How HPE GreenLake Delivers On-Premises VDI with On-Demand Scaling

What is VDI?

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) refers to the underlying server space, storage and networking to run virtual desktops. These desktops live inside the VDI solution, housing all employee work files, applications and security configurations that are centrally managed and can be accessed from anywhere in the world.

VDI servers can exist in a public cloud setup, on-premises or in the hybrid cloud, depending on business needs. Organizations with strict data privacy standards usually manage VDI in-house. Others may obtain VDI from a public cloud if they cater to a large or growing employee base.

How does VDI support hybrid work?

With VDI, organizations can ensure that ‘work from anywhere’ is productive and risk-free. The following benefits of a VDI solution make this possible for hybrid work environments.

Seamless productivity

Hybrid workers, whether they use an in-office workstation or their personal laptop at home, don’t have to worry about different passwords, device hardware quality or incompatible apps. This is because, in a virtual desktop, the employee apps and data live on the VDI server and not the device.  

If you install MS Excel once on your virtual desktop, the same app with all its data will be available to all devices that access the virtual desktop. This can provide a seamless work experience and better productivity for hybrid workers.

Easy to manage centrally

A VDI solution offers the ability to manage the security, software upgrades and maintenance of virtual desktops centrally. IT teams don’t have to remotely connect with every single device each time or wait for devices to come online. Updates can be sent instantly and simultaneously to all virtual desktops.

This can help ensure all the endpoints used by hybrid employees are secure, whether they visit the office or not.

Enhanced data security

When business devices containing sensitive data move out of the workplace, it gets harder to prevent data corruption and theft. But with a VDI solution, business data is always backed up on virtual servers and protected with security policies.

This way, even if the device gets stolen or tampered with, there is minimal risk of data loss to the organization as the device doesn’t have any data stored locally.

Key challenges to VDI implementation

While virtual desktops offer several hybrid work benefits, they may present a few management and usability challenges as well.

• Public cloud VDI may not meet compliance: VDI hosted on a public cloud follows the shared responsibility model wherein organizations don’t have full control over the desktops and must trust the inherent security practices followed by the provider.
• On-premises VDI may increase IT workload: If you deploy VDI locally, it may increase CAPEX and may burden IT teams with additional workloads.    
• Employees need consistent internet speeds: Virtual desktops need consistent high-speed internet for the best performance. Sporadic connectivity at home or on the go may present issues.

HPE GreenLake for VDI enables organizations to set up their on-premises VDI solution without buying any physical servers. HPE offers its own managed server hardware that can be installed on-premises or in a colocation facility and consumed on demand like a cloud.  

The licences for desktop virtualization software, such as Citrix or VMware, are managed by the customer. However, HPE covers the installation and deployment of the VDI.

As a result, the VDI servers stay on-premises and can be scaled up or down as needed. The usage is calculated on consumption of services rather than hardware costs, reducing upfront investments.

Key solution benefits

Quick deployment

The solution doesn’t require altering existing infrastructure and can be quickly deployed for new customers. HPE manages the installation process, which improves time to value for the customer.

Economical to use

VDI usage follows monthly pay-per-use pricing, which ensures that compliance can be met without spending upfront on hardware.

On-demand scalability

As new hybrid workers join the workforce, the solution can be easily scaled to meet your infrastructure needs. The same is possible if virtual desktops need to be decommissioned, without having to buy or retire hardware.

Low latency

Being on-premises and geographically closer to the workers, virtual desktops experience minimal latency. This resolves performance lag problems for overseas VDI data centres.

Custom configuration  

The solution can be customized to deploy virtual desktops to meet the unique needs of power users, knowledge workers, task users or engineering professionals.

How HPE Greenlake solves current VDI management challenges

Organizations that need greater control over their infrastructure use the on-premises VDI model, which comes with high server costs, while the ones that go for a public cloud model might risk non-compliance.

This raises two pain points for customers of VDI solutions:

• How do we provide compliant virtual desktops to our workforce without overspending on hardware?
• How do we ensure the VDI is secure enough if we go for an ‘as a Service’ solution?

HPE GreenLake for VDI can unite the upsides of both these models. It addresses these concerns by converting the cost of expensive VDI hardware units into monthly virtual desktop pricing. This means that:

• Customers don’t have to pay for the VDI hardware
• Customers pay a monthly bill for the virtual desktops they consume
• Customers retain the hardware to ensure compliance

Furthermore, the local hardware provided by HPE is scalable enough to meet the fluctuating needs of hybrid workers, which helps organizations:

• Predict capacity and upscale whenever the demand is high
• Control costs by not paying for unused capacity
• Offload hardware administration workloads to HPE and keep internal IT teams productive

CDW and HPE GreenLake have joined forces to help customers realize the promise of secure and scalable VDI for hybrid workers.

Our role as a partner shines through our personalized support, from assessment and design to deployment and ongoing management. Our expertise ensures that your HPE GreenLake investments are secure and offer expected value in return. We advise in tailoring VDI configurations for HPE GreenLake that meet your unique infrastructure and business needs.

By leveraging the strengths of both CDW and HPE GreenLake, customers can expect a scalable VDI solution that is secure, flexible and backed by expert support, ensuring their data’s potential is fully realized.