The business world is riding a wave of change as remote work reshapes our approach to the daily grind. Gone are the days of juggling separate work and personal computers – now, it’s all about one device that does it all. These devices need to keep up with our employee’s fast-paced lifestyle when it comes to performance, flexibility, and ease of use. But when it comes to work, they also need to provide the security, protection, compliance, and productivity that our job requires. 

Here’s the thing. With so many personal devices and operating systems in use, it’s tough to find a uniform security strategy that balances user privacy with convenience and stands up to the constantly evolving nature of cyberattacks–all while ensuring compliance with a myriad of data protection laws. This blend of technical, legal, and human factors makes choosing a secure BYOD solution a complex task.

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, or VDI, has long been the de facto approach to protecting apps and data on remote and unmanaged computers. A VDI solution provides enhanced security by centralizing data and reducing the risk of breaches but comes with setup complexities and potential user frustrations. 

Get Our Latest Blogs Straight to Your Inbox

If you’re looking into VDI solutions, this blog will help you line up your company’s needs and determine if it is right for you. We’ve compiled a list of questions that will help you understand whether the VDI vendor you’re looking at can provide you with a practical, high-performing, secure solution – before you make a final decision.  And if you’re not sure that VDI is for you, check out this alternative solution

Question #1: How easy is it to set up your solution?

Setting up a VDI can be complicated for the IT Team and adoption can be frustrating for users. You need to make sure your VDI is easy for users to get started and adopt, so there is no price to pay in terms of productivity. But what about the IT teams? Complicated configurations can introduce deployment challenges.

To determine if this VDI is simple to get up and running, ask questions like:

 

Question #2: What IT efforts are needed for ongoing management?

A solution that is both easy-to-use and manage is crucial to keeping the business running smoothly. It should enhance employee productivity by cutting down on the time they spend learning and troubleshooting. This  means employees can focus on their core business tasks, and so can you. Overall, it shouldn’t require employees or IT to undergo extensive training and support so business operations stay agile and resilient, without being bogged down dealing with the VDI. 

To assess how straightforward it is to deploy this VDI, consider asking:

Question #3: How much will your infrastructure require from my budget?

Staying resource-efficient is vital to help businesses optimize costs and improve profitability by reducing waste and maximizing the use of existing resources. Deploying a VDI solution has many associated costs, including a heavy initial investment upfront and the less obvious ones that are ongoing over time—when glitches and latency prevent people from getting right to work. Keep in mind that any solution needs to scale as traffic goes up – whether due to company growth or trends that increase the volume of data. 

To understand the expenses associated with this VDI, you might ask questions including:

Question #4: Will my users be happy? Will they be productive?

Today’s users expect work applications to be fast and agile. They don’t have the time or patience for apps to load or to wait for IT to ship laptops. Any learning curve involved in onboarding them or hiccups during use will be bad for the workforce productivity and customer experience–especially when it comes to call agents or support centers. Connectivity needs to be a smooth experience that at the very least measures up to working at home on their preferred system—whether on PC or Mac.

To understand how intuitive your users will find this VDI, pose questions like:

Question #5: Is my data secure?

In a VDI environment, keeping data secure is paramount because it centralizes sensitive information, which demands robust protection against leaks, breaches and cyber threats. Effective data security in VDI not only requires compliance with data protection regulations but is a must for maintaining trust in business operations and client relationships. 

To explore data security issues, ask:

Question #6: Will I be compliant?

We’re seeing a growing need to meet compliance regulations for data protection and privacy, especially across certain industries like healthcare and finance. Ensuring compliance is crucial to avoid legal repercussions and hefty fines, but it also goes a long way toward reinforcing the company’s credibility and reliability in handling sensitive information.

To be sure it’s straightforward to stay compliant, as questions like: 

Question #7: Will my applications perform as expected?

Application performance in a VDI environment is critical because it directly impacts user productivity and satisfaction. What’s more, applications that perform poorly in VDI can reduce the integrity of work processes and adversely impact the quality of service delivered to end-users or customers. For example, if connecting to SaaS  applications requires going through the company VDI before connecting to the internet, this can seriously affect performance.

To explore how this VDI will impact operations, remember to ask:

Question #8: Are you the right fit for my business size?

The investment you make in a VDI needs to be proportionate to your organization’s actual needs and expected benefits. An overly complex or expensive solution for a smaller business can lead to unnecessary financial strain and underutilization of resources, while one that is too basic for a larger enterprise may not meet the required scalability and functionality. The right fit will ensure an optimal balance between performance, scalability, and cost-effectiveness, aligning the technology with your business’s current and future objectives. 

To gauge whether this VDI is a good fit, ask questions including:

Question #9: Can you scale up and down with my company’s needs?

Swift and safe onboarding and offboarding and connecting third-parties are crucial for any business, but can be challenging in a VDI environment due to the complexity of configuring and customizing virtual desktops to meet specific user needs and roles. This process often involves meticulous management of access permissions and integration with various company resources and applications, which can be time-consuming. Additionally, ensuring data security and compliance during offboarding, especially when revoking access and securely erasing user data, adds another layer of complexity to the process.  With M&As, it’s the same complexity but on steroids.

To understand how easy it will be for you to scale the VDI up or down, ask questions like:

Next Steps

Once you have the answers to these questions, assess how each VDI solution aligns with your specific needs. Consult users to gain insight into app needs and ask the VDI solution provider for a detailed deployment walkthrough. 

An Alternative approach

 Before you reach a final decision, make sure to consider alternative solutions that may better meet your needs and use cases.  One example of a great alternative to VDI is the Secure Enclave from Venn. Venn secures remote work on any unmanaged or BYOD computer with a radically simplified and less costly solution than virtual desktops. Similar to an MDM solution but for laptops – work lives in a company-controlled Secure Enclave installed on the user’s PC or Mac, where all data is encrypted and access is managed. Work applications run locally within the enclave – visually indicated by the Blue Border™ – where business activity is isolated and protected from any personal use on the same computer.

Venn requires zero backend infrastructure. It’s a patented software-based solution that puts a virtual wrapper around work applications running locally on the computer. It’s simple to use, cost-effective and easy to support. It’s secure and complies with regulatory requirements, and companies can onboard and offboard remote workers in minutes. Security and compliance-driven organizations can now easily protect company data on any unmanaged or BYOD computer without the cost and complexity of VDI.

Interested in a simpler, more cost-effective alternative to traditional VDI? Explore how the Venn Secure Enclave can empower your team with a solution that balances freedom with ease-of-use, security and compliance.  

Heather Howland

Heather Howland

SVP Marketing

Responsible for championing the Venn brand, building awareness, and accelerating growth. With 20+ years of marketing experience and various marketing leadership roles, I'm passionate about bringing new technologies to market.