Remote access for workers is constantly being improved, and Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is one of the tools you can utilise to allow your employees to easily and securely work from home.
This article will demonstrate how VDI is leading the future of remote access, making workplaces more connected even when employees are working remotely.
About VDI
VDI is desktop virtualisation. It hosts computer desktop environments by means of a remote central server. Its greatest advantage is that VDI users can access their work desktops “virtually” on just about any device—without having their work computer or personal laptop with them.Why VDI is the work-at-home choice
Increased security and scalability in an uncertain age
For business owners and top execs, security is a hard-to-understand and scary topic. They know about firewalls, access controls, but data breaches and ransomware threats keep them awake at night. The comforting news is that VDI can help improve security with cloud-based workstations, especially for their growing remote teams of workers. VDI and its enabling delivery via DaaS (desktop as a service) use a secure cloud data centre, rather than the end-user’s device. From a security and compliance perspective — and scalability/operational efficiency — VDI provides reliable and safe access for remote employees. In short, VDI simplifies security management by:- Decreasing the burden of managing and securing the mobile workforce team: VDI protects proprietary applications and irreplaceable data in the confines of the data centre. Challenges associated with BYOD (bring your own device) are vastly simplified. Instead of worrying about multiple devices and provisioning them with duplicate software, the IT team only looks after the VDI platform.
- Increasing security for remote and mobile users: Since workers never have to store actual data on their devices, the risks of theft or data loss no longer exist. The nightmare scenario of lost laptops with hard drives loaded to the gills with sensitive personal information is no longer in play.
- Improving security in case of disaster recovery: Natural disasters — fire, flooding, etc. — can destroy network servers. Insurance will replace the hardware, but unless there is an offsite backup, business data loss could close the company permanently. VDI minimises data loss when that data has been saved to remote servers. Disaster recovery with VDI skips the time-consuming reprovisioning of devices and jumps straight to resuming access.
- Ensuring security in any remote work environment: Remote workers are vulnerable to all kinds of cyber threats, e.g. ransomware, malware, spyware. As more workers operate outside the protection of onsite IT controls, VDI goes a step beyond VPNs, which cannot prevent an employee from phishing or visiting harmful websites.