Virtual Desktop Infrastructure: It's Here #13NTCvdi Sam Chenkin

To inspire and empower nonprofits to use technology to better serve their communities.

AGENDA Components of Non-Profit Information Systems Use Cases for Remote Desktop Solutions Comparison of Remote Desktop Solutions Overview of Virtual Desktop Environments Understanding the Costs Questions TECH IMPACT | PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL | NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION

SCOPE We are focusing on cloud solutions rather than on premise solutions since they are more accessible for small organizations Less IT knowledge is needed Lower implementation costs Lower maintenance costs Predictable costs

TERMS Remote Desktop Microsoft Remote Desktop Services Desktop as a Service (DaaS) Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

COMPONENTS OF YOUR NETWORK

BREAKING IT DOWN App Servers Communication File Sharing Phones Desktops One size fits all Commodity Services Limited end-user changes Significant and Immediate Cost Savings Custom solution Built just for you Long term cost Savings SaaS IaaS

TYPES OF CLOUD Native Cloud Service (SaaS) Hosted Infrastructure (IaaS) VS

WAIT, WE STILL NEED DESKTOPS? Still need some kind of endpoint to access cloud services Need to provide a standardized access experience for all users, even if their data is in the cloud Need to protect your data by managing a user’s endpoint (you don’t know what they do with their personal computers) Desktops

WAIT, WE STILL NEED APPLICATION SERVERS? It’s expensive and risky to manage on-premise servers On-premise servers don’t work well for geographically distributed organizations Many database solutions don’t have a native cloud alternative (Quickbooks Non-Profit ≠ Quickbooks Online) Those that do are often difficult to move to and require extensive customization App Servers

SOLUTION A: CLOUD SERVERS App Servers Problem? Databases and other solutions designed to run on servers usually don’t work well over an internet connection

WHAT WORKS WELL OVER AN INTERNET CONNECTION? App Servers ApplicationPerformance QuickbooksPoor PeachtreeUnusable BB Raiser’s/Funder’s EdgeUnusable Dynamics CRMVery Good MIPVery Good ETOVery Good MS AccessPoor (unless with SharePoint) Office DocumentsGood Illustrator / PS / etcPoor Active DirectoryVery Good

SOLUTION B: REMOTE DESKTOP App Servers Desktops live on the same network as the cloud server, only the screen and keyboard/mouse information is transmitted

WHY ELSE? Difficulty managing physical desktops Cost of maintaining / purchasing new desktops Risk of utilizing donated / refurbished desktops Need for more control over the end user experience Desktops

WHY NOT? Not necessarily less expensive than on-premise desktops, particularly for high-performance applications Not well suited for video chat / video watching Peripheral compatibility issues Complicates licensing Desktops

USES CASES FOR REMOTE DESKTOP

WE DON’T NEED OUR OWN DESKTOPS All our data and all of our applications are web-based and do not require any desktop software (Google Drive / SharePoint) AND/OR Our users are savvy enough to maintain their own personal access device (1 and 2) or 2

WE JUST NEED ON-PREMISE DESKTOPS We use applications that aren’t web-based (Outlook, MS Office w/ Google Drive or SharePoint) BUT All our data is hosted in native-cloud applications that function well over an internet connection AND We have no problem maintaining physical desktops 1 and 2 and 3

WE NEED ON-PREMISE DESKTOPS & CLOUD SERVERS We use legacy applications that require a dedicated server BUT These legacy applications work well over an internet connection (either web-based or with a VPN) AND We have no problem maintaining physical desktops 1 and 2 and 3

WE NEED REMOTE DESKTOPS & CLOUD SERVERS We use legacy applications that require a dedicated server AND These legacy applications do not work well over an internet connection AND/OR We don’t want to manage physical desktops (1 and 2 and 3) or 3

QUESTIONS

COMPARISON OF REMOTE DESKTOP SOLUTIONS

TERMINAL SERVICES Multiple users share the same underlying OS. ProsCons Inexpensive way to provide centralized services for any users Many applications don’t work or don’t work reliably on shared systems Very efficient when each user does exactly the same thing and uses very few resources. One user can slow down everyone else since they share an underlying OS Users need to change how they work and can only make limited customizations 3 rd party providers typically lock down the interface significantly to provide adequate security and reliability

HOSTED VIRTUAL DESKTOP (VDI) Each user has a dedicated (usually) Win 7 virtual desktop ProsCons Any software that works on a physical desktop works on a virtual desktop More expensive than Terminal Services Users don’t need to learn anything new, everything works exactly as they expect it too Wasted computing resources (and therefore money) for very low activity users Management is typically dramatically easier – install software / updates on a golden image and push that image out to all the desktops while preserving user customizations.

CLIENT-SIDE VIRTUAL DESKTOP (VDI) Each user’s machine runs a virtual desktop synced periodically to the cloud ProsCons Any software that works on a physical desktop works on a virtual desktop Doesn’t help client/server internet connectivity issues Lower server/service costs than hosted virtual desktop Desktops need to sync regularly or users will lose data if the desktop fails Don’t need an internet connection to access desktop (this is of limited uselessness) Significant bandwidth needed when syncing / pushing software updates.

QUESTIONS

OVERVIEW OF VIRTUAL DESKTOP ENVIRONMENTS

THE VDI NETWORK

ACCESS DEVICES

PERIPHERALS

HOW VIRTUAL DESKTOPS WORK

SETTINGS IN DETAIL Applications Windows Updates HKLM Licensing Folder Redirection Public Profile App Data Golden Desktop VDI Software HKLU AppData Local AppData LocalLow Group Policy Computer Settings User Settings Security Settings

DESKTOP REFRESH

DESKTOP RECOMPOSE

QUESTIONS

UNDERSTANDING THE COSTS

BUILDING IT LOCALLY Traditional Build-out Appliance

Microsoft Amazon Rack Space CLOUD BASED Can’t use “SPLA” licensing Not enough time yet for many organizations to build from scratch Need to support end users WHO IS Desktone Local / Regional Providers WHO ISN’T AN OPTION

COMPONENTS OF PRICING

Access Devices Network Printers? Security Appliances? Servers? WHAT YOU’LL NEED ON-SITE Less support but potentially more advanced support

$CALCULATING ROI $Monthly DaaS Cost $Upfront hardware $Ongoing access device $Effective monthly desktop/server costs $Support costs

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