What is a Cloud PC?

A Cloud PC  is a virtual desktop delivered from the cloud, rather than from an on-premises data center or a physical device like a laptop or workstation. But as I’ve said many times, the devil is in the details, because the approaches to cloud PCs vary widely. We believe that the best way to achieve the many benefits of cloud PCs is to implement them via a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model. Amazon Workspaces was first to market with SaaS cloud PCs aimed mostly at SMB.

Each of these solutions has a different architecture, varied capabilities, and a range of options for IT leaders to consider. Today, after implementing our SaaS cloud PC solution for so many customers across Azure and Google Cloud, we’re in a solid position to share some thoughts about why moving to cloud PCs makes sense and what you should look for in a cloud PC solution.

Why Cloud PCs?

Better Security: It’s almost impossible for IT teams to keep every physical PC and workstation in a distributed organization upgraded and patched. That means you’re vulnerable to a security breach, whether from inside or outside the organization.

Flexible Pricing Models: Moving to CLOUD PC can have a positive impact on your budget, with a pay as you go model. But cloud PCs also optimize resources, because depending on the usage profile, a flat rate price could make sense, or maybe hourly pricing works better, whereas a physical PC might sit idle 99% of the time – a waste of money! Either way, look for a cloud PC that gives you the flexibility to get the most out of your end user computing (EUC) resources.

Unlimited Performance: Cloud PCs can solve the problem of latency that has plagued traditional VDI, so cloud PC users love the performance. Cloud PCs also get to take advantage of the latest technology; they never become obsolete and can be upgraded anytime.

Greater Business Agility: Every vendor talks about agility, but cloud PCs bring agility that is truly unprecedented, because they can be spun up or down in a minutes, anywhere in the world, to accommodate business dynamics.

Comprehensive Observability: What if you could visualize performance and behavior patterns for every PC in your organization, across every office, home office, hotel, customer site… you get the picture! You could understand who is having connectivity issues and why; you could know if it’s just a handful of users, or an entire cloud region that’s affected; you could identify a possible ransomware attack and immediately take defensive measures. That’s not possible with physical PCs, or even with most virtual desktop solutions.

These are very compelling reasons to take the next step toward replacing physical PCs and on-premises VDI.