NetApp and Desktone, Inc., have announced a solution that simplifies the delivery of virtual desktops-as-a-service (DaaS). The solution helps service providers avoid the common challenges of virtual desktop deployment by reducing startup costs, removing design and management complexity, and improving performance. With this solution, service providers can rapidly deploy a full-featured service that enables their customers to easily reap the benefits of virtual desktops such as supporting mobile users, reducing the cost of desktop support, helping to safeguard intellectual property, and supporting user demand for “bring your own device policies” policies.
 
The new service, built specifically for cloud delivery environments, features technology that enables a single infrastructure to be elastically scalable and cost efficient. Security is designed in at the application, network, and storage layers to help maintain the privacy of customers’ data.
 
“Desktops-as-a-Service represents a high revenue opportunity. NetApp and Desktone’s enterprise-ready desktops as a service solution enables service providers to deliver on-demand, cost-effective solutions that allow enterprise IT to more easily meet their end-user business objectives,” said Brendon Howe, Vice President, Product and Solutions Marketing, NetApp.
 
The Desktone and NetApp integration takes full advantage of NetApp storage efficiency technologies, such as thin provisioning and deduplication, to minimise storage requirements. NetApp enables the near-instant provisioning of new virtual desktops so that new customers and users can be up and running on the service fast. NetApp Integrated Data Protection features allow service providers to deliver enterprise-level data protection including point-in-time backups for user data, self-restore, and data archiving.

The new solution supports deployment on FlexPod, a pretested and validate datacentre platform for networking, computing and storage. The FlexPod components include NetApp unified storage systems, Cisco Unified Computing System servers, and Cisco Nexus switches. The FlexPod’s prevalidated, flexible architecture can be optimised for a variety of mixed workloads with high scalability and it supports organisations with the move to virtualised, private and public cloud environments.

Peter McKay, CEO, Desktone said, “DaaS makes it easy for organisations to deliver virtual desktops by eliminating cost and complexity issues. Service providers can take advantage of this market opportunity by provisioning and deploying desktops on demand through a scalable multi-tenant cloud platform. Today’s announcement by NetApp and Desktone continues our commitment to delivering simple, flexible and affordable cloud-hosted virtual desktops.”