Benefits Of Desktop-As-A-Service(DaaS) In Education Sector
Desktop as a service (DaaS) solutions have become more crucial than ever with the recent drive for online courses, digital lesson plans, and remote learners. One Canadian school district claimed that migrating to a cloud infrastructure resulted in yearly IT cost savings of $12,000. Additionally, this freed their IT employees to concentrate on more crucial tasks.
Another scenario involving a Canadian school, a single university saved $500,000 while enhancing the service quality of their IT help desk. DaaS has several benefits for education, from K–12 institutions to college students. But what information do admins require to proceed?
Advantages of Desktop as a service for Universities
Here is a brief overview of the three main advantages of DaaS in education to assist you in determining whether these solutions are appropriate for your institution.
1. Savings in the long term
One of the primary advantages of the DaaS solution is cost savings. Desktop migration supports an IT ecosystem rather than an on-site data center. It does this by assisting institutions in switching from one-time capital expenditures to recurring monthly operating expenses. The advantages to institutions from these predictable monthly costs include:
- Lower costs for storing data
- Minimal upkeep of data centers
- A decrease in the cost of replacing dated physical IT hardware
This is a practical technique to improve your educational setting at a low cost.
2. Effective Collaboration
In the field of e-learning, real-time collaboration is crucial. Cloud computing software facilitates:
- Foster communication among students
- The creation of teacher management portals
- Virtual classrooms with power for distance learning
Numerous new collaboration opportunities are produced by desktop management in education. It is the simplest method to create an atmosphere where parents, teachers, and children can communicate effectively.
3. Full-time availability of resources
Access to resources both physically and digitally is increased through a cloud-based virtual desktop platform. No matter what computers or web browsers they use, it makes it simpler for students to access the same materials and educational resources. All students can continue to learn through the use of virtual tools like cloud computing.
4 Considerations while opting for a DaaS provider
Despite its benefits, there are also a few desktops as a service issues and challenges in education.
1. Dependence on DaaS Providers
Desktop as a service’s undesirable dependence on DaaS providers is a reality in the field of education. Unlike in traditional classrooms, online learning can be hindered by service interruptions or inadequate bandwidth experienced by internet service providers.
Working with a managed service provider enables you to rapidly identify if the cloud provider or the end user is to blame for the problem. Then, a solution can be put into practice to give you better connectivity and access.
Therefore, it is essential to go for a DaaS provider with up to 99.99% uptime so that learning doesn’t stop in any circumstances.
2. Comparatively Less Control
Accessibility to educational services and platforms is a benefit of the DaaS, but the drawback is that you have less control over upgrades, training, and other features.
Since the solution is being managed “as a service,” the infrastructure is abstracted from your internal team and managed by the cloud service provider. You will have less control over the infrastructure and system configuration because everything is hosted off-site. Your cloud service provider handles these.
3. Vendor Commitment
DaaS solutions for higher education rely on the experience of a single provider. It is typically impossible to switch service providers. Working with an MSP might make it simpler for you to select the appropriate provider for your needs. When shifting the burden for schools to the cloud, choosing the appropriate supplier is crucial.
A dependable DaaS provider will focus on your requirements, understand your risk, and manage it from beginning to end, removing any potential unforeseen issues. After you sign with a provider, you typically are bound by a service agreement with them. However, most service providers will let you break a contract, but they may charge you a price. This may not be the case if you’re satisfied with your services.
4. Security
When configured properly, online educational technology is safe, but there are inherent security issues when all resources are hosted online. Data security becomes more of a problem since poorly secured cloud systems could be targets for hackers.
When users access resources from several devices, this worry grows. An unauthorized person can access the cloud platform if a device with saved credentials is taken. You must prioritize security if you want to prevent these problems. This starts with setting up your cloud infrastructure correctly and ensuring all users have received training on best practices for desktop infrastructure security.
Consideration of multi-factor authentication from a DaaS provider, for instance, would allay many security worries. Additionally, this would increase security against end-user device vulnerabilities.
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