As recently as a year or so ago, most tech industry pundits were still talking about a hybrid world in which data center growth was alive and well. The thinking was that many workloads just don’t belong in the cloud, and at that time there were still some lingering concerns about data security in public clouds. Fast forward to today and not only are the pundits changing their tune, but CIOs in both the public and private sectors are issuing directives to avoid on-premises data center infrastructure investments – in favor of moving to the cloud.
Focusing on the public cloud for your primary IT infrastructure is a wise move. IT teams that continue to make on-prem data center investments today will have some explaining to do as cloud migration accelerates. In a recent report, Gartner Research Director Tiny Haynes stated, “By 2025, 80% of enterprises will have shut down their traditional data center, versus 10% today.”1 That’s an impressive number, and it’s just a short 7 years away! Based on our experience talking with IT leaders every day, we agree with Gartner. What does this mean for your organization, and what do you need to do to prepare?
Cloud Computing is Strategic
Just this week a new customer we’re working with told us that their on-premises data center infrastructure “has no strategic value for the company.” They, like so many organizations, have quickly evolved to a place where moving to the cloud is enabling the flexibility, compute power and business agility they need to achieve their corporate growth goals. The cost and complexity of managing and maintaining a data center no longer make any sense for them. It’s not just about the maintenance overhead of on-prem infrastructure though, among the many compelling reasons for cloud computing is the ability to hire talent anywhere in the world and pursue new business regardless of geography. This opens up revenue opportunities that were just not addressable because of the computing limitations organizations face with on-premises data center infrastructure. Additionally, CIOs are looking ahead to how technologies enabled by the cloud, such as AI and machine learning, can revolutionize their industries. This is particularly true in healthcare and life sciences, where cloud computing allows for unprecedented data analytics that will quite literally save lives. You’re just not going to get there with an on-prem data center.
If you’ve gotten to know Workspot a bit you know that we were founded by VDI pioneers. And the whole purpose of starting the company was to combat the cost and complexity of the “I” in VDI: Infrastructure! Our solution to the legacy VDI problem is our innovative, cloud-native control plane for deploying and managing virtual desktops and workstations. Combine this with the awesome compute power of Microsoft Azure, and you really can just walk away from the “I”, and in most cases, you probably should. So, now that the death of your data center is imminent, there’s really no reason to look back. The reality is that when you lose your on-prem data center, you gain 50 data centers around the world with Azure!
Now you have 50+ Azure data centers at your fingertips!
Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained
While the vast majority of CIOs we speak with want to get out of the business of running a data center, there are those who remain hesitant, either because of investments they’ve already made, or they face regulatory requirements that complicate moving workloads and data to the cloud. It’s certainly not trivial to make the move, but there are solutions, such as Workspot Desktop Cloud and Workstation Cloud, that make things a whole lot easier. If you need to keep some desktops and data on-prem, or if you need to take an incremental approach to your cloud move, we have the best solution to accommodate that. From a simplicity, enterprise readiness, security, and performance standpoint, there is no better solution for deploying your Windows 10 desktops and GPU workstations than Workspot. With 50+ Azure data centers at your disposal, chances are your users will be 25ms or less from their desktops, and that means they’re going to have great performance, and in some cases, users will see “10-12 ms response times” which our customers have reported with Workstation Cloud. That’s better-than-physical-workstation performance!
Repurposing IT Resources – What a Gift!
As your data center infrastructure becomes less strategic to the business, your IT team becomes more strategic. That’s because cloud computing frees these smart, highly valuable resources from “keeping the lights on” (KTLO) tasks associated with managing infrastructure. Sure, some of them will need to acquire some new skills to navigate your new cloud infrastructure focus, whether those are coding skills, big data experience or soft skills that will help translate technology options and decisions to the C-suite. Supporting that transition is just a no-brainer when you consider that end user computing in your organization is now simple, secure and future-proof.
Get Started with Virtual Windows 10 Desktops
Moving to the cloud is a multifaceted journey. When you’re ready to move your physical desktops and workstations to the cloud or transition away from complicated, on-prem, legacy VDI, you should definitely put Workspot on your list. You’ve already made the bold decision to move away from the data center business, so make sure you select the right virtual desktop solution for your organization. It’s important to understand the advantages of a cloud-native solution versus one that is merely cloud-enabled (PS: There’s only two: Workspot and Amazon Workspaces!)
When you’re ready, we’re ready to help! Schedule a 15-minute demo at your convenience and we’ll show you how it works and why our customers are so happy!
1 Gartner, Prepare for the Death of the Datacenter as We Know It, Tiny Haynes, Research Director, 22 May 2018
Digital Transformation|IT Strategy
