As remote work becomes the new norm due to the coronavirus pandemic, Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) has gained wide acceptance in various industries. The market size of the global DaaS market size was estimated to be around $4 billion in 2020 and is forecasted to grow to $12 billion by 2027 at a CAGR of 16.9% over the next five years.

DaaS is among the fastest-growing segments of the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) market. Unlike VDI which is hosted and supported on your on-premises or virtual machines, DaaSruns DaaS provides employees access to a virtual desktop hosted within the cloud. Remote employees can access the company’s IT infrastructure through this secured server.

What is a DaaS Provider?

The DaaS provider hosts the cloud-based IT infrastructure. Such a provider maintains, manages, updates, and secures the virtualized desktop environment. It unburdens your organic IT team from the day-to-day routines associated with the management of the virtual workspace.

Cybersecurity is one of the top concerns of a DaaS provider. As cyber threats become common, DaaS providers need to offer threat protection, compliance certifications, DDoS prevention, ransomware, and data breach protection. Working with a cloud provider ensures that you get top-notch security compared to doing it on your own. A DaaS provider should provide a more robust security architecture, according to the DaaS solutions developer, BeCloud.

Considering the important role of the DaaS provider, you must choose the right provider. Below are some considerations when picking the right DaaS provider for your business.

Geographic Location

You want to know where the DaaS provider is hosted. If the cloud-based provider is located in the US but users access it from across the globe, there can be problems with latency.

Performance

Make sure the DaaS provider can handle the performance requirements of remote users. This is particularly important if the processes require demanding applications.

Scalability

The DaaS provider should be easy to scale, such as adding new users. If your business intends to grow its size to hundreds of users in a short time, you want a solution with the capacity to accelerate the onboarding process. 

Elasticity

This is an important consideration when choosing a DaaS solution, especially when the number of users fluctuates at a given point in time. This can cut costs by avoiding unnecessary costs when resources are idle.

Compliance and Security

As emphasized above, security is a major factor in selecting a DaaS provider. It should ensure compliance with cloud-related industry regulations, the organization’s web security protocols, government ordinances, local device directives, and licensing. Make sure the DaaS provider has a structured process that proactively implements, evaluates, and upgrades security measures to prevent security breaches.

Disaster Recovery

Virtualized desktops can be adversely affected by numerous unwanted events like natural calamities, data center failure, and outages. Backing up your data is vital to avoid disruption to operations. When choosing a DaaS provider, it is important to check their backup and disaster recovery facilities and protocols, whether it comes with the subscription or additional fees.

Flexible Pricing Plans

Choose a DaaS provider that offers flexibility in subscription plans. Ask about their pricing plans, discounts, and lock-in period. Also, explore the possibility of customizing your subscription depending on your business needs.

Uptime Value

Uptime refers to the total availability of virtual desktops at a given time. Reliable DaaS providers can guarantee an uptime of 99.99 percent. Their promised uptime value should also be indicated in their SLA (Service Level Agreement) to ensure that it is legally binding and that they will fulfill it.

Customer Support

Consider how the DaaS provider responds to queries, complaints, and service requests. Accessible and available customer support is imperative. They should also have a quick response time and positive resolution. Ideally, you should choose a provider with customer support available on different platforms like email, call, or live chat. 

Terms and Conditions

Finally, you should carefully read the terms and conditions in the Service Level Agreement. It should be straightforward and transparent. If there are clauses that are unclear or you might not agree with, be sure to clarify them with the provider. Make sure you thoroughly review the SLA to avoid problems later.

Choosing a DaaS provider requires immense study and careful planning. Remember that the success of your business hinges on their services. Hence, you should thoroughly vet all potential providers before finally signing them on.