Desktop As A Service (DaaS) is a broad term which covers remote computing services running in a cloud (private, public or hybrid). In the framework of DaaS services, end-users can utilize virtual apps and virtual desktops running on a cloud infrastructure. Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is a very similar concept in which virtual desktop services are hosted in an on-premises infrastructure.
There are three basic models of VDI services:
- Hosted Shared Apps/Desktops
- Pooled Desktop
- Personal Desktop
There are other variations of VDI service models as well, depending on the technologies used by each vendor. In the case of Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops (CVAD), the following terminology is being used: https://docs.citrix.com/en-us/xenapp-and-xendesktop/7-15-ltsr/downloads/handbook-715-ltsr.pdf (see page 17 – VDI models)
Citrix also provides a few insightful articles which clarify the difference between DaaS and VDI services:
- https://www.citrix.com/solutions/vdi-and-daas/cloud-desktops/what-is-hosted-desktop-move-to-the-cloud.html
- https://www.citrix.com/blogs/2022/02/23/what-separates-daas-from-traditional-vdi-research-says-its-security/
The most prevalent DaaS/VDI services come from the following vendors:
- Microsoft (Azure Virtual Desktop and Remote Desktop Services on-premises)
- Citrix (Citrix Cloud Virtual Apps and Desktops service and Virtual Apps and Desktops on-premises
- VMWare Horizon
- Amazon Workspaces
- NetApp’s Virtual Desktop Service
- Dizzion DaaS
- Apache Guacamole
- Workspot on Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
- Nutanix Frame
- Itopia workspaces
- FlexVDI
- XenProject
- Virtuozzo OpenVZ
- Shells.com
- V2 Cloud
There are some further solutions in the market, such as Nerdio, which provide further management and provisioning automation of the DaaS/VDI services mentioned above.
