11.18.2015
nGenx, a cloud services pioneer in the delivery of hosted workspaces, including applications, data, and desktops, today announced a new paper titled Six Workspace as a Service Myths Debunked that is available for free download at ngenx.com/6-myths-of-waas. The hosted Workspace as a Service (WaaS) market is a fast growing space that IDC predicts will grow from $282 million in 2013 to $1.7 billion by 2018 because of the enhanced access to applications, data, and desktops from any device or location, and other advantages .
As a growing number of managed service providers (MSPs) and independent software vendors (ISVs) who offer Workspace as a Service solutions enter the market and IT administrators consider the technology as an alternative to traditional on-premise IT workspaces, many organizations are raising questions about the technology’s ability to meet business requirements. While WaaS has been available for more than a decade, it has evolved significantly in terms of capabilities, reliability, device/application support, and cost. This has encouraged IT professionals to explore the technology and vet the industry’s popular platforms.
nGenx, a WaaS platform provider that helps MSPs, ISVs, and IT services agents to benefit from a fully packaged WaaS solution for desktop, application, data, or full workspace delivery, has produced a new paper that addresses the six key concerns of WaaS. Below is a summary of the questions reviewed in the document.
nGenx Busts Six Workspace as a Service Myths
• Myth 1: Desktop as a Service (DaaS) and WaaS are identical:
Fact – DaaS suggests a single location at which companies can come in and add their data and applications themselves. It typically doesn’t include anything except the desktop/shell. In contrast, Workspace as a Service (WaaS) provides a virtual workspace that models the types of resources that users would have at their desk within a physical office environment.
• Myth 2: WaaS is a passing fad that won’t be relevant in five years:
Fact – The latest market research from multiple sources suggests quite the opposite of this theory. A study by Transparency Market Research values the global WaaS market at $7.47 billion in 2014, with projected growth at a CAGR of more than 12 percent between 2015 and 2022.
• Myth 3: Security is a major concern when it comes to WaaS:
Fact – WaaS features centralized storage that reduces the chance of data loss and thereby provides greater security. Most WaaS providers configure their architecture so that application data flows between the user’s device and the data center, keeping applications securely in your company’s data center.
• Myth 4: Custom and graphical software applications don’t play well in the cloud: Fact – While this may be the most legitimate myth on the list, it’s also an antiquated one. Back in 2009, even the most respectable WaaS provider would have had to wave the white flag on this—but no longer. Today’s cloud is fast, robust, and highly accessible, so the user experience with custom and graphical software applications simply is not an issue.
• Myth 5: Doing it in-house is just less expensive:
Fact – This is another statement that may have been true five years ago, but has today been relegated to myth status since the standard cost of a WaaS seat is now around $40. That includes infrastructure, storage (personal and company), data backup, all lines of business applications, management of the solution, and more. In addition to lowering costs by making IT staff more effective, WaaS also augments the efficiency of an organization’s entire staff, since people can work from anywhere with access to all of their files from all of their devices.
• Myth 6: If there is no Internet, productivity declines:
Fact – While this could conceivably pose a concern to some users in very remote locations, it’s certainly not going to affect most people because there are so few places now without Internet access. Today’s reality is that there are usually multiple choices for accessing the Internet at any given time: from your phone as a hot spot and your home, to any respectable web-enabled business dotting the globe (often for no cost). Even airplanes—once a no-Internet stronghold—now provide access. With such pervasive Internet services now available, the fear that if the Internet goes down your workspace goes down becomes a thing of the past. Today’s solutions also provide offline sync which allow users to work on company files offline – then once back online, the system auto-syncs the files back to the application.
“Dispelling the myths around Workspace as a Service is important for helping organizations to better understand the benefits of the technology,” said JD Helms, president, nGenx. “With the confluence of trends such as workforce mobility, BYOD, cloud computing, and pervasive Internet, a perfect storm has formed that makes WaaS a game changing solution for enhancing IT productivity. Unlike traditional workspaces, WaaS provides fingertip access to computing resources regardless of where the individual is situated. Complement this with lower capital and operational costs, and the value proposition is compelling.”
To download the free paper titled, “Six Workspace as a Service Myths Debunked,” please visit:
http://www.ngenx.com/6-myths-of-waas
(1) International Data Corporation (IDC), Worldwide Workspace-as-a-Service 2014-2018 Forecast, Document #250048, https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=250048
ngenx.com
