11 reasons why VDI is still essential in 2024 and beyond

We all know or have heard about VDI. VDI stands for Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, which essentially means an infrastructure that provides a Virtual Desktop. So, what is Virtual Desktop? A virtual Desktop is a Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows Server-based desktop, or Linux Workstation that is not physically present on the endpoint but is accessed remotely. Complicated? No – It’s just that some Virtual Machine that is hosted somewhere has that Windows /Linux OS that you connect over the network and work on it. Virtual Machine handles the computing, storage and as an end-user, you transfer some screenshots and mouse clicks.

Since VDIs are managed remotely by the enterprise, you get the standard and updated client OS that your organization has approved for you. Apart from getting the approved image, you also can access it anywhere from any device. The only dependency for you is to have a device that can communicate over the network.

Market outlook of VDI in 2024 and beyond

In a recent report published by TheExpressWire on 19th Nov 2022, It is said that the global Virtual Desktop Infrastructure(VDI) market is projected to reach USD million by 2028 from an estimated USD million in 2022, at a magnificent CAGR during 2023 and 2028. This is a similar trend which is projected by multiple analysts as well. It is also important to note that the delivery of VDI is also evolving from traditional On-Prem only to Cloud and Hybrid. However, below we will see the typical use cases that require a comprehensive solution like VDI to meet business and IT demands.

Why embrace VDI for your enterprise

Now, that we know that VDI is a remotely available virtual desktop that we can access, the question comes as to why enterprises are adopting this model. Some of the key reasons are mentioned below:

1. Security – Since the Virtual Desktop is entirely in control of the Enterprise, they can choose where to keep the data. The data is not present on the end-point device, hence it prevents risks related to device physical security and theft. Moreover, the data is only accessed from the end-point, hence the enterprise can put up appropriate security leavers to ensure who can access the Virtual Desktop and under what condition. The security can be granularly controlled, and the permissions can be applied as per the role.
2. Compliance – Some industries are regulated by stringent compliance. In such compliances, enterprises need to maintain a set of requirements, these requirements could be complete logging, assurance of data sovereignty, monitoring of all the activities happening on the desktop, and many more. Since managing all of the compliances is very tough if we consider all the end-points, the Virtual Desktop provides an evident upper hand in this area. Due to the security compliance features that are natively available with Virtual Desktop Infrastructure and the centralized management of the Virtual Desktop, this complexity is easily achieved.
3. Remote or Hybrid Working – This is probably the most crucial reason why VDIs are relevant for enterprises. Most organizations are embracing Remote or Hybrid work, and they need to provide a secure workspace where the employees can work. Since the data and applications are accessed over uncontrolled devices and networks, enterprises need governance on overall security to foolproof any leakage.
4. BYO adoption – More and more employees are asking to allow the choice of device. However, managing all the BYO devices is not practically possible by IT. To mitigate this limitation, VDIs can be a great solution. Employees can use their choice of an endpoint to access the IT-managed VDI. Since multiple BYO-related security policies and controls are present in VDI, IT need not worry from a security point of view.
5. Standardizing Operating System – As mentioned above, the image of the Virtual Desktop is managed and controlled by the enterprise, hence they can decide what should go on the image. It could be the OS version, OS type, software, any specific configuration environmental variables, etc. They can decide how the Virtual Desktop should behave with specific end-point configurations, like personal or corporate-managed end-point devices.
6. Central Management – Since the Master Image is centrally managed, enterprises can ensure that software compatibility is not an issue. They can thoroughly check how the application is behaving with specific OS updates or along with other dependent application versions. Enterprise can also ensure that the security posture is always mentioned from the patching or Antivirus update point of view.
7. Managing scalability demands – The business always defines the need for a workforce. This workforce can grow or shrink in a short duration of time as per the business needs. Similarly, there are some industries where this seasonality is very common, for example – Tax filing or College admissions. In these sorts of scenarios, enterprises can quickly spin multiple Virtual Machines within a few hours and the users can be productive without waiting for a long duration which happens due to device shipping.
8. Improving ROI – Since most of the things in the Virtual Desktop are under enterprise control, they can optimize the spending done on it. For example – Central Management saves a significant cost otherwise they have to consider arranging IT Technicians near every user location. Apart from that, they can use central storage to keep all the data and ensure a robust backup in case of any disaster. Apart from that, for some high compute workloads or graphics requirements, enterprises can quickly deliver the same capability available on a Virtual Desktop without investing significant cost on each end-point device.
9. Ensuring Availability for Productive Workforce – Since the Virtual Desktops are managed by the enterprise, they can make efforts to provide a highly available setup. In these cases, the Virtual Desktop and the user data can be hosted in multiple locations, which can prevent disasters happened on any single site. Additionally, since the data would be appropriately backed up, they can quickly make that available to the assigned workers.
10. Contractor and 3rd party – In multiple enterprises, contractors and 3rd parties are business as usual. In order to provide them with a secure workspace where required applications and security controls are enabled, is a cakewalk with VDI. Contractors can access the IT-managed VDI with approved applications and data control settings from any device they choose from.
11. Sustainability – Now sustainability is a board-level agenda. Every organization wants to review its Sustainability policies. With VDI, enterprises get multiple avenues to prevent the carbon footprint. It could be extending the life of existing end-point devices, saving travel and carbon emission via providing remote or hybrid work or it could be choosing a more efficient cloud platform to run the workload. Whatever would be the reason, the output is the clear winner.

Conclusion

These are some of the basic use cases of the VDI, there are many more though. These use cases also evolve based on industry and the requirement. It could lead from accessing high-graphics imagery of a healthcare report OR providing a high-experience desktop in a remote mining location. During the COVID pandemic, Virtual Desktops were a business saver as they helped continue the work from remote locations. During all these times, VDI has continuously evolved and the way VDIs are delivered has also evolved. With more and more adoption of Public Cloud and HCI (Hyper-Converged Infrastructure), the VDI technology has included whatever has come its way. Based on the market research, compliance, and user productivity results, it is evident that VDI is present today and it will be there in the future as well.