let’s talk.